Menin taps council leadership slate

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has reached a decision on who she’s appointing to key leadership positions within the body, according to two sources close to the newly elected speaker. 

Queens Council Member Nantasha Williams will serve as deputy speaker, and Upper Manhattan Council Member Shaun Abreu will serve as majority leader.

Menin is also tapping Queens Council Member Linda Lee to chair the powerful finance committee – a body tasked with reviewing and modifying the city’s budget and other financial matters. Bronx Council Member Kevin Riley will lead the council’s land use committee, which true to its name, has jurisdiction over the city’s land use and landmarks review process. Brooklyn Council Member Farah Louis meanwhile will take over as chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, stepping into a role Riley occupied under Menin’s predecessor, former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

Speakers typically reward trusted allies with top positions, but leadership team appointments can also indicate a speaker’s values and how they intend to guide the 51-member body. All five of the council members tapped for top roles were either important supporters for Menin early in her speaker campaign or are close to the Democratic county organization in their borough. The machines in Queens, the Bronx, and to a lesser extent Brooklyn still hold sway in the race for speaker. All but Williams were tapped to formally nominate Menin as speaker last week.

A moderate Democrat representing Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Menin has had a winning coalition locked up since late November, defeating more progressive candidates for the council’s top role. Menin was ultimately elected unanimously on Jan. 7. Shortly after assuming the office, she promptly named several members of her senior staff, and fired about a dozen council employees.

A spokesperson for the speaker declined to provide a comment for this story.

The City Council is slated to meet Thursday, at which point Menin, via a temporary rules committee, will unveil a full list of committee assignments, including who will lead the council’s education committee. There’s been some speculation that Menin is considering naming her ally Eric Dinowitz to lead the committee, but a letter with 200 signatures from education advocates and parents urged her last week to retain Rita Joseph, who led the committee under Speaker Adams.