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State Senator Andrew Gounardes represents New York’s 26th State Senate District, which includes the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park, Red Hook, Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights, Vinegar Hill, and DUMBO. He was elected in November 2018.

Senator Gounardes is the Chair of the Committee on Budget and Revenue and a strong champion for working families across New York. He has written and passed key legislation to fight skyrocketing hospital costs, expand school zone speed cameras, and protect workers’ rights. Since his first term in the State Senate in 2019, Senator Gounardes has worked tirelessly for a better New York that is fair, affordable, and gives everyone an opportunity to thrive.

Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Senator Gounardes graduated from Fort Hamilton High School and earned degrees from Hunter College and the George Washington University Law School. Senator Gounardes’ passion for public service began as an aide to former City Councilmember Vincent Gentile. He later served as Counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for five years and a trustee of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, one of the largest municipal pension funds in the country.

Guided by the principles of philoxenia, a Greek word meaning “love of strangers,” he was active in the community long before being elected to office. Following Superstorm Sandy, Andrew co-founded Bay Ridge Cares, an organization that prepared 25,000 hot meals for victims after the storm. A community advocate, he worked with Riders Alliance and Bay Ridge Advocates for Keeping Everyone Safe (B.R.A.K.E.S.) to fight for better transportation and safer streets.

Senator Gounardes is also active on issues affecting the Greek community. He is a member of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, a network of Greek-American leaders from across the United States that promote civic involvement, human rights, and democratic values in and between the United States and Greece. He is a founding member of the St. Andrew’s Freedom Forum, an international initiative that raises awareness of the denial of human rights and religious liberties of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church and recognizes religious freedom defenders throughout the world.