Background
Gentile was born into an Italian-American family in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn.
politician member of the New York State Senate
Gentile was born into an Italian-American family in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn.
He attended Fort Hamilton High School, graduating in 1977 and, in 1983, became founding president of the school"s alumni association.
He is a Democrat. The district includes portions of Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, Gravesend and Sunset Park in Brooklyn. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University and a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law. He was first admitted to the New York state bar in 1986.
Prior to his involvement in electoral politics, Gentile was a prosecutor in the office of the Queens County District Attorney.
There he served for 11 years as an Assistant District Attorney under Richard A. Brown. He would go on to serve three terms before being defeated by then City Councilman Martin J. "Marty" Golden in 2002.
Facing a tough campaign mostly due to redistricting, he lost 55% to 45%. Gentile was the Democratic candidate for New York"s 11th congressional district special election, 2015 He lost to Republican Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Junior.
Green Party candidate, James Lane, came in third.
Following his defeat for reelection to the Senate, Gentile entered into the special election to fill Golden"s city council seat. Currently, Gentile chairs the Select Committee on Libraries in the Council, and serves on the Aging, Cultural Affairs, Finance, and Public Safety committees. He is also the chair of the Council"s Italian-American Caucus.
Following losing an election for the New York Senate in 1994, Gentile first won public office in 1996, when he was able to capitalize upon internal divisions within the Republican Party and win a three-way race for the 23rd District in the New York State Senate. In a field of five candidates, four of whom were Democrats, Gentile edged out a win against Republican Rosemarie O"Keefe by 31 votes and has held the seat ever since.
