Morano began his broadcasting career as a teenager. At age 16,he launched Morano Vision,a public-access television program that focused on politics and current affairs. The show featured interviews with local elected officials and controversial public figures,and helped establish Morano’s early presence in Staten Island political media.[4]
Film production
In 2017,Morano served as a producer of Get Me Roger Stone,a documentary film examining the life and career of Republican political strategist Roger Stone. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released globally by Netflix,and was described by Variety as "lively,fun,sickening and essential".[5]
Radio broadcasting
Morano hosted The Answer on WNYM (AM 970),where he was described by City &State as “the people’s talk show host”and hosted a weekly Sunday morning program.[6]
While hosting a talk radio program on AM 970 in 2012,Morano received tabloid attention after conducting on-air interviews with Thomas “Tommy Shots”Gioeli,an accused Colombo crime family figure who called into the program from jail while awaiting trial. The interviews were reported by The New York Post as an unusual example of a pretrial detainee appearing live on a radio talk show.[7]
In July 2020,Morano joined WABC,where he hosted a local midday program on WLIR-FM and a Sunday evening show,later launching a weekday overnight program. In October 2020,the overnight show premiered as The Other Side of Midnight,replacing the syndicated Red Eye Radio on WABC’s lineup.[8]
During Morano’s 2025 City Council campaign,his programs were pulled from WABC due to federal equal-time requirements,though The Other Side of Midnight continued in syndication. After the election,Morano formally departed the station,with radio host Lionel succeeding him as host of The Other Side of Midnight.[9]
Political activism
Morano has been active in Staten Island and New York City politics for many years prior to holding elected office. He has been affiliated with a number of conservative and populist political organizations and minor parties,and has frequently participated in intraparty debates over ballot access,endorsements,and party governance.
In the mid-2000s,Morano served as a member of the executive committee of the New York State Independence Party. In 2008,he was quoted by The New York Observer as an Independence Party official commenting on the political future of then–Representative Vito Fossella amid personal controversies,reflecting his early involvement in borough-level political discourse.[10]
Morano later became involved with the Reform Party of New York State. After being elected to the party’s state committee in 2016,he drew criticism from elements of the party establishment for declining to grant Wilson–Pakula authorizations to cross-endorse candidates and instead forcing low-turnout primary elections. Reporting at the time described internal disputes over party governance,including a vote in which Morano and his allies supported the selection of Curtis Sliwa as state party chair and Morano as party secretary.[11]
Prior to his election to the City Council,Morano worked in Staten Island Republican politics,including employment in the office of City Councilmember Joe Borelli.[12]
During the 2025 special election campaign,one of Morano’s campaign lawn signs was vandalized with graffiti comparing him to a Nazi. The incident was reported by The New York Post amid a broader series of vandalism incidents targeting Republican individuals and organizations across New York State. Morano stated that he believed the vandalism was politically motivated and criticized the use of Nazi imagery in political discourse.[13]
In a 2025 interview with The New York Times,Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa described Morano as a protégéand characterized him as a populist figure within Staten Island politics,listing him among elected officials he viewed as ideologically aligned.[14]
Community Board service
In September 2013,Morano was appointed to Staten Island Community Board 3 after a multi-year effort to secure a seat.[15] His appointment followed changes in eligibility after he left the executive committee of the New York State Independence Party,which had previously made him ineligible under a borough policy barring party officers from serving on community boards. Morano criticized the policy as overly restrictive but ultimately declined to pursue legal action and instead sought appointment after leaving party leadership. Upon joining the board,he was assigned to the Traffic and Transportation Committee and stated that addressing chronic traffic issues on Staten Island’s South Shore would be a top priority.
In 2024,while serving as a member of Community Board 3 and prior to holding elected office,Morano raised concerns regarding the board’s governance practices,including its reliance on fully virtual meetings,the availability of meeting recordings,notice of executive sessions,and the process used to hire a new district manager.[16] In September 2024,Vito Fossella,the Borough President of Staten Island,and City Councilmembers Joseph Borelli and David Carr requested guidance from the New York City Law Department on whether Community Board 3’s actions complied with state and city law.[17] Morano was not a signatory to the request but had previously raised similar procedural concerns in his capacity as a community board member.
In November 2024,the New York City Law Department issued a formal determination finding that Community Board 3 had violated certain provisions of the New York State Open Meetings Law and city hiring requirements,including rules governing public posting of job openings and public access to meeting recordings.[18] The department recommended corrective actions and stated that it would provide continued guidance to ensure compliance going forward.
