Truancy alert? Meet the lazy, woke New York City lawmaker fighting to rein in the NYPD despite having the worst attendance record on the City Council.
Brooklyn Democrat Chi Ossé, 28, has skipped four out of 18 legislative meetings without an excuse while pushing to dismantle a specialized police unit, the New York Post reported.
That’s more than one in five meetings, giving the Democratic Socialists of America member the poorest attendance record of all 51 council members.
Meanwhile, Ossé has led a campaign to dismantle the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, a specialized unit deployed to protests and large public gatherings.
The councilman is the lead sponsor of the Communities United to Reject Brutality Act, or CURB Act, which would bar the unit from policing demonstrations and restrict officers’ use of crowd-control tactics.
Brooklyn Democrat Chi Ossé, 28, has skipped four legislative meetings without an excuse while pushing to dismantle a specialized police unit.
But Ossé’s campaign has landed him in a public feud with fellow Democrat Oswald Feliz – who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee and whom the Brooklyn lawmaker has accused of blocking a hearing on the bill.
Feliz hit back by pointing to Ossé’s own attendance record.
‘Your attendance record says everything we need to know: you literally have the worst attendance record of all 51 council members this session,’ Feliz wrote on X.
Feliz also accused Ossé of prioritizing social media attention over the work required to pass legislation.
The spat comes as Ossé continues to pressure his colleagues to back the CURB Act. He’s used social media to rally support for the proposal, urging New Yorkers to contact council members and demand action.
His push has put him at odds with Democrats who have resisted efforts to dismantle the Strategic Response Group – a unit that has faced criticism over its handling of protests.
Mamdani, whose political rise was backed by the city’s socialist movement, pledged during his mayoral campaign to disband the unit.
The NYPD has relied on the group to respond to demonstrations and other large-scale events, while critics have accused its officers of using excessive force against protesters.
Mamdani, whose political rise was backed by the city’s socialist movement, pledged during his mayoral campaign to disband the unit.
Ossé, who represents Brooklyn’s 36th District, has become one of the council’s most outspoken progressive voices.
However, his legislative record has now become ammunition for his opponents.
One of his four unexcused absences came on September 24, when he and fellow progressive councilwoman Alexa Avilés skipped a legislative meeting to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance at the United Nations.
City Council rules describe regular attendance as a core responsibility of elected officials and require members to attend meetings in person unless they have permission to participate remotely.
When the Daily Mail contacted Ossé’s office for comment, the office refused to address his attendance and declined to comment on the New York Post’s report.
