Queens Councilman Admits Sexual Harassment: Reports

QUEENS, NY — A Queens city councilman admitted to sexually harassing a staffer on Tuesday as he resigned from his post as chair of the Council's Parks Committee, news reports say.

The Council's Standards and Ethics Committee had accused Councilman Barry Grodenchik of paying unwelcome attention to the staffer by kissing her on the cheek and talking about her weight.

At a Tuesday hearing before the committee, Grodenchik acknowledged he had done wrong and agreed to foot the bill for his own sexual harassment training on top of giving up his committee chair, the New York Daily News reported.

"I understand that my actions caused the Council staff member to suffer embarrassment, stress and discomfort and emotional distress, and that her work environment was adversely and negatively affected," Grodenchik, a Democrat, said in a statement read aloud at Tuesday's hearing, according to Politico New York.

"I am deeply sorry for my conduct and for any harm suffered by the Council staff member as a result of my conduct," the statement reportedly added.

Grodenchik, who represents Bayside Hills, Douglaston and other neighborhoods, issued a defiant statement after the allegations were revealed last month, saying he never meant to make anyone uncomfortable. But he changed his tune and asked to settle the case without a formal disciplinary hearing, news reports say.

Councilman Steven Matteo, the Standards and Ethics Committee chairman, said the panel agreed to work out a settlement on the condition that Grodenchik accept sanctions that likely would have likely resulted from a hearing, according to Politico.

Carrie Cohen, a former federal prosecutor whom the Council brought on to handle the investigation, had put togeher a "strong" case against Grodenchik, Matteo reportedly said.

Council Speaker Corey Johnson thanked Cohen "for her valuable assistance in this case." He had also removed Grodenchik from the Council's budget negotiating team.

"I’m grateful that the Council can move forward and continue working together on behalf of all New Yorkers," Johnson said in a statement.

The case against Grodenchik came to an end as the Standards and Ethics Committee pursues separate disciplinary proceedings against Councilman Andy King, who was recently accused of sexual harassment for a second time.

King, a Bronx Democrat, also allegedly "created an environment" in which a senior employee in his office was allowed to make violent threats and at least once actually commit an act of violence against a subordinate, Matteo said last month.