In February 2025,the longtime chair of Community Board 3 resigned amid ongoing disputes with borough and city officials over governance and compliance issues.[19] In the months that followed,several Community Board 3 members were not reappointed as part of a broader restructuring overseen by the borough president’s office.
After being elected to the New York City Council later in 2025,Morano advocated for changes to the New York City Charter that would grant City Council members binding appointment authority for a portion of community board seats. He argued that the reform would increase accountability,transparency,and local representation,particularly in cases where community board governance had become the subject of sustained public concern.[20]
In 2025,Morano was elected to the New York City Council for the 51st district in a special election to replace Joe Borelli,who resigned to join the private sector. Morano amassed endorsements from Borelli,U.S. RepresentativeNicole Malliotakis,Councilmember David Carr,The New York Post,and the Staten Island Republican Party among others.[21] He was declared the winner on election night,defeating DemocratCliff Hagen and Griffin Fossella,son of Borough PresidentVito Fossella,with 59% of the vote according to unofficial results.[1] He will serve the remainder of Borelli's term and run for re-election in November for a full term.[2] He was sworn in on May 13,2025 by City Clerk Michael McSweeney.[22] In July 2025,Morano participated in a news conference in Tottenville supporting residents whose pet pygmy pig,Lucy,faced removal by city health officials following a complaint that farm animals were being kept illegally as pets. The case drew widespread local attention and prompted public appeals from the family and community members. Mayor Eric Adams subsequently announced that the city would not take punitive action against the family and allowed the animal to remain temporarily in the home. The episode was covered by The New York Times as an example of constituent advocacy and neighborhood response to city enforcement actions.[23]
In November 2025,Morano introduced legislation aimed at expanding the ability of drivers on Staten Island to make right turns at red lights following a complete stop. The bill,Intro 1469,would require the New York City Department of Transportation to conduct borough-wide studies evaluating the safety and feasibility of permitting right-on-red turns at signalized intersections,taking into account pedestrian safety,cyclists,large vehicle traffic,congestion,and environmental impacts. The proposal was referred to the City Council’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and received bipartisan support from fellow Staten Island councilmembers David Carr and Kamillah Hanks.[24] In December 2025,Morano called on Mayor Eric Adams to veto the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA),a bill passed by the City Council that would grant certain nonprofit organizations a first opportunity to purchase designated distressed residential properties before they are offered on the open market. Morano criticized the legislation as an unprecedented interference with private property rights that could deter investment and delay transactions,and argued that it would not increase,but rather reduce,overall housing supply. Supporters of the bill,including its primary sponsor,Councilmember Sandy Nurse,said it would help preserve affordable housing by giving nonprofits greater ability to intervene in property sales. The Staten Island Advance reported on Morano’s stance amid broader debates over housing policy and land use in New York City.[25]
In 2025,Morano proposed a citywide initiative to fly each of New York City’s five borough flags at City Hall on a rotating monthly basis,arguing that the practice would promote civic pride and awareness of borough history. He formally requested the change in a letter to Mayor Eric Adams and linked the initiative to his legislation,Introduction 1388,which sought to codify the official flag of Staten Island in the city’s Administrative Code. In October 2025,Staten Island’s flag was raised at City Hall for the first time in city history under a new borough flag rotation program,with Staten Island leading off. The initiative and its implementation were reported by the Staten Island Advance.[26][27]
In January 2026,Morano was among three Republican members of the City Council who publicly urged Council Speaker Julie Menin to serve as an aggressive counterbalance to Mayor Zohran Mamdani,who had pledged to govern as a democratic socialist. In reporting on the council’s early dynamics,The New York Times quoted Morano saying that nearly one million New Yorkers had voted for “something different”and that those voters were counting on the City Council and its leadership to “be a voice for them.”[28]
In January 2026,Morano was profiled by City &State as part of its overview of newly elected New York City Council members. In the feature,he discussed his Staten Island roots,constituent priorities,and legislative goals,including advancing guardianship reform,fertility treatment access,and efforts to codify the Staten Island borough flag in city law.[29]
On January 15,2026,Morano was appointed chair of the New York City Council Committee on Veterans for the new Council term.[30][31]
