THIS PAIR OF EXPERIENCED AND PASSIONATE ATTORNEYS AT LAW HAVE BEEN OFFERING PERSONALIZED LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO THE STATEN ISLAND COMMUNITY FOR THREE DECADES AND COUNTING

BY JESSICA JONES GORMAN • PHOTOS BY AMANDA DOMENECH

Attorneys Gary Angiuli and Annamarie Gulino Gentile had only known each other for a few months when they decided to co-venture a law practice, but after a chance meeting while attending a Richmond County Bar Association sponsored trip in ‘89, both Angiuli and Gentile quickly realized their individual strengths and passion for law complemented the other. In 1990, their practice opened on the Island.

“I’m the architect and she’s the engineer without each other you don’t get a building,” noted Angiuli. The firm specializes in elder, family, real estate, and business law the team also tackles personal injury, worker’s compensation claims, and social security disability, each notorious for difficult-to-decipher language and when asked the secret to a successful partnership for three decades and counting, the duo enthused they maintain very specific roles.

“There’s a synergy between us that has existed for more than 30 years,” noted Gentile, highlighting their professional yet familial relationship. “It’s amazing because what we do is so different the roles we play at the firm could not be more opposite but we share the same goal and vision and have a great deal of respect for each other’s strengths.”

Angiuli agreed. “I have a clear vision of the type of firm we want to be providing exceptional service and a level of expertise that’s second to none and Annamarie is an unflappable, caring, brilliant attorney who focuses on making sure we achieve that,” he said. “She has an incredible grasp of many types of law and supervises our attorneys flawlessly. Together our skill sets are like magic.”

Their mission from day one, the partners explained, has been to provide personalized representation to help clients navigate complex and often nebulous legal issues.

“It was our goal from the start to build a premier law firm in the borough,” said Angiuli. “Together we earned respect in the community and in the courthouse which helped us achieve that aspiration.”

A graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Angiuli received his Juris Doctor from the American University, Washington College of Law and was admitted to practice law to the New York Bar in 1984. As a specialist in business, franchise, and real estate law, he has personally negotiated leases involving hundreds of thousands of feet of commercial office space in the New York City area and has advised numerous franchisors as well as franchisees, assisting them with every aspect of their new franchise ventures.

Gentile, an elder law attorney, is a magna cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Albany and received her J.D. degree from Brooklyn Law School. An expert at advising families on how to protect life-long assets in the event that long-term care is required, her estate planning work includes drafting wills, living trusts, family agreements, health care directives, and durable powers of attorney.

“We’re always working on building a better mouse trap, making sure everything we do remains in sync with the rest of our team and our clients,” noted Angiuli, describing how the partners updated the firm’s technological capabilities pre-COVID, adding cameras to every conference room. “We moved into a new facility and installed all of this brand new state-of-the-art equipment just a few months before the pandemic. When all of the lockdowns occurred and hearings started happening outside of the courtroom, we were prepared.”

Together the pair has amassed impressive community credentials over their careers. Gentile is a past chair of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Foundation Board. She is also the immediate past chair of the Community Agency for Senior Citizens (CASC) and is currently a board member of CASC and Meals On Wheels of Staten Island, Inc. In May 2019, Gentile was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to the Age-Friendly NYC Commission.

Angiuli also maintains a strong focus on local community endeavors. He currently serves on the board of the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation and the JCC, and is a member of the latter’s finance committee. He also helps raise money for Sunrise Day Camp, a camp for children stricken by cancer.

Both attorneys credit their fervent work ethic to an honorable upbringing. “What’s unique about our partnership is that we both come from entrepreneurial families,” noted Gentile. “We were both the first ones in our immediate families to go to college, and we were both brought up on the principles of hard work always striving to achieve more. Our parents were our role models because they each had their own American success stories, and we were both inspired to dream big and accomplish great things.”

Gentile’s father worked in the garment industry, tailoring suits before growing his business to encompass the manufacturing of women’s clothing. Angiuli’s father started out in auto sales and eventually owned and operated one of the borough’s biggest dealerships.

“Ambitious was the best word to describe him,” said Angiuli of his father. “He worked 60 hours a week or more and even though he would have loved for me to join the family business, he understood I had dreams of my own and supported them by sending me to law school.”

Angiuli supports his family’s legacy today as the developer of Minthorne Street, the 33,000-square-foot warehouse-style North Shore facility that formerly housed his father’s automobile service center. He repurposed an entire collection of buildings there, spanning a full city block, to create a charming retail space.

Gentile, an avid volunteer for many causes involving the elderly and special needs communities, is also actively involved in the borough. A recipient of the Staten Island Friends for Hospice Care Couple of the Year Award, she was an honoree at both the Garibaldi-Meucci Annual Luncheon and the Italian-American Women of Staten Island Annual Luncheon, where she was recognized for her contributions as an Italian American in the Community of Staten Island. Most recently, she received the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award and the Community Agency for Senior Citizens (CASC) Community Service Award.

“Our goal is to leave the Staten Island community in a better place,” concluded Angiuli.

Angiuli & Gentile, LLP, Attorneys at Law
1493 Hylan Boulevard / aglawnyc.com / 718.816.0005