House Speaker Adrian Adams’ move to force City Council members to remove political signs from their desks, including Israeli hostage posters and flyers calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East, has already sparked outrage, the Post reported. reported.
The speaker, who has no relation to Mayor Eric Adams, first brought up the plan Monday during a meeting with other City Council Democrats who were trying to quell speech among council members over the Israel-Hamas war, the people said. said.
The council’s general counsel then sent a memo on Wednesday informing members that they could not “stick to furniture or display signs or flags” in the chamber or during meetings without the chair’s prior approval. did.
Inna Vernikov, a Brooklyn Republican city councilwoman, said in outrage: “This is PowerFlex’s shameful and hideous excuse to restrict my freedom of expression.” “My colleagues have a constitutional right to put up ‘ceasefire now’ posters, no matter how much I object to them. I have a constitutional right to put up ‘cease fire now’ posters, no matter how much my colleagues object to my message. You have the right to post it.”
Brooklyn Democrat Kalman Jaeger also criticized the policy, calling it a violation of free speech.
“No member of Congress can unilaterally decide what a member puts on their desk,” Yeager raged.
Both told the Post they plan to put the signs back.
City council officials said they expect all signs to be removed as early as Thursday.
The speaker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
