Vickie Paladino takes to the airwaves to attack Julie Menin

New York City Council Member Vickie Paladino slammed Speaker Julie Menin in a radio interview Friday, accusing the newly elected speaker of blindsiding her. Not by appointing her to only two committees this session – a steep downgrade from the seven the Republican served on last year. But for attributing the decision to Paladino’s “abhorrent” social media posts at a press conference on Thursday. 

“Where I let Adrienne Adams get away with a whole lot of stuff, I am not about to allow (Menin) to do that to me,” Paladino warned in an interview with right-wing radio personality Sid Rosenberg. “She swore to me she would never … to take a public forum in front of the New York City media and do that was unconscionable to me.”

At a press conference Thursday, Menin was asked why she’d only assigned the provocative council member to serve on two committees: those pertaining to veterans and emergency management. Explaining her calculus, the speaker pointed to the many offensive remarks Paladino has made on social media including a tweet last month calling for the “expulsion of Muslims from Western nations.” That particular post ignited a firestorm of criticism – and a few days later, the Council Committee on Standards and Ethics voted to look into Paladino for her conduct. Menin also pointed to that investigation Thursday. 

“There are numerous, numerous – too many to count – content on her social media that is abhorrent and is unacceptable,” Menin said. “I made that decision about the committees with that in mind because we are not going to tolerate that kind of conduct and that kind of divisiveness within the body.”

In the radio interview, Paladino argued that she’d told Menin that she wanted to only serve on two committees. “I don’t look at that as a punishment,” she said of her assignments. “I look at that as an honor.” She claimed that she’d trusted Menin, that she’d decided to vote for her as speaker because she hoped she’d steer the council “in a very center sort of way,” but calling her out in that way was “a big mistake.” 

“She could have done this differently,” Paladino said, arguing that Menin could have relayed her concerns to Republican Minority Leader David Carr privately instead. “For her to choose such strong words against me, to kowtow to one particular council member who does nothing but bash me by name on Twitter, you know what? She better look at her other council members' Twitter accounts because they are pretty egregious as well.” Toward the end of the interview, Paladino said she plans to take the high road and looks forward to a one-on-one meeting with Menin “to clear the air.”

Paladino has a long history of generating controversy. While former Speaker Adrienne Adams booted her from the City Council’s Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addiction in 2023 for disparaging comments she made against the LGBTQ community, she’s never been formally censured. Some members expressed frustration to City & State last month that not enough disciplinary action has historically been taken against Paladino.

Council Member Shahana Hanif, presumably the colleague Paladino referenced, praised the speaker for taking action. 

“Menin understood the situation and acted accordingly,” Hanif, one of the council’s two Muslim members, told City & State. “My focus remains on serving my constituents and doing the work – across seven committees, including one I chair. I hope my colleague chooses to do the same.”

A spokesperson for the speaker declined to comment. 

Paladino, for her part, took the opportunity to address Menin directly, saying: “Julie, you made a big mistake yesterday. At our lunch, did I not say to you, if you come after me, I have the media on my side. I will not tolerate that.”