A Brooklyn Democrat council member in New York City is facing bipartisan accusations of anti-Italian bias over comments he made about a landscaping company.
Councilman Chi Ossé, a 25-year-old Democrat from Brooklyn, was accused anti-Italian racism after his comments about Dragonetti Brothers Landscaping, a firm that had to pay $1 million in restitution after pleading guilty to insurance fraud last year.
“I just want to say to Dragonetti – that name alone should be the first red flag in terms of city contracting,” Ossé said at a council hearing on Monday.
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Councilman Chi Ossé, a 25-year-old Democrat from Brooklyn, was accused of anti-Italian racism after his comments about Dragonetti Brothers Landscaping, a firm that had to pay $1 million in restitution after pleading guilty to insurance fraud last year. ( (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images))
After two daysa video clip of his remarks made the rounds of the Big Apple’s political scene and drew stinging accusations of racism from a pair of his Italian colleagues from both sides of the aisle: Republican Councilman Joe Borelli of Staten Island and Democrat Councilman Bob Holden of Queens.
Borelli told Fox News Digital on Friday that Ossé “made an off-color offensive joke, and unfortunately, the standard that progressives like him hold in politics is one of zero tolerance.”
“This is not the first time he has said or tweeted offensive things, so the rules should apply,” Borelli said. “Hate has no place here.”
Borelli earlier told local press that Ossé’s comment was “a racist statement uttered in the course of official business on the council floor.”
“I’ll bet all the salt in the sea that there will be no consequences,” he added.
“We must stand up as a city and unequivocally reject hate and bigotry in all its forms. Ossé’s comment at a City Council hearing comparing Italians to organized crime is despicable and despicable and has no place in our society,” Holden said.
Two days later, a video clip of Ossé’s remarks made the rounds on the Big Apple’s political scene and drew searing accusations of racism from a pair of his Italian colleagues from both sides of the aisle: Republican Councilman Joe Borelli of Staten Island and Democrat Councilman Bob Holden of Queens. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“It’s troubling to see him repeatedly display bigotry and racism, and it’s time for him to apologize for his comment, take sensitivity and bias training, and promise to do better in the future,” he added.
Ossé responded to the accusations by pointing to Dragonetti Brothers Landscaping’s criminal record, saying his comments had “nothing to do with Italians” and “everything to do with the fact that the company has been tainted.”
Borelli and Holden also pointed to Ossé’s history of racial comments about White Americans, including public tweets, as evidence that Dragonetti’s comments were not a one-off. Borelli calls them a “pattern.”
“A cis white person should not be the next speaker of the Council,” Ossé tweeted in June 2021.
“Is this white culture?” Ossé tweeted in June 2019 of a White woman drunkenly dancing at a wedding.
Ossé also called the NYPD’s strategic response group (SRG) a “goon squad” last week.
“I can specifically call SRG a goon squad because they are specifically a squad of goons – just like the crazy party you decided to join,” Ossé tweeted.
“At least SRG is loyal to themselves,” he continued. “You are loyal to nothing.”
Both Borelli and Holden are members of the council’s Italian-American Caucus.
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The Brooklyn Democrat did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
