ASTORIA — Democratic candidate Costa Constantinides beat out four other contenders in the race for City Council District 22, replacing the term-limited Peter Vallone, Jr. to represent Astoria, northern Long Island City and parts of Jackson Heights.
Constantinides, 38, is a lifelong Astoria resident and a Democratic District Leader who currently serves as deputy chief of staff for Queens City Councilman James Gennaro and is the first person outside of the Vallone family to represent the area in decades.
He had been competing for the Astoria City Council seat against four other candidates: the Green Party's Lynne Serpe, Republican Daniel Peterson, Independent Danielle De Stefano and Populist Gerald "Jerry" Kann.
According to published reports, Constantinides received more than 10,000 or 65.6 percent of votes, followed by Serpe, who scored 15 percent, and Peterson who came in with 11.2 percent. De Stefano earned 7.9 percent of votes and Kann received 0.4 percent, according to the New York Times.
Constantinides has said that he plans to focus on public safety, access to health care, schools, and environmental issues. He said he wants to combat litter by increasing trash can pick-ups and hiring cleaning crews like the Doe Fund to maintain busy commercial streets.
His taking office in January will mark the first time in decades that Astoria has been represented by someone outside the Vallone family: Vallone, Jr., has held the City Council seat since 2002, when he succeeded his father, former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Sr., who had represented the neighborhood since 1974.
