Costa Constantinides (born January 7, 1975) is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

from the 22nd district. The district includes Astoria, East Elmhurst, part of

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

and part of Woodside in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. In April 2021, Constantinides resigned before his term in office officially ended to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens.

Early life and education

Constantinides was born and raised in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

. He attended local public schools P.S. 84 and P.S. 122, Constantinides graduated cum laude from

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

with a bachelor's degree in political science and history. He then earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.

Career

He was admitted to the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

in 2014. Previously, Constantinides served as Deputy Chief of Staff to New York City Council Member James F. Gennaro of District 24. Constantinides is the first Greek-Cypriot American to hold elected office. Constantinides serves as the Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection in the New York City Council. In 2013, Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. was barred from seeking re-election due to term limits. Constantinides won the Democratic primary to succeed him and easily won the general election later that year to take the seat. He served as chair of the Environmental Protection Committee. Constantinides was not able to seek re-election to the city council in 2020 due to term limits. After

Melinda Katz Melinda R. Katz (born August 29, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from New York City, serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1, 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a ...

was elected to serve as Queens County District Attorney, she was succeeded as Queens Borough President by Sharon Lee. Constantinides announced his candidacy for the special election to succeed Katz. Along with fellow council member Jimmy Van Bramer, Constantinides was defeated in the Democratic primary by Donovan Richards. Costa resigned from the New York City Council on April 9, 2021, to head Variety Boys Girls Club.

References

External links

Costa Constantinides - New York City CouncilCosta Constantinides (@Costa4NY)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinides, Costa Living people People from Astoria, Queens Queens College, City University of New York alumni New York (state) Democrats Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law alumni New York City Council members 1975 births 21st-century New York (state) politicians American people of Greek Cypriot descent