Bronx Councilman Probed Over Sexual Harassment: Report

THE BRONX, NY — A city councilman from the Bronx is the subject of an internal sexual harassment probe, The New York Times reported Thursday. Councilman Andy King, a Democrat representing the borough's Eastchester section, is reportedly facing allegations that he made inappropriate comments to a staffer.

The Council's Committee on Standards and Ethics will hear the accusations against King in a rare, closed-door meeting Friday afternoon, the Times reported.

The case represents the first sexual misconduct allegations to hit the Council amid a national reckoning about the long-hidden problem of sexual assault and harassment by powerful figures.

King denied knowing anything about the Committee on Standards and Ethics meeting, telling the Times, "I'm a little confused. I don't know what's happening right now."

Patch has reached out to a spokeswoman for King. We'll update this story if we hear back.

The five-member committee's public agenda says the Friday meeting involves a matter related to Section 10.80 of the Council rules, which covers harassment, fraud and other untoward, potentially criminal behavior. Council members who violate that rule could be stripped of committee assignments, fined or expelled from the Council.

Robin Levine, a spokeswoman for Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, declined to say whether King is the subject of the meeting, but said the committee will "conduct a thorough review as they determine next steps."

"To protect the confidentiality and identity of all individuals involved in this matter, we will not be releasing additional details at this stage in the process. The City Council takes all allegations of misconduct extremely seriously," Levine said in an email.

A Council staffer threatened to sue King in 2015, saying he created a hostile work environment by making sexist comments, but never followed through with a lawsuit, the Times reported.

The Committee on Standards and Ethics, charged with enforcing Council ethics rules, typically holds just two to four meetings each year. It's only other meeting this year was in August, when it convened to formally close a case involving Ruben Wills after the former councilman was convicted on criminal corruption charges and removed from his seat.

Councilman Mark Levine of Manhattan proposed legislation this month to require city agencies to issue reports twice a year on internal sexual harassment complaints.

Read the full New York Times report here.

(Lead image: City Councilman Andy King speaks at a news conference in 2014. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)