New York — City Council member Susan Zhuang was arrested early Wednesday after allegedly biting a deputy police chief during a protest against a planned homeless shelter in her southern Brooklyn district.
“Councilwoman Zhuang has been a strong partner to the New York City Police Department for a long time,” said NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “But today’s actions—assaulting one of our officers, a deputy chief, by viciously biting him in the arm—are inexplicable.”
New York City Council Member Susan Zhuang leads a rally outside City Hall against a proposed homeless shelter in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn on May 23
Zhuang faces several charges, including a felony count of second-degree assault, along with misdemeanor charges for assault, unlawful assembly, obstruction of governmental administration, and resisting arrest. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office also charged her with two violations for disorderly conduct and one for harassment. Zhuang pleaded not guilty to all eight charges and was released without bail on Wednesday afternoon.
Zhuang’s communications director, Felix Tager, confirmed her arrest and stated that she was detained after attempting to protect an 80-year-old woman who was being pushed against the barricades. However, Chief Chell offered a different account, noting that the elderly woman had placed herself under the barricade. “When we asked her to leave, she said she wasn’t feeling well, so we called an ambulance. It was then that the barricades started getting pushed,” he said.
Zhuang, a first-term Democrat, was leading a protest against what she claimed was unpermitted construction at the site, which is set to be demolished to make way for a homeless shelter at 2501 86th Street in Bensonhurst. Photos posted online later showed a permit had been posted at the location, and a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams’ office confirmed that the property owner had the necessary approvals.
An NYPD spokesperson noted that several arrests were made during the protest but did not provide specific details. The NYPD estimated that around 150 people were present at the protest, while Tager claimed the crowd had swelled to nearly 1,000 people as the day progressed.
Zhuang held a press conference on July 18th in Brooklyn
Zhuang and her political allies, including Assembly members William Colton and Lester Chang, have been vocal opponents of the proposed shelter for homeless men, organizing numerous large rallies in the predominantly Chinese American neighborhood, as well as a protest outside City Hall in May. Zhuang has argued that the shelter would negatively impact public safety and has called for affordable housing to be built at the site, which previously housed a medical office.
At her press conference next day, she claims she was protecting an elderly woman who fell amid the chaos. Zhuang was brought to tears recalling the scene. "In that moment, any human being was going to step up and help that senior lady," she told Chi'en. "Not just because I'm … an elected official. A lot of people jumped to help her. We see her not just [as] a person. I see her as my grandmother, my grandmother of 80 years old."
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