King Dethroned: Council ousts member
Controversial Bronx lawmaker expelled following multiple ethics violations
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR OCTOBER 9-15, 2020 7
BY JASON COHEN
In a stunning and unprecedented
move, the City Council expelled
Councilman Andy King from offi ce
today. He was voted out in an overwhelming
majority of 48 “yes” votes
to 2 “no” votes.
The councilman showed no remorse
for the litany of allegations
against him, which included the harassment
of staffers and receiving
kickbacks. Not once did he apologize
or display accountability during the
Oct. 5 hearing.
King brought up a past incident
where he was called the “n-word,”
and said that requests for his removal
were because of his race. The councilman’s
blatant denial of facts did not
match up to the report fi led by the
Standards and Ethics Committee.
“The transcripts do not equal the
summary of the report,” he said.
“I haven’t done anything wrong. I
ask you to ignore any slander you
have seen.”
King pointed out that the when the
woman who accused him of marginalizing
her menstrual issues came to
him saying she was bleeding, he had
no idea it was her menstrual cycle. He
thought it was a cut, which is why he
told her to get a Band-Aid.
He claimed that he would have
acted differently had he know the
context of the situation.
“There’s no way if a mother comes
to me privately in my ear on having
women’s issues and I am insensitive,”
King explained.
He also stressed that while the report
stated that a staffer got a $5,000
bonus, it does not indicate that four
other people received bonuses as
well. But he asked that staffer for a
kickback of $2,000.
King also addressed the fact that
the Council claimed he owes $15,000,
to which he responded that he already
paid $15,000 last year when he was
suspended. According to King, he
and his lawyers are in negotiations
with the Council lawyers regarding
a payment plan for the the additional
$15,000 the Council is asking for.
“It breaks my heart because I’ve
done nothing wrong,” King said,
adding that those against him were
guilty of slander and “trying to bring
down a Black man.”
Speaker Corey Johnson expressed
utter disgust with King and said that
this expulsion is long overdue.
“If we don’t take the action recommended
by the committee ,we will
likely be back here in a few months,”
Johnson said. “We had hoped the last
hearing would have been the last
time the committee and the Council
would have to respond to Councilman
King and his behavior.
During the hearing, Councilwoman
Vanessa Gibson said she was
disappointed in King’s behavior, but
was glad the three-year process was
fi nally over.
Queens Councilmen Jimmy Van
Bramer and Costa Constantinides
said the Council made the mistake of
not kicking out King last year.
“This was not taken lightly, but
over the last year Andy, has shown
no remorse for the substantiated
allegations of abuse, harassment,
and betrayal of public trust,” Constantinides
said. “For the last year I
have maintained he was no longer fi t
to serve in the Council, as he’s continually
sought retribution instead
of absolution.”
Attorney Joey Jackson (left) with Councilman Andy King. Photo by Jason Cohen
The City Council voted Councilman Andy King out of Oct. 5. Screenshot from the hearing
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