Councilman To Get Sensitivity Training After Harassment Probe

NEW YORK CITY HALL — City Councilman Andy King of the Bronx will undergo sensitivity and ethics training after a Council committee found he harassed a staffer. The Committee on Standards and Ethics voted Monday to impose sanctions against King after finding by "a preponderance of the evidence" that he made unwanted advances on the Council employee, said Councilman Steven Matteo, the committee chairman.

The staffer accused King of repeatedly telling her to smile, holding her hand in a handshake until she smiled and inviting her to a fundraising event, asking her for her personal phone number and telling her to wear "a beautiful gown," Matteo revealed last week.

After commissioning an investigation and interviewing King, the found he violated the Council's anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules, Matteo said Monday after the panel met in private for several hours.

King, a Democrat, must attend a pre-approved workplace sensitivity training program and receive ethics training from the Council's Office of the General Counsel within 30 days, Matteo said. His case before the committee will remain open until he officially completes the training, Matteo said.

"Council Member King has informed the committee that while he denies violating Council policy, he agrees to voluntarily complete the Cuncil’s mandated training," Matteo, a Staten Island Republican, said.

A spokeswoman for King did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Monday marked the first time the committee has issued sanctions in a sexual harassment case since at least 2014. The only other cases it reviewed in that time related to corruption allegations against former councilmen Ruben Wills and Dan Halloran, according to online Council calendars.

Section 10.80 of the Council rules, which King violated, empowered the committee to reprimand him, fine him, strip him of certain privileges or even remove him from his seat.

The allegations against King were the first to hit the Council amid a nationwide discussion about widespread sexual harassment in politics, government, entertainment and myriad other fields. The Committees on Women and Human Rights will hold a joint hearing on Feb. 28 on sexual harassment policies and best practices for dealing with the problem.

"The committee takes allegations of misconduct extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring appropriate consequences when matters are substantiated, as was the case before this committee," Matteo said.

(Lead image: Councilman Andy King appears at a City Council meeting in 2013. Photo by William Alatriste/New York City Council)