Harlem's Bill Perkins Disappears For Hours, Police Say

HARLEM, NY — Former Harlem lawmaker Bill Perkins was reported missing from his home on Tuesday, only to be found hours later by police, authorities said.

Perkins, the former state senator and City Council member, had last been seen around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in his home on Morningside Avenue in Central Harlem. Police said Perkins had been wearing a black sweater, burgundy blazer, black shoes and his trademark beige fedora.

He was found "in good health and condition" early Wednesday, police said — reportedly by officers in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx.

Unspecified health issues have taken a toll on Perkins in recent years, causing him to appear rarely in public during his final term in the Council. He narrowly lost re-election to Kristin Richardson Jordan last summer, amid complaints that Perkins had been absent from the neighborhood.

In 2019, he was hospitalized after neighbors called police to say he was acting erratically in his Harlem apartment. Perkins blamed the incident on "health issues," and colleagues told the Daily News that they feared his cancer treatments had affected his behavior.

Perkins represented Harlem for more than 20 years, serving in the State Senate from 2007 to 2017 and the City Council from 1998 to 2005 and again from 2017 until this year. His decision to run for re-election last year surprised many observers.