NYC Progressives 'Undeterred' By Lost Committee Assignments: Elected

NEW YORK CITY — Progressive City Council members remain "undeterred" after losing their committee chairs in this week's City Hall shakeup.

Speaker Adrienne Adams dropped Brooklyn's Chi Ossé and Shahana Hanif and Queens' Tiffany Cabán from their respective positions chairing City Council committees Thursday — and did not put the three outspoken electeds at the helm of new committees.

"They are some of the strongest voices for the progressive left in the Council with the biggest platforms," said City Council Member Sandy Nurse. "I am grateful for their courage and love when they bring that fire.

"Onward!"

For Ossé, who will no longer chair of the Culture Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations, the decision is a disappointment after many months of fighting budget cuts that left New York City's libraries scrambling, he said.

"I am disappointed to lose the position. ... Outside of service to the people of the 36th District, chairing [the committee] was one of the great prides of my first term in office," Ossé said in a statement.

Manhattan's Carlina Rivera will take over as the committee's chair — but Ossé remains on the committee, where he will continue working just the same, he said.

"Undeterred, we continue the work," Ossé said.

Hanif lost her helm of the Immigration Committee — a loss she said left her both proud and sad.

"17 hearings, two budget cycles, and 7 laws passed later, I am proud of my work as Immigration Committee Chair. I will never stop fighting to ensure dignity for our immigrant neighbors. No matter when they arrived in our City," Hanif said.

North Brooklyn's Lincoln Restler, long an advocate for safer streets, is no longer on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure — but he has stepped up into the key role for another committee on government operations and state and federal legislation.

Still, Thursday's shuffle included a big win for newly elected Harlem City Council Member and member of the exonerated Central Park 5, Yusef Salaam, who is now the chair of the City Council Public Safety Committee.

His appointment came just in time to handle Mayor Eric Adams' controversial veto of an NYPD reform bill.

Others, like Crystal Hudson and Justin Brannan, remained in their leadership roles on the Aging and Finance committees.

"Overseeing the largest municipal budget in the country is not for the faint of heart. I thank [Speaker Adams] for once again entrusting me with this enormous responsibility," Brannan said.

Check out the full committee assignments here.