Six Queens CMs call for Andy King’s expulsion

Six Queens councilmembers voted to expel Bronx Councilmember Andy King for ethics violations and harassing staff members. Official NYC Council Photo by William Alatriste

By Victoria Merlino

Six Queens councilmembers called for the expulsion of their Bronx counterpart Andy King for ethics violations and serial harassment during a contentious council meeting Monday. Those six legislators accounted for half of the councilmembers who voted to expel King, who is accused of harassing staffers and misusing Council funds.

The full Council voted 44 to 1 to levy sanctions against King, including a 30-day suspension. Two councilmembers abstained.

But sanctions were not a strong enough penalty to Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, who introduced the motion to expel King from the Council. Van Bramer invoked the experience of Chloe Rivera, a former Council staffer who accused King of harassment in 2017 and detailed the harassment and abuse in an op-ed for the Daily News Monday. Rivera previously worked in Van Bramer’s office as an intern. 

“For me, there is no doubt in my mind that given that this is not a first offense and given the severity of everything included in this report, I believe that expulsion is warranted,” Van Bramer said. “I know that Chloe and hundreds of others who work for the City Council are listening and watching what we do today.”

Queens Councilmembers Costa Constantinides, Donovan Richards, Eric Ulrich, Rory Lancman and Antonio Reynoso also voted to expel King a month after the Council’s Ethics Committee released a 48-page report that detailed allegations against him. The report stated that King retaliated against staffers who cooperated with ethics investigators, harassed staffers and used Council funds to pay for a retreat to the Virgin Islands where his wife’s daughter was getting married. 

The Ethics Committee recommended that the Council suspend King for 30 days without pay, fine him $15,000 and appoint a monitor that will oversee his office.

All but one councilmember in the Queens delegation present at the hearing voted to levy sanctions against King. 

I. Daneek Miller abstained, stating that he was “still troubled” that King did not get to fully explain his side of the story. Councilmember Francisco Moya did not vote because he is out of the country, a spokesperson said. 

Council Speaker Corey Johnson said King’s “conduct shows complete and utter disdain, and even contempt, for this body and its processes,”  

Constantinides and Richards, who are running for Queens Borough President along with Van Bramer, said King showed a lack of remorse during his testimony to the Council. 

“Councilmember King’s staff did not have a voice because he sought to take it away,” Constantinides said.

“I’m finding it hard here today because of the lack of remorse and sincerity for staff members,” Richards said. 

Ulrich said King should be expelled in part because he will have a hard time representing his district after being stripped of his committee titles.

But Councilmember Karen Koslowitz, who is a member of the Ethics Committee, argued that the Council should stick to the punishments that the committee proposed. 

“We didn't elect Councilmember King. The public did. But we want to remind the public of what he did,” Koslowitz said. “For the next two years and two months, Andy King will remember what he did.” 

Barry Grodenchik, who was stripped of his committee chairmanship after being accused of sexual harassment by a staffer earlier this year, also voted to sanction King.

At the hearing, King said that he was unable to fully explain himself to investigators because he had difficulty setting up a time to meet with them. 

“It’s a one-sided document that they’re asking you to vote on,” King told his colleagues. “My due process has been violated here.” 

He said that he treated his staff like “family” and that he is a “kind and loving soul.”