The cops showed up at Mercedes Narcisse’s house. She blames her City Council opponents

Council Member Mercedes Narcisse of southeast Brooklyn was shocked to be awakened by NYPD officers knocking on the front door at around 1:30 a.m. early on June 7 while she and her family were sleeping.

The officers were following up on a series of six 311 complaints about the residence, including that there was excessive noise, unsanitary conditions on the exterior of the home and that the two-story attached house was being used as an illegal hotel – all of which Narcisse says are false accusations.

Four of the complaints have since been marked as closed by 311 on its service request tracker, with the remaining two still labeled as in progress.

Narcisse, who is facing a Democratic primary challenge from second-time candidate Dimple Willabus as well as a general election challenge, took to Instagram to address the matter. In a video, she shared that she believes the false reports were a political attack from one of her three opponents – Willabus on the Democratic and Conservative lines, Athena Clarke on the Republican ticket or Kenny Altidor, who didn’t make the ballot but has fundraised. She also mentioned the local Assembly Member Jaime Williams in relation to the unnamed candidate.

“This kind of politics, I’m not used to,” Narcisse, who chairs the Council’s Committee on Hospitals, said in the video. “And on top of it, is our very own Assembly member in my district, putting those kinds of people to run for office while I’m busy working, causing distraction to prevent me from doing the people’s business.”

District 46 represents largely residential neighborhoods, including Mill Basin, Marine Park and Narcisse’s home in Canarsie. Narcisse won the primary for her seat in 2021 against Willabus and six other candidates with 64% of the vote. Democratic primary opponent Donald Cranston, now one of Williams’ staffers, later lost against Narcisse in the general election as a Republican. Since then, the district voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump in 2024.

“As Mercedes has said publicly, these false complaints waste city resources, create unnecessary fear and disruption, and represent an abuse of the system that unfortunately many New Yorkers have experienced,” her reelection campaign said in a statement. “We often receive reports from residents claiming neighbors are weaponizing 311 against them in a similar fashion to what Mercedes recently experienced.”

In response to the video, Williams, the Assembly member whose district overlaps with Narcisse’s, said she has not endorsed anyone in this or any other City Council race and that she looks forward to continuing to work with the council member to serve the district. Williams also said she has no idea about the 311 harassment Narcisse faced or who was involved.

“It is not clear to me what she is implying by mentioning my name in the context of supposed harassment she has faced recently,” she said in a written statement. “From the video, it appears that she believes she has been targeted by political opponents with fraudulent complaints to the city that have caused her and her family significant distress. I have no knowledge of this situation outside what has been posted on social media and wholeheartedly condemn harassment and targeting people for political purposes in any context. Frivolous complaints are illegal and wrong. I do not condone and would never participate in such behavior.”

Willabus also vehemently denied involvement in the situation and said she hadn’t even known about the video until City & State brought it to her attention. 

“I’m not a petty person; I believe in playing fair and I’m very respectful, so I do not play dirty politics,” Willabus told City & State. “So, if she’s saying this, it’s probably because she thinks everybody’s like her. I’m not like her. I’m actually the contrast – me, her, like night and day. I do not do that. I do not play dirty.”

Both Willabus and Willams have been very involved in two land-use concerns within the district that have become key issues for the race. 

Residents have been up in arms over two lithium-ion battery storage facilities on Flatbush Avenue in Marine Park and a planned homeless shelter at 2134 Coyle Street in Sheepshead Bay, which was originally proposed as affordable housing. Rallies and protests have ensued, often being led or attended by Williams and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. Willabus is a regular presence at these events, saying she feels Narcisse has ignored or even supported these developments that constituents are desperately opposed to.

Despite her public disapproval of the incumbent, Willabus said she believes the video’s mention of an election opponent is not referring to herself but instead to independent candidate Altidor, based on other comments made in the video.

Altidor had originally run as a Democrat, but was ultimately removed from the ballot, which he said happened because Narcisse coordinated challenges to his campaign petitions. He denied any involvement in the false complaints made against Narcisse.

“I don’t know who did that to her, but at the same token, she’s trying to play the victim right now, but she's been doing a lot of dirt in the back end,” he said. “If you’re playing the victim, why are you attacking people?”

Narcisse’s campaign said that the council member has asked the proper authorities to investigate the incident and offered no further comment at this time.

After this story was initially published, Clarke, the Republican candidate, shared similar sentiments to the other candidates in a written statement, calling the video a “political stunt” to generate buzz.

“The recent claims made by the Councilperson suggesting that her political opponents are behind an alleged surge of 311 complaints, are both baseless and irresponsible,” she said. “Rather than spending her time advancing conspiracy theories and manufacturing distractions, the Council Member would be better served by engaging with her constituents and campaigning on her record – if she believes it stands on its own merit.”