OLD ASTORIA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
Respecting the past, Building the future
OLD ASTORIA
NEIGHBORHOOD
ASSOCIATION

BOARD MEMBERS

Richard Khuzami

Richard Khuzami

President

Mr. Khuzami has been a member of Community Board 1 in Astoria, NY for the last 20 years. He sits on the Zoning and parks Committees and is on the Executive Board. Previously, he served as Parks and Culture chair of Community Board 1 for eleven years (Fighting for investment in our local parks, plus community representation on votes for Public Art in the % for Art program) and also chaired Capital and Expense priority Committee. He is a member of the Queens General Assembly and had been a panelist for grant submissions for the Queens Council on the Arts (QCA). Richard also is an officer of The Eastern Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance (EMBCA).

Because of the tremendous growth in Old Astoria, especially around Hallets Point (which could potentially have over 5,000 new housing units), Mr. Khuzami has established, along with concerned neighbors, the “Old Astoria Neighborhood Association,” a 501c3 non-profit. OANA’s boundaries are East River to the North, 21st St to the East, Queensborough Plaza to the South, and the East River to the West. Members include any residents, business and property owners within these borders.

Our mission is to both educate and protect the interests and quality of life for all residents of this previously often neglected part of Astoria/Long Island City.

Mr. Khuzami has also worked as a professional musician and composer for over 50 years and worked in the International Trade, Logistics, and supply chain field.

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Kevin Hernandez

First Vice President

Kevin Hernandez, president of GIL homes is an award-winning local developer and is an active participant in various community organizations throughout Astoria.

Costa Constantinides

Costa Constantinides

Second Vice President

Costa Constantinides serves as the CEO for the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens. Variety serves over 4000 young people per year and in his new role Costa has helped secure millions in capital funding towards their re-imagined clubhouse that will serve 16,000 kids. In September 2021, Costa was appointed to the Board of Directors for the NYC Economic Development Corporation and NYC Environmental Justice Advisory Board.

Previously, Costa Constantinides represented the New York City Council’s 22nd District, which includes his native Astoria, as well as Rikers Island, parts of Jackson Heights, Woodside, and East Elmhurst. As chair of the Environmental Protection Committee from 2015 to 2021, he was committed to fighting the effects of climate change and keeping it from forever changing New York City’s landscape.

Costa is a nationally recognized expert on climate change. Sustainability, resiliency, and air quality have been among Costa’s top environmental issues long before he was sworn in. Growing up in western Queens meant seeing power plants go up in Astoria and Long Island City — often next to public housing — despite unified opposition from the community. As a volunteer after Sandy struck the area in 2012, Costa also saw first-hand what the storm did to the most vulnerable citizens.

In April 2019, Costa led the effort to pass the historic Climate Mobilization Act, the largest carbon emissions reduction ever mandated by any city in the world. The eight-bill package tackled greenhouse gas emissions from large buildings, made the first step toward closing fossil fuel power plants, and required green roofs on new buildings. Costa fought to pass and to finalize the Renewable Rikers Act in 2021, a vision to transform an island of horrors into a sustainable energy island that includes state of the art wastewater treatment system, renewable energy, battery storage and organics collection and reuse. In his 7 years plus in the NYC Council, Costa passed 44 bills as the lead sponsor to combat climate change and its effects on our city.

Costa was born, raised, and continues to reside in Astoria, Queens. He attended Queens College where he now teaches as an adjunct lecturer in both the Political Science and Urban Studies departments. In 2010, Costa received his Juris Doctor from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law and was admitted to the bar in 2014.

Diane Kantzoglou

Diane Kantzoglou

Treasurer

Diane is a Greek Canadian living in New York in Old Astoria since 1994.

Diane has been an entrepreneur since she was 21, owning multiple businesses in Canada, Europe and New York. She has now settled into a permanent career in Real Estate of which she loves and devotes most of her time.

Diane has been an advocate for the evolution of Old Astoria, to bring it to a premier residential and a tourist destination of New York City. She is a mother of 3, married happily for 40 years.

ADVISORY BOARD

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CLAUDIA COGAR

Claudia Cogar, Astoria Houses Resident Association, Retired

Frank Arcabascio

Frank Arcabascio

Frank Arcabascio, Director of 30th ave Business Association

Owner of Redken Saloon Salon on 30th ave .. we’ve served and supported the Astoria community, since 1981.

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