Queens journalist kicks off bid for Astoria council seat
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Journalist Catherina Gioino is running for city council in District 22. Photo courtesy of Gioino
By David Brand
A former reporter for the New York Daily News has gone from running down stories across New York City to running for city council in her native Astoria.
Catherina Gioino filed paperwork to formally begin her campaign for Council District 22 two weeks ago. She is one of six Democrats vying to replace term-limited Costa Constantinides.
Gioino said she is focused on several physical upgrades for the district, like creating more greenspaces, implementing community dumpsters, protecting open streets and building bike lanes.
“It’s public space for the public good,” she said.
The proposals include specific actions to improve overall quality of life, she said.
On her first day of office, she said, she would seek to allocate $1,000 to position two concrete planters at the beginning and end of Astoria’s open streets. Cars are supposed to be banned on the roadway to allow for safe pedestrian activity, but that hasn’t been the case, she said. Cars frequently slip into the street.
Her broader plans include turning Western Queens into a destination for travelers with layovers at LaGuardia Airport by facilitating convenient bus service and promoting local hotspots.
Gioino said her experiences talking with a wide swath of New Yorkers during her journalism career have also informed her candidacy. She interviewed an array of Astorians for a weekly column at the site Queens Scene, she learned about COVID relief reporting citywide stories for the Daily News and she said her reporting on a Rockaway surfing school for the Queens Gazette helped her learn more about post-Sandy recovery on the peninsula.
Gioino, a Columbia grad with a masters in urban and social policy, said she is ultimately motivated by her passion for her hometown.
“I’m a born and raised New Yorker who has no personality outside the city, let alone Astoria,” she said. “I love this area.”
