Queens Community Board to vote on member's expulsion proceedings
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Community Board 7 will meet on Monday at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Whitestone to vote on whether or not to expel member John Choe. Photo courtesy of campaign
By Jacob Kaye
Queens Community Board 7 will meet Monday to vote on whether or not to expel member John Choe from its ranks.
The vote will center around several alleged instances of Choe’s misconduct. The accusations, brought by the board’s Vice Chair Chuck Apelian in May, range from slander to violating the rules of the Campaign Finance Board. Choe has repeatedly denied committing any wrongdoing.
A simple majority either way will determine Choe’s future with the board.
The meeting, being held at 7 p.m. at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Whitestone, comes after a five-person special committee created by the board’s chair, Eugene Kelty, voted unanimously to bring four of the five charges against Choe to the full board.
Choe, who was invited to the special committee meeting to defend himself, chose not to show because he didn’t want to give the proceedings any “credibility.”
Choe told the Eagle Friday that he plans to show up to the Monday meeting and give a statement on his behalf.
“I feel, not just for my own sake but for the sake of the community, I need to really call out the community board’s executive committee for pushing such false charges in a very transparent attempt to silence [dissent],” Choe said.
Prior to the special committee’s July meeting, the full board voted 42-3 with one abstention in June to begin the process of hearing the allegations against Choe, who recently finished third in his City Council race in District 20.
Apelian declined to comment ahead of Monday’s meeting.
Choe said he suspects the outcome to be similar to the previous meetings and that come Tuesday, he’ll be off the board.
“This is a very tightly run community board,” he said. “They don't schedule meetings unless they know what the vote will be ahead of time.”
Apelian alleges that Choe violated the City Charter on multiple occasions as a member of the board.
The special committee found cause on the allegations that Choe violated the charter by emailing his fellow board members requesting campaign contributions, started an unauthorized Facebook group for the board, had a poor attendance record and defamed members of the board by accusing them of being corrupt.
The special committee didn’t find cause on the fifth and final allegation brought by Apelian, which alleged that Choe told then-acting Borough President Sharon Lee that his opinion could be swayed “for the right price” during a hearing on the Flushing Waterfront Development plan in February 2020. Choe’s comment was met with laughter at the Borough Board meeting and the special committee said the context didn’t warrant moving forward with the allegation.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards reappointed Choe to the board in April, despite City Councilmember Peter Koo recommending against it.
In a statement to the Eagle Friday, the borough president's office said it was the office’s policy “to consider and address specific complaints regarding community board conduct in a confidential manner.”
Koo did not respond to request for comment.
In December 2020, Kelty filed a formal complaint against Choe with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board concerning his campaign fundraising email sent to board members.
A COIB spokesperson told the Eagle that they are unable to disclose “whether it has received a complaint, is pursuing an investigation of a matter, has initiated an enforcement action against a public servant, or even whether a case exists involving a public servant unless or until the Board issues a public disposition in such case.”
Regardless of the outcome of Monday’s meeting, Choe said he’s worried that the entire process the executive committee has brought against him will have a chilling effect on descent within the board.
“My concern is that it will send the wrong message that people shouldn't get involved and speak up because what people may interpret from what's going on is that the establishment has so much power that there’s really no tolerance for different views and perspectives,” he said.
