Tempers flared in Bensonhurst on Wednesday, as a community came out to protest a new men’s homeless shelter in their neighborhood. During a clash between protesters and police, a city councilwoman got arrested for allegedly biting a police chief. NBC New York’s Lynda Baquero reports.
What to Know
- New York City Councilwoman Susan Zhuang was arrested for allegedly biting the deputy chief of the NYPD during a protest in Brooklyn, a senior police official said.
- According to police sources, Zhuang, a Democrat representing the 43rd district, was protesting the construction of a new homeless shelter at the corner of 25th Avenue and 86th Street in Bensonhurst.
- According to the senior police official, Zhuang bit Deputy Chief Frank DiGiacomo in the arm, describing it as a "pretty nasty bite."
New York City Councilwoman Susan Zhuang was arrested and accused allegedly biting the deputy chief of the NYPD during a protest in Brooklyn, a senior police official said.
According to police sources, Zhuang, a Democrat representing the 43rd district, was protesting the construction of a new homeless shelter at the corner of 25th Avenue and 86th Street in Bensonhurst.
NBC New York obtained video of the scene, which shows a multitude of protesters demonstrating in front of the construction site. Additionally, videos circulating online seem to show a group of protesters trying to dismantle the barricade, while another video allegedly shows the councilwoman arrested and cuffed to the metal barricade gate.
According to the senior police official, Zhuang bit Deputy Chief Frank DiGiacomo on the arm, describing it as a "pretty nasty bite."
Prior to her alleged arrest, Zhuang posted on X a video of protesters asking to see the permits for the construction of the homeless shelter, alleging there are none.
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"There is no permits [sic]," Zhuang writes. "Mayor office allowed construction at 5 a.m. in our neighborhood."
News
The founder of the Guardian Angels and former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa also posted on X video of the protesters trying to dismantle the barricade.
"Local residents in Bensonhurst are protesting a homeless shelter that was being opened at 5AM with NO consent from the community, or their Council Member Susan Zhuang! Zhuang stood up for her community, and was arrested this morning protesting this shelter," Sliwa's post reads in part. "WE STAND WITH SUSAN ZHUANG and the entire Bensonhurst community against unsafe shelters in residential communities!"
Zhuang was charged with assault, resisting arrest and obstructing government administration, a police spokesperson said. Attorney information for the councilwoman was not immediately known. A spokesperson for the Brooklyn district attorney said Zhuang had not yet been arraigned as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Police Benevolence Association, the union representing police officers, said they were shocked by the reported violence against the NYPD, and that after a full and fair investigation, Zhuang should face accountability.
When contacted by NBC New York, Zhuang's office said they had no comment and that they had not talked to the councilmember since her arrest.
The protests continued for much of Wednesday. The group said they've been there every day for months. Residents in the neighborhood said they worry about the impact of a homeless shelter in the community, and that housing ends homelessness, not shelters.
"This is right in their backyards, in the middle of a residential neighborhood. There are better places to put this homeless shelter than right here," said Steve Chan, who is running for the New York State Senate seat for District 17.
Others were concerned about the noise caused by the construction, and the early hours it starts.
"And before 6:00 a.m., the trucks came, they start jackhammering the sidewalks. Before 6:00 in the morning," said Larry He, the chief of staff for New York State Assemblymember William Colton.
A City Hall spokesperson told NBC New York that the Adams administration is committed to building the shelter, saying there are none in the community and it would be the first of its kind. There will be around-the-clock security at the shelter, the spokesperson noted, and added that the construction site does have valid permits.
Construction is scheduled to be completed later in 2024. City Hall said it will keep open lines of communication to address the neighborhood’s needs.