In September 2025,Morano publicly opposed a proposed commercial motor freight station along Arthur Kill Road in the Charleston section of Staten Island at a Community Board 3 meeting,where the board ultimately voted to reject the application. The project,which would have accommodated approximately 180 tractor-trailers per day,drew opposition from residents and elected officials over concerns related to traffic congestion,environmental impact,and proximity to nearby parkland. In January 2026,the New York City Department of City Planning confirmed that the project had been placed on hold after the applicant paused advancement in order to address community board concerns. Morano criticized the proposal for proceeding without a transportation or environmental impact study,stating that Arthur Kill Road and the Outerbridge Crossing were already operating at or near capacity,and described the corridor as an example of overdevelopment without adequate infrastructure planning.[32]
In January 2026,Morano criticized the city’s rollout of mandatory residential trash containers after widespread delivery delays and reports that the contracted vendor had struggled to fulfill orders. Speaking to the Staten Island Advance,Morano said he had raised concerns directly with the Department of Sanitation and was seeking assurances on enforcement timing,refunds,and delivery status,particularly for seniors who had paid months earlier without receiving bins. His office stated that more than 100 constituents had contacted it regarding the issue.[33] He also told the New York Post that the program was “problematic”and argued that residents should not be penalized when bins were unavailable,citing difficulty obtaining containers through city-approved vendors.[34]
Legislative initiatives
During his first eight months in office,Morano was the primary sponsor of a range of legislative proposals and resolutions addressing election reform,employment policy,public health,transportation,governance,and community recognition. His initiatives included local laws to prohibit certain employers from considering an individual’s vaccination status when making employment decisions,to establish nonpartisan ranked-choice elections for elective municipal offices,and to require participation in debates by candidates receiving public matching funds.[35] In December 2025,Morano introduced legislation that would establish nonpartisan,ranked-choice elections for all municipal offices in New York City,including mayor,public advocate,borough president,and City Council. Under the proposal,candidates would appear on ballots without party labels,and all municipal elections would be conducted using ranked-choice voting. Reporting on the bill,the Staten Island Advance noted that implementing the change would require approval by voters through a citywide ballot referendum and that the proposal faced opposition from elements of the city’s political establishment. Morano stated that the measure was intended to broaden voter participation and reduce the outsized influence of partisan primaries in city elections.[36]
Morano also introduced measures related to health and family policy,including local laws to establish public education and outreach on traumatic brain injuries and concussions,a registry recognizing organizations that offer family benefits exceeding statutory requirements,and paid leave provisions for city employees who serve as bone marrow or living organ donors. He supported resolutions calling on the New York State Legislature and Governor to strengthen protections for individuals subject to guardianship proceedings and to create a State Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate to represent residential utility customers,as well as resolutions urging studies and expanded access to fertility treatments.[37]
Morano also proposed legislation aimed at regulating artificial intelligence chatbot services operating in New York City. The proposal would require AI chatbot providers to obtain a city license and implement consumer safeguards,including repeated disclosures that users are interacting with an artificial system,reminders that chatbot responses may be inaccurate,prompts encouraging breaks during extended use,and referrals to mental health resources when users appear to be in distress. Morano stated that the legislation was motivated by concerns about reported cases in which prolonged interactions with chatbots were associated with delusional behavior and mental health crises.[38]
Additional legislation sponsored by Morano focused on transportation and municipal operations,including a local law seeking a study on the feasibility of permitting motorists to make right turns on red signals on Staten Island,requirements for AM broadcast receivers in city fleet and city-contracted vehicles,exemptions for certain mixed-use buildings from containerization requirements,and codifying the official flag of the borough of Staten Island. He also introduced provisions to establish a guardianship reform commission and a charter amendment related to community board appointments.[39]
Morano's programs were pulled from WABC during the campaign due to equal-time rules,although The Other Side of Midnight continued to be heard in syndication. After the election,Morano officially departed the station,with Lionel succeeding him as host of The Other Side of Midnight.[40][41]
Community initiatives
In November 2025,Morano revived the Judge Robert Gigante Memorial Teddy Bear Drive,a longstanding Staten Island charitable initiative that collects new teddy bears for children facing cancer and other serious illnesses. The annual drive,originally founded by the late Judge Robert Gigante,distributes donations through local hospitals,preschools,and community organizations across the borough.[42]
In January 2026,Morano announced the winner of the inaugural South Shore Best Decorated House Contest,a holiday-themed district initiative that invited residents to nominate and vote on standout seasonal home displays. The contest was reported by local media as a neighborhood-based effort to encourage community participation and civic pride during the holiday season.[43]
Electoral history
2025 New York City Council 51st district special election[44]
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