BY ALEX MITCHELL
After a series of alleged
violations regarding harassment,
retaliation, and other
instances of disorderly conduct
and confl icts of interest,
the City Council’s Standards
and Ethics Committee recommended
the removal of north
Bronx councilman Andy King
from City Hall.
On Sept. 29, Speaker Corey
Johnson expressed his support
of the decision in a statement,
saying “Council Member King
should be expelled from offi
ce. This is not a decision to
be made lightly, but Council
Member King has given us
no alternative.”
Last year, City Council
voted down a resolution
to expel King proposed by
Queens councilman Jimmy
Van Bramer, one which was
vocally supported by Brooklyn
Council Member Carlos
Menchaca — though that
was voted down by a count of
34 to 12.
The governing body opted
instead to ban the lawmaker
from City Council for 30 days
and fi ne him $15,000. It was
the lengthiest suspension
voted on in the modern history
of the Council according
to Johnson, who addressed the
charges prior to the vote.
And I will now vote for
a second time to expel him.
Should have already happened,
but this is a good sign,
said Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer in a Tweet from Sept.
29, 2020.
At the time, that Ethics
Committee released a 48-page
report detailing the allegations
of harassment, confl ict
of interest, retaliation, disorderly
conduct just a week earlier.
King previously had to
undergo training for similar
issues in 2017.
Going through the report
and transcripts against
King made Johnson “literally
sick to his stomach,” the
speaker said.
The Council’s Ethics Committee
had been investigating
King since early on in 2017,
alleging that he “engaged in
gender-based harassment” regarding
BRONX TIMES R 2 EPORTER,OCTOBER 2-8, 2020 BTR
a photo accidentally
posted to his Twitter account
by a staffer that was intended
for their personal account in
June 2015.
The “sickening” report
on King said he allegedly referred
to that photo being the
same “as child pornography”
in front of staff while also alleging
King to have set up
his wife, Neva Shillingford-
King to “essentially help run
his offi ce” while also giving
her the power to hire staffers.
The Council also resolved that
Shillingford-King may not
have any future involvement
in her husband’s offi ce.
He had been accused of misappropriating
Council funds
for a “retreat” fi t for a king in
the U.S. Virgin Islands, one
that both the council member
and his wife attended.
King was alleged to have
allowed a staffer to behave
“in a verbally and physically
City Councilman Andy King, of the Bronx, was charged with harassment
by the Committee on Standards and Ethics, chairman and Minority Leader
Steven Matteo said in 2019. File/Charles Eckert
threatening manner,”
according to the report.
The Ethics Committee also
alleged that King retaliated
against staffers that he believed
would cooperate with
the investigation.
King was also required to
hire an offi ce monitor on staff
after the 2019 resolution, who
Johnson said had been undermined
and “was imposed to
try and correct King’s egregious
behavior.”In 2019, King
said “ever since I’ve been in
offi ce I’ve treated my staff like
family,” during an afternoon
hearing — which he referred to
as a crucifi xion — also saying
his due process was being violated.
If King is to be expelled,
which will next be voted on by
the entire Council, it would be
the fi rst ever expulsion in the
history of City Hall.
Read more: bxtimes.com.
NY City Council wants King out
Committee found councilman guilty of
several ethics violations
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