Source New York Daily News
A Brooklyn City Councilwoman was arrested for biting an NYPD chief Wednesday during an unruly protest against the construction of a homeless shelter in Bensonhurst, police said.
Councilwoman Susan Zhuang was taken into custody during the 6 a.m. protest that drew about 150 demonstrators to 86th St. near 25th Ave., cops said.
The first-term conservative Democrat bit the chief in the arm, leaving an impression of her teeth in his skin, according to the NYPD.
Cops charged Zhuang with felony assault, resisting arrest, and obstruction of government administration. Several other demonstrators were also taken into custody during the heated protest, cops said.
Felix Tager, Zhuang’s spokesman, confirmed the councilmember was still in custody at the 62nd precinct as of late Wednesday morning. He said she was “trying to help an elderly woman” when the arrest happened.
“She was trying to help a woman who was getting pushed into the barricade,” Tager told the Daily News.
The early morning protest erupted after workers showed up to start preparations for demolishing existing buildings on the site to pave the way for construction to begin on the shelter.
A video of the protest posted on X shows cops racing to put up metal barricades to hold back protesters trying to charge the construction site as workers boarded up the address.
In a video posted on her X handle, Zhuang recorded herself screaming at an NYPD one-star chief, claiming the homeless shelter was being built without the proper permits. It was not immediately clear if she is accused of biting that chief or another high-ranking NYPD official.
“They do not have the permits,” she screams. “You can’t only protect the developer, that’s no public protection.”
Zhuang goes on to claim Mayor Adams approved the construction of the shelter without the proper permits.
“Is the mayor above the law?” she asked.
Buildings Department spokesman Andrew Rudanksy disputed Zhuang’s claim, saying there are “active DOB-issued demolition permits to take down the existing building” on the site.
City records show an application was filed last October to build the shelter, which would have 32 rooms and house single adult men. Rudansky said that application has not yet been approved.
The mayor’s office wouldn’t comment directly on Zhuang’s arrest but touted the shelter as a “much needed” addition to the community, noting that various services, including medical assistance and employment programs, would be available for residents on site.
“Every community must have the resources they need to support their most vulnerable neighbors, and this community has no shelters,” Adams spokesman William Fowler said. “We maintain open lines of communication with the community and remain committed to ongoing engagement to address the neighborhoods’ needs.”
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ office didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
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