Meet: Michael Marino

The Lower East Side is full of impressive, talented, giving, and immensely interesting people of different backgrounds, persuasions, and styles. More For LES is delighted to showcase neighbors from 10002 who contribute to making the community richer, more welcoming, and complete. Today we meet Michael Marino.

Michael Marino is a research administrator, theatre fan, and Founder & President of Friends of Corlears Hook Park. More For LES spoke with Michael, and this is what he had to say:

Do you live, work, or both live and work in the neighborhood?

I both live and work here.

How long have you lived and/or worked in the neighborhood?

I moved to the neighborhood a few months after Hurricane Sandy.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Technically a native New Yorker, I was born in the Bronx — though just barely.

By the time I arrived as the accidental seventh child, my parents had already packed up the family and headed north to the suburbs of Rockland County. I never actually lived in that Bronx apartment, but the city was always in my blood. Both sets of my grandparents still called the Bronx home, and my father had deep roots in Little Italy. We were in the city constantly.

Some of my earliest memories are of the playgrounds at Co-Op City. By my teens, I was working at a family friend’s pizza stand at the Feast of San Gennaro. After a year of college elsewhere, I moved into Manhattan in 1989 to finish my undergraduate degree at Pace University — and the city finally had me for good. My degree was in theatre, and for years I worked the technical side: building sets, hanging lights, stage managing. I’d been doing that work all through high school and college, and had earned my union card by 19.

In my late twenties I transitioned into a career as a fundraiser. Over the years that followed, I raised countless millions through campaigns and special events — including work with Miller, Zeichik and Associates on the AIDS Walk and Dance-a-thon in cities across the country. I served as a Development Officer at Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Director of Major Gifts at Empire State Pride Agenda, and became Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ first Associate Director of Development, growing their major donor campaign by 300%.

As Managing Development Director at Point Foundation, the national LGBTQ scholarship fund, I helped the organization earn a 4-star Charity Navigator rating. Along the way, I went back to school at NYU for my master’s degree.

For the past 17 years, I’ve been building a third career in sponsored research administration in higher education — helping faculty apply for and manage research grants at both public and private institutions, including New Jersey City University, NYU, CUNY Baruch, Long Island University, and currently Northeastern University.

If you work in the neighborhood, what do you do professionally?

I work fully remote, which means most days you’ll find me at home, though when my cleaning person comes I migrate over to Ost. Sometimes I’ll set up outside at Corlears Hook Park or in the East River Co-op courtyard when the weather cooperates.

As for what I actually do — most people have no idea what a research administrator is, and my go-to explanation is that I “keep the faculty out of jail and off the headlines.”

In all seriousness, when faculty want to apply for grants — from federal agencies like the NIH or NSF, or from private foundations — I help them build the application, make sure everything meets the funder’s requirements, and handle all the compliance, budgetary, and regulatory pieces that come with it. Once a grant is awarded, I negotiate any related contracts and manage whatever administrative changes come up along the way, so the researchers can stay focused on their actual work instead of drowning in paperwork and bureaucracy.

What do you love to do in your free time?

My partner works in theatre, so we see as many shows as we can — though we’re frugal about it, relying on ticket lotteries and the occasional invitation to dress rehearsals or previews.

When I need to fully unplug, I head to the family cottage in Connecticut, a little place on a small lake that’s about as serene as it gets. The catch is it’s not winterized, so it’s a warm-weather luxury only.

And if I’m being honest, I probably spend more time in front of the television than I should — but it provides a good escape.

What’s something you've experienced here that makes the neighborhood feel special to you?

I still remember one of my first evenings after moving here from Hell’s Kitchen — walking home at dusk, starting down the path to my building, and suddenly watching fireflies light up all around me.

I stood there in genuine awe. I don’t think I’d seen a single firefly in all my years in Hell’s Kitchen, where the light pollution drowns out everything. That moment said a lot about what makes this neighborhood special.

I love the diversity here, and when it comes to my building, I’m convinced I won the neighbor lottery — I genuinely couldn’t ask for better people around me.

What’s something you’d like to see change or improve in the neighborhood?

It’s genuinely sad to watch so many shops sitting empty along Grand Street these days. I miss Eva’s Kitchen, and every time I pass Frank’s Bike Shop I have the urge to break in and rescue all that Christmas décor.

On a practical note, since we’re often out late, I really wish there were somewhere to grab a late-night bite that wasn’t a bar — just a casual spot to decompress over some food.

And while I’m wishing, a good Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood would make me very happy.

Favorite local spots — where do you go, and why do you love them?

Saluggi’s holds a special place for my partner and me — it’s where we had our first date, and we still go back often, including every year on our anniversary.

At least once a week you’ll find me at Zafi’s with my buddies Bob and Rich, giving owners Mike and Jerry a hard time over lunch.

I’ve ordered sesame chicken from Wa Lung Kitchen so many times that once, when I tried to order something different, they made it anyway — apparently they assumed I’d made a mistake. Ost is always a good time, and lately Tiptara Thai has been in heavy rotation.

And whenever my sweet tooth kicks in, Moishe’s Bakery is the only answer.

Are there any buildings, parks, or street corners that you think of when the Lower East Side comes to mind?

Most people around here probably know me as “that park guy.”

I started Friends of Corlears Hook Park in 2014 after spending a lot of time there while fostering dogs, and noticing how badly the park had been neglected in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. We became an official nonprofit in 2016, with a mission that’s always been twofold — revitalize the park’s beauty through new and maintained plantings, and make it a true gathering place for the community.

I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished.

We got the dog run renovated, reopened and refurbished the bathrooms, and next year a new playground and water play area are coming. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people’s faces light up at one of our events, or watching someone just settle in for a lazy afternoon in the park. I’ve poured a lot into this alongside my fellow board members.

Giving back is something my parents instilled in me from a very early age.