Peter Ah-Ming Koo (born September 5, 1952) is a Chinese American politician who represented the
20th district 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 2010 to 2021. He is a
Democrat. The district includes portions of
Bayside,
College Point,
Flushing,
Flushing Meadows Corona Park,
Fresh Meadows and
Whitestone 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 ...
.
Koo and
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
Council member
Margaret Chin comprise the
Asian-American
Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).
Although this term had historically been used for ...
delegation of the council.
Life and career
Koo is a
Chinese American
Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...
born in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
in 1952. Prior to immigrating to the United States in 1971, he lived in the former British Hong Kong. Graduating from the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
College of Pharmacy in 1975 where he paid his way through by working minimum wage jobs at
Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...
and
Dunkin' Donuts
DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...
, Koo is a
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...
who developed a five-store chain of pharmacies called Starside Drugs Pharmacy.
He has been a member of
Queens Community Board 7. Previously, he unsuccessfully challenged local state senator
Toby Ann Stavisky in 2008.
He has been called the "Mayor" of Flushing.
In January 2012, Koo changed his party affiliation from
Republican to Democratic.
In 2018, Koo proposed legislation before being term limited out of The New York City Council to ban smoking cigarettes while walking.
New York City Council
Koo was elected to the city council seat on November 3, 2009, defeating
Democratic Party nominee Yen Chou,
Working Families Party
The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...
nominee S.J. Jung, and
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
nominee Evergreen Chou. He assumed the position that was held by
John Liu
John Chun Yah Liu (traditional Chinese: 劉醇逸; born January 8, 1967) is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 16th district in northeast Queens. He pr ...
, the
New York City Comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...
.
He was term limited out of office at the end of 2021.
Koo serves on the following New York City Council committees:
* Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing
* Economic Development
* Land Use
** Landmarks, Public Siting, and Maritime Uses (subcommittee of Land Use Committee)
* Parks and Recreation
* Technology (He serves as chair of this committee.)
* Transportation
Caucuses
*Black, Latino/a, and Asian Caucus
Personal life
Peter has been married for 26 years and has two children, a boy and a girl.
See also
*
Hong Kong Americans in New York City
References
External links
Councilman Peter Koo (official site)@CMPeterKoo (official Twitter)Re-elect Peter Koo for City Council (campaign site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koo, Peter
1952 births
21st-century New York (state) politicians
American businesspeople in retailing
American politicians of Chinese descent
Asian-American New York City Council members
Asian-American people in New York (state) politics
American pharmaceutical industry businesspeople
Chinese emigrants to the United States
Living people
Businesspeople from New York (state)
New York (state) Democrats
New York (state) Republicans
New York City Council members
Politicians from Queens, New York
Pharmacists from New York City
21st-century American pharmacists
Politicians from Shanghai
University of New Mexico alumni