Andrew Gounardes


Andrew Gounardes is an American lawyer and politician. He is a Democrat and a member of the New York State Senate, representing the 22nd district, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend, Gerritsen Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Marine Park in Southern Brooklyn.

Early life and career

Gounardes was born in Brooklyn and raised in the Bay Ridge neighborhood. He graduated from Fort Hamilton High School before going on to earn degrees from Hunter College and the George Washington University Law School.
Following law school, Gounardes worked for Councilman Vincent J. Gentile as a constituent aide, and later as Counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
Gounardes formerly served as a trustee of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, and as a member of Brooklyn Community Board 10. Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Gounardes, along with Justin Brannan, founded the non-for-profit Bay Ridge Cares, which assisted local residents with disaster relief.

New York Senate

Gournardes first ran against Senator Marty Golden in 2012, but lost. Despite the district being predominantly Democratic, Golden proved to be a popular incumbent due to strong constituent services and name recognition. Golden even ran unopposed in 2016.
However, in 2018, Golden faced scrutiny after it was publicized that he had failed to pay a number of parking tickets, and was illegally posing as a police officer to run red lights. He also utilized illegal parking placards. As a result, and along with the national political climate, Golden was seen as vulnerable by New York political operatives.
Gounardes declared his candidacy against Golden in early 2018. Defeating journalist Ross Barkan in the Democratic primary, Gounardes went on to defeat Golden in the general election, 51% to 49%.
In the Senate, Gounardes serves as Chairman of Committee on Civil Service and Pensions.
In an effort to "make accessible and available to constituents," Gounardes announced his establishment of a "Constituent Portal" on January 31, 2019.