Where are the subpoenas Julie Menin touted?

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin made it clear she intended to beef up the City Council’s oversight powers, but eight months into her term, the council has yet to flex one of its strongest muscles: the rarely used subpoena power. 

No one from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration attended Tuesday’s oversight hearing on the city’s pied-à-terre tax rollout. Attendance at council hearings is a sticking point for the speaker. “(It) is completely disrespectful to not have commissioners attend City Council hearings,” said Menin during an interview with The New York Editorial Board in January. “So that is something that is going to change. I fully expect that commissioners show up at the City Council hearings and not only show up but be prepared to answer questions.”  

The administration’s no-show seemed like a potential opportunity to force the agency’s hand with that subpoena power, which Menin stated she would use.

So why not wield it? Likely because it’s seen as a somewhat drastic measure that can carry risks. For one thing, the administration could fight the subpoena and win in court, carrying the possibility of defang-ing future attempts. It can also heighten tensions between the mayor and council. (Though tensions are already climbing between Menin and Mamdani and their respective sides of City Hall. On Wednesday, the mayor’s office planned to file a lawsuit against the City Council over its legislation to raise paraprofessionals’ pay.) 

Typically, the subpoena is seen as a last resort option in the council’s oversight toolkit and not using it is seemingly one way Menin is being careful about how adversarial the council gets with the Mamdani administration.

Instead, Menin’s intended targets for the subpoena power, if the council does use it, are more likely to be corporations and bad actors. Last week, the council opened an investigation into four prediction market platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket, focused primarily on their marketing and advertising practices in the city. If they were to completely shirk questions and hearing appearances requested by the city, a subpoena could be on the table. 

“The council has utilized its subpoena power on rare occasions and it is an important tool to protect New Yorkers and ensure accountability. Speaker Menin has expanded the Council’s proactive investigative work into industries like prediction markets,” said Menin spokesperson Henry Robins. “The council will consider all appropriate tools available to ensure accountability from both private entities and city government.”     

Former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams also faced calls to use the subpoena, following a string of no-shows by the New York City Police Department at oversight hearings in 2023. At the time, several members of the council joined calls to use the power to compel testimony. But that council never did, and councils before it used it sparingly too. 

Council Member Gale Brewer, who previously chaired the Committee on Oversight and Investigations, mulled over the possibility when asked on Tuesday about the possibility of subpoenaing documents from the administration regarding the pied-à-terre tax rollout.

“I’m sure we could. We’re working with the speaker’s office,” Brewer told reporters at a press conference. “The first thing we’re going to do is have the hearing, send the questions, we want answers to all of them, and if we don’t, then we’ll take the next step. But right now that’s our steps.” Speaking to City & State on Wednesday, Brewer referred to it as a rarely used power and said she didn’t recall it being on the table in the past either. 

In a story in The City Reporter earlier this week about the cumbersome reporting bills that City Councils typically pass, requiring agencies to compile extensive information, Alex Camarda, a senior policy advisor at Reinvent Albany, suggested the City Council could more often use its oversight powers – including subpoena power when necessary. “Subpoenas should be reserved after all options are exhausted as opposed to defaulting to passing legislation that requires reports and burdens agencies,” he told City & State Wednesday. 

For now, Menin seems content to simply flash the weapon, reminding the administration that the council can, if needed, fire it. Last month, she threatened a subpoena to retrieve requested contracts from the Department of Education after months of waiting. “Even the threat of a subpoena can be more useful than the subpoena itself,” Camarda said.