Eric Gioia
| Eric N. Gioia | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the New York City Council from the 26th District | |
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In office January 2002 – December 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Walter McCaffrey |
| Succeeded by | James Van Bramer |
| Constituency | Queens: Woodside, Sunnyside, Long Island City, Astoria, Maspeth |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 27, 1973 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Eric N. Gioia (born April 27, 1973) is a New York City politician of the Democratic Party. He served for eight years as a member of the New York City Council. He was elected to two year terms in 2001 and 2003 and to a four-year term in 2005, representing the Queens neighborhoods of Woodside, Sunnyside, Maspeth, and Long Island City.
Gioia attended PS11 Queens, a public elementary school. He worked in his family's florist shop in Woodside, Queens, which has been in operation for more than a century. He attended St. Francis Preparatory School, New York University and Georgetown University Law Center. He worked his way through NYU as a janitor/elevator operator, and member of Service Employees International Union/SEIU-Local 32BJ. He worked as a law clerk in the White House under President Bill Clinton. He worked in private practice in Manhattan at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, and later on Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000.
On the City Council, Gioia advocated for the poor, and wrote laws to help alleviate child hunger and to protect the environment. He served as Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Committee of the New York City Council, in which capacity he conducted over 50 investigations, leading to the passage of laws which protect homeless people with HIV and AIDS, ensure the availability of emergency contraception, increase government accountability and transparency, and encourage voter registration among young people.
He was particularly active in expanding opportunity for the residents of public housing. He founded a youth baseball and basketball league and brought a bank to Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City where previously the closest bank was over a mile away. He led a campaign to get more New Yorkers to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and passed legislation strengthening the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.
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