Joyous Community Celebration as Harvey Epstein Sworn In as New City Council Member

By Phyllis Eckhaus

It was a bit like American Idol, but hamish (Yiddish for homey) and very East Village—a rousing chorus of tribute to community, diversity, and “for-the-people” politics. It was new District 2 City Council Member Harvey Epstein’s community swearing-in ceremony, in a packed auditorium at the 14th Street Y on December 6.

Middle Collegiate Church choir director John del Cueto brought the crowd to its feet, urging the audience to stand and sing a rendition of Lean On Me. Decrying a contemporary culture of “spectators…waiting for someone to hand us something,” he exhorted the room to “give me everything you’ve got…in solidarity with all those detained by ICE, all those people living in the streets, all those people hoping for a government that doesn’t lie.”

Shaheeda Smith, introduced as “our local environmental justice warrior,” offered her powerful a cappella version of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. This seemed to spur the cheerfully competitive instincts of many who belted out lyrics of inspiration and anguish along with speeches to honor the council member-elect.

Former District 2 Council Member Margarita Lopez did not sing, but set a tone of blunt warm sentiment, describing herself as a “radical feminist” who nevertheless voted for Epstein, instead of one of his three female primary opponents. She praised Epstein as “almost a lesbian,” joking “almost, I said, not completely. He’s trying.” Lopez told the crowd their work was not done, that they would need to support Epstein’s social justice agenda as he “lean[s] on us.”

Epstein’s daughter, Leila Elliot, described Epstein-at-home as exactly like Epstein-in-public, entering “every room loud, opinionated, and constantly looking for vegan food.”

State Senator and Manhattan Borough President-elect Brad