These were scathing rebukes.
A New York City council member has been accused of ethics violations for mocking a fellow council member who was accused of biting a police officer during a protest against a homeless shelter.
Brooklyn Borough Councilman Justin Brannan referred to Councilwoman Susan Chuang as “Susan Fang” and brought “false teeth” to City Hall, Asian American activist Tim Lo alleged in a letter obtained by The Washington Post.
“Councillor Zuan is Brooklyn’s first Chinese American city council member and we celebrate that fact. I want to be clear about that,” said Lo, who serves on Gov. Kathy Hockle’s New York State Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission.
“As a leader in the Asian American community and an adult education teacher, I am disgusted and deeply outraged by this slander not only against Councilman Juan, but against all members of the Asian American community,” Lo wrote in a letter to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Ethics Committee Chair Sandra Ng.
Roe, who supported Ali Kagan over Brannan in last year’s Democratic primary, argued that the reference to the Zhuang ethnic group was an insult to Asians.
“For too long, many Asian Americans have had to deal with hate crimes and hate speech, from former President Trump calling COVID-19 the China virus to Councilman Brannan mocking Councilman Chuang’s name, an insult that is all too familiar to Asian Americans as many intentionally mispronounce our names to mock our identity,” said Lo, founder of the Chinese American Community Services Center in Bensonhurst.
Law also alleged that Brannan “brought fake teeth to a city council press conference and further threatened and harassed Councilman Juan.”
“The bullying memes on social media, the anti-Asian slurs and the fake teeth at the press conference are the actions of a hateful bully. A sitting council member should not be engaging in this kind of behavior,” he said.
Rowe noted that Brannan previously faced an ethics complaint from Democratic state committee member and district leader Charles Ragusa, who accused the councilman of berating him over political differences.
Brannan defended his actions and turned the focus back to criminal defendant Juan, who is charged with second- and third-degree assault and resisting arrest in a clash over a homeless shelter in Gravesend.
“Susan Juan has been charged with felony assault for allegedly biting a police officer who was seen on video. This ridiculous letter is nothing more than a desperate attempt by a disingenuous opponent to distract attention from an inconvenient truth,” a spokesman for Brannan said.
“Councillor Brannan is a well-known and well-recognized friend, donor and fighter for Brooklyn’s Asian community. Sadly, Mrs. Zuan has shown absolutely no remorse for biting the officer. She should take responsibility for her actions, stop evading responsibility, and apologize to the NYPD first instead of organizing a parade in her honor.”
Mayor Eric Adams said last week he was “a little surprised” by Zhuang’s actions and arrest and said he would speak with the city council member.
Prominent Asian American leaders, including Rep. Grace Meng and state Sen. John Liu, declined to comment on the ethics complaint against Brannan.
The Asian American Legal Education Fund also declined to comment.
