Cop-biting NYC Councilwoman Susan Zhuang sinks teeth into comptroller's race with endorsement

Yahoo

11-03-2025

This pol's endorsement could pack some bite.
Brooklyn Councilwoman Susan Zhuang, who was charged with chomping on a cop at a raucous anti-homeless shelter rally in July, has announced she is endorsing Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine in the Democratic primary for city comptroller.
Zhuang has begun raising money for Levine's campaign in the Chinese American community.
Levine's rival is Brooklyn Councilman Justin Brannan.
Zhuang's endorsement of Levine isn't without controversy.
'I wouldn't seek or accept her endorsement,' said a Brooklyn Democrat, who requested anonymity to avoid getting in the middle of a party spat.
But Zhuang, 39, brushed off any baggage tied to her criminal case.
'I do stand up for people I care about. My influence is not only in my district but all over the city,' said Zhuang, 39.
The pol is popular in her heavily Asian southern Brooklyn district that encompasses Bensonhurst, Sunset Park, Dyker Heights and a sliver of Borough Park.
Zhuang told The Post she is well-known among Chinese-American activists and residents across the city and is leaning into citywide politics despite her pending case.
She said she is helping coordinate a 'Lunar New Year Celebration' for a Levine fundraiser Friday in Manhattan's Chinatown. Tickets run from $100 to $500, and 250 people have already signed up to attend, the councilwoman said.
The pol attended a prior endorsement event for Levine in southern Brooklyn on Feb. 27.
She said Levine told her he backs the current single-test admissions policy for the city's special high schools such as Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Technical and the Bronx School of Science, a huge issue among Asian-American parents.
But when Levine was a councilman, he co-sponsored a resolution that backed state legislation to scrap the single-test admissions policy in favor of multiple criteria because few black and Latino students were getting admitted.
He supported legislation to 'establish procedures and standards for admission to the special high schools of New York City which will consist of multiple objective measures of student merit including grade point averages, school attendance records, school admission test scores and state test scores.'
Zhuang was arrested on a slew of charges July 17, including second-degree and third-degree assault and resisting arrest at a demonstration with 'Residents Against Homeless Shelters' in Bensonhurst.
She allegedly tried to prevent officers from arresting another woman at the protest who was grabbing and pushing police barricades into cops — then bit Deputy Chief of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South Frank DiGiacomo on the arm when he attempted to pull the councilwoman away from the barriers, law-enforcement sources said.
Levine's campaign stood by the endorsement from Zhuang.
'Mark is proud to have built the largest coalition of Democratic support in any race in New York City – with nearly 100 endorsements and counting. His diverse range of support reflects the trust leaders from all corners of the city have in his vision for a safer, more affordable New York,' said Levine campaign spokesperson Annabel Lassally.
His campaign said the 2014 resolution he backed did not call for scrapping the test, but called for adding additional metrics. He removed his name from the resolution in 2017.
'Mark has been a long time defender of specialized high schools and rigorous school academics and has never called for scrapping the test. His position today is clear: specialized high schools are essential pillars of NYC's educational landscape,' Lasally said.
'The test is the best admissions option currently available but more must be done to expand access to the admissions process and improve our high schools all across the city.'
Brannan and Zhuang belong to separate Democratic club factions that have been feuding for years.