Born and raised in Astoria, where my wife and three children are from, I’m a proud graduate of PS 17 and IS 126. Over the last 40 years, I’ve watched our District become the most diverse community in the world, where every nationality, race, gender, sexual identity, culture, economic background, vocation, and point of view is represented. And I embrace it!

Like many New Yorkers, I come from a family of immigrants. My parents arrived in this country with my oldest brother and $15 in their pockets. Not fluent in the language, my parents worked day and night at minimum wage jobs just to keep our family of five in a one-bedroom apartment. My father was a dishwasher and janitor before he finally landed a good union job in building maintenance with Local 32B32J (now part of the Service Employees International Union).

My mother was a factory worker, and server (where she also made donuts), and eventually became a street vendor, selling hot dogs, shish kebobs, pretzels, and even breakfast in front of the NYSE (she was the first to do this, From them, I learned the value and need for hard work and sacrifice to meet long-term goals.

Given my modest background, I am a Democrat with a keen focus on building a vital economy that will continue to support local business initiatives. I truly believe that it is the responsibility of all to help those in need, and my vision is to accomplish this by fostering business growth, whose revenues are reasonably taxed to fund these necessary programs.

This comes from my belief that we are more than fellow citizens, but neighbors in the best sense of the word. Whether you’re from Greenpoint, Queensbridge, Tudor City, Court Square, or Hunter’s Point, you and I are in this together and only united can we continue to build a community where our most important policies meet the needs of all of us.

A graduate of Adelphi University’s MBA program with a BBA from CUNY Baruch College, I have 20 + years of experience in finance, banking, insurance, real estate development, and business consulting.

My professional career has included advising businesses for growth, property management, neighborhood reinvestment, and capital funding, This experience has taught me that the best way forward is to bring all stakeholders together, and find the right compromise – so everybody gets a fair shake.

In my professional life, I have been able to help businesses of all sizes to grow their enterprises by retaining great employees through good wages and benefits.

As a property manager, I’ve learned that the most successful tenancies are reciprocal relationships where valued tenants enjoy well-maintained, comfortable units and landlords receive fair rent and return on their investments

I have also worked with a team of business leaders at the national level to implement swipe reform – which will lower the fees consumers pay when using a credit card, lower the costs to businesses and, thereby, prevent a rise in the costs of final products. And because I love our community, I have helped support a number of initiatives in Astoria, that have contributed to the vibrancy of our entire district. 14 years ago, I was instrumental in launching Restaurant Week, which has now spread out to other neighborhoods. More recently, I have been a leader in creating Astoria’s annual holiday tree lighting and parade.

I want to continue to foster similar initiatives to improve the cultural health of all our neighborhoods, from Long Island City to Williamsburg, Murray Hill, and Kips Bay to StuyTown.

This is not my New York. It’s our New York, and together we can work to make it better!