Is Juan Ardila representing Queens in Albany? Many say, ‘no’

Queens Assemblymember Juan Ardila was accused by two women of sexually assaulting them at a 2015 party last month. Since then, his constituents and fellow elected officials have said they don’t feel he’s been able to properly represent his Western Queens district. Photo via Ardila/Twitter

By Ryan Schwach and Jacob Kaye

Queens Assemblymember Juan Ardila, who was recently accused by two women of sexually assaulting them at a 2015 party, has lost his ability to represent his Western Queens district, his constituents, local elected officials and his colleagues in Albany say.

On Thursday night, a representative for the freshman Democratic lawmaker appeared before Queens Community Board 2, which overlaps with Ardila’s district. The board is chaired by Danielle Brecker, who, as an elected state committee member, became one of the first elected officials to call for Ardila’s resignation last month. During Thursday’s meeting, the first since the allegations were made, Brecker had a message for Ardila.

“I don’t want to make this awkward,” Brecker told Ardila’s representative. “But there is a lot of frustration with the feeling that the assemblymember has not properly or fully addressed the allegations against him – and that he should really consider resigning.”

It’s been a month since the allegations against Ardila were first made public. In that time, nearly all of his Western Queens colleagues, one of the women he allegedly sexually assaulted, a number of his constituents and the governor have called on him to step down. He has, thus far, ignored those calls.

But also in that time, his fellow state legislators have been engaged in what is often the most important time in a lawmaker’s calendar – budget negotiating season. According to his colleagues, Ardila has been absent and has become, to some assemblymembers, a pariah in Albany. Some of his constituents have lost faith in his ability to advocate for them. And a number of his Western Queens colleagues at more local levels of government have sworn off collaborating with him on any policies or projects.

“A lot of people in the community have said to me, ‘this is really not okay’,” Brecker told the Eagle on Friday. “The first step of restorative justice is to listen to your survivor, and if you're an elected official, the second step of restorative justice is to listen to your community and to try to restore that trust, and if the community is saying we need you to step down, he should be listening to that.”

Other members of the board, including First Vice Chair Dr. Rosamond Gianutsos, said they were “concerned” that Ardila was not in Albany this week, and Caroline Spitzer, a constituent of Ardila’s, said she was disappointed that the lawmaker did not attend their meeting himself considering he wasn’t in Albany fighting for their needs in the state’s budget.

“Since he is posting on social media and not in Albany, I assumed he would be at the meeting,” Spitzer told the Eagle on Friday.

Ardila was not assigned to a budget negotiating committee, the only freshman Democrat to be left out. Spitzer said his exclusion from a committee also concerns her.

“We are in critical budget seasons and the fact that he wasn’t represented in any committees has me concerned,” she said. “We, as a district, are suffering for that.”

Although Brecker is not a constituent of Ardila’s, her board’s purview overlaps with his district. The board works closely with elected representatives at all levels of government and Brecker said that as of late, she doesn’t think that Ardila has been an effective representative.

“If he's not effective in Albany, he shouldn't be in Albany,” she said. “He's not doing the job.”

“I thought he was kind of good, but I feel like right now, [his constituents] are not being represented,” she added. “I was in Albany three weeks ago advocating for things in the budget. I didn't see him. I saw both of my electeds, I saw all the area electeds…I didn't see him anywhere.”

An average assemblymember is not negotiating the state’s budget line-by-line. Instead, they advocate for their position during their party’s conference meetings or they advocate for their position in public through rallies, the press or town halls with their constituents.

According to an assemblymember who requested anonymity, Ardila has been iced out of budget talks over the past month.

“I think there are a number of members who do not want to share space with him…I mean that in the very literal sense – if he's on the floor, I know that there are people who don't want to be on the floor,” the assemblymember said. “His presence in a room has an impact on whether or not people want to be in that same room.”

“His presence and his actions in Albany are all in relation to these allegations, which he has admitted to,” the assemblymember added. “A vast majority of his colleagues are not thinking of him in any other capacity at this moment.”

Much of Ardila’s communication with the public over the past month has been over Twitter. He’s mostly shared several photos of himself interacting with constituents during “mobile office hours” and given his constituents his well wishes during a number of holidays. He wished his dog a happy birthday and gave an update on his office’s clothing drive. He’s also tweeted several times about some of his legislative priorities and legislative victories.

“If your public communication is limited to the kinds of tweets [that Ardila has sent] and your private communication is hindered by the fact that there are a number of colleagues who do not want to engage with you as if none of this has taken place, then it means that your ability to have an influence over the budgetary process is minimal – if any,” the assemblymember said.

Ardila’s government colleagues in Western Queens are also questioning his ability to govern amid the allegations.

“His colleagues don't respect him,” said City Councilmember Julie Won, who’s district overlaps with Ardila’s. “He's going to be a one-term member. He's not able to get anything done.”

Won took particular umbridge with the fact that Ardila was not at Thursday’s community board meeting, especially at a time when some of his constituents are eager to hear from him.

“What I'm most disgusted about is this inability to address the public,” she said.

“It's extreme cowardice for him to not come himself to the community board,” she added. “Juan Ardila should resign — but at the very least, if he won’t, face the music and address the public calls for resignation. Don’t hide behind a female employee who had nothing to do with the sexual assault who does not deserve public scrutiny on your behalf."

The woman representing Ardila at the community board meeting said that constituents can call Ardila’s office to set up a time to speak with the assemblymember about their concerns.

But Won told the Eagle on Friday that she’s been told by some of their shared constituents that Ardila’s office has not responded to requests to meet with the member one-on-one, or that they have scheduled meetings only to later cancel them.

Additionally, Brecker said that community members she has spoken to are not comfortable meeting Ardila one-on-one, and want him to address his constituents in a more public manner.

In the days following the allegations, Ardilla issued three separate statements, each of which were slightly longer and more in depth than the last.

“I want a bigger response, and that's what I think the community is saying,” she said. “There were three responses he made and they were all inadequate.”

But Brecker also admitted that even if Ardila were to address the allegations in a more public setting, there are those in the community he might never again win over.

“It will be unimaginably tough for him,” she said. “This is the community that defeated Amazon, you have to be tough,” she said.

And there are those in Albany who may be unwilling to forgive, as well.

“I think that's his play, to try and just wait it out,” an assemblymember told the Eagle. “I think the issue is that for a lot of people, this won't be something that they can simply move beyond.”

Ardila’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Eagle on Friday. Ardila has not answered calls to his personal cell phone from reporters and his communications director has also ignored text messages and calls from the Eagle and other publications over the past month.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Danielle Brecker is an elected district leader. She is not. She is an elected state committee member.