Council Minority Chief Joe Borelli.
Credit score: Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit
One in every of NYC’s lone Republicans in political workplace is looking it quits earlier than his time period restrict is up in November.
Metropolis Council Member Joe Borelli, the chamber’s minority chief who represents Staten Island’s overwhelmingly Republican 51st District on the South Shore, stated he’ll resign on the finish of January, in response to a number of reviews. Borelli, who was already set to be term-limited from his put up this 12 months, plans to work within the non-public sector.
A number of shops reported his resignation on Sunday.
The Staten Island native was elected into the council in 2015 and serves as its minority chief. He was outspoken throughout his tenure on varied points essential to constituents in his district and different Staten Islanders.
Most lately on Aug. 21, 2024, he joined fellow Staten Island politicians, together with state Meeting Member Michael Tannousis, in pushing again in opposition to a authorized hashish dispensary set to open in Nice Kills on the borough’s South Shore.
That pot store, known as Clouditude, is but to open.
L to R: NYC Council Member Joe Borelli, Group Board 3 member, Celia Iervasi, NYS Meeting Member Mike Reilly and NYS Meeting Member Michael Tannousis at a rally to protest the opening of a pot store on Staten Island.Photograph by Barbara Russo-Lennon
He additionally got here out sturdy after the July 13, 2024, assassination try on President Donald Trump in Butler, PA, stressing that political change ought to be made with voting not violence.
“I hear policies brought up, bills introduced, I hear rhetoric,” Borelli stated at a July press convention and after the surprising assassination try that left one particular person lifeless. “I look into what is being said, discussed and introduced, and I see that so many of these actions would have a detrimental impact on my family and constituents, and these things make me fundamentally mad, fundamentally angry.”
The staunch Republican additionally acquired cheers in 2023 for his $1 million allotment to outfit the brand new Huguenot Park Library with extra program areas, further computer systems, out of doors programming area and ADA-accessible loos.
Borelli’s resignation comes at a vital time for NYC and Staten Island, as New Yorkers proceed to grapple with housing points, an financial fallout and controversial insurance policies surrounding transportation and crime.
A particular election can be held to fill Borelli’s seat for the rest of 2025. The date of the election has not but been introduced.
New York News Metro reached out to Borelli for remark, and is awaiting a response.
