About Senator Gounardes

Andrew Gounardes is a Brooklyn-born State Senator and parent who believes government should help people and communities not just get by, but truly thrive. His approach to public service is rooted in family, faith, and community—and in a simple ethic he learned growing up: when something needs doing, someone has to step up and do it.

A fourth-generation Greek American, Andrew was raised in Southern Brooklyn in a family deeply involved in their church and neighborhood. From an early age, he absorbed the values of service, responsibility, and philoxenia—a Greek concept meaning love of strangers and a shared obligation to care for others. Those values continue to guide his work in public office.

Since being elected to the New York State Senate, Andrew has built a reputation as an effective legislator who delivers real results on the issues New Yorkers feel most in their daily lives. He has been a leader on street safety, helping pass measures that have saved lives and made neighborhoods safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike. In recent years, he has also emerged as a national leader on child online safety, authoring and passing landmark laws to protect kids from social media harms, digital exploitation, and unsafe online platforms.

Andrew's work is driven by the challenges facing families, seniors, and working New Yorkers across Brooklyn and beyond. He has focused on lowering the real costs people face—especially housing and child care—by pushing to build deeply affordable housing, expanding tax credits that put money back in families' pockets, and supporting policies that make it possible for people to stay in the communities they call home. His legislative efforts reflect a practical belief that affordability is about results, not slogans: lowering the cost of housing, childcare, utilities, and the basics that make it easier to thrive.

As a parent of three young children, Andrew sees firsthand how rapidly the world is changing, from the pressures families face in the early years, to the digital risks kids encounter as they grow, to the challenges young adults face trying to afford housing and build a future. That perspective shapes his work across education, from early childhood and college access to his long-standing commitment to strengthening CUNY as a pathway to opportunity for working- and middle-class New Yorkers.

In Albany, Andrew is known for taking on complex problems and working across issues and institutions to get things done. He has played a key role in budget negotiations, advanced major policy reforms, and consistently stood firm on core principles even when it was politically difficult. His work reflects a belief that leadership means being thoughtful, prepared, and willing to take responsibility, especially in uncertain times.

Andrew Gounardes serves the neighborhoods from Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights through Downtown Brooklyn and Vinegar Hill. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their three children, and remains deeply connected to the community that shaped him. He’s committed to building a New York where everyone has the chance not just to stay afloat, but to thrive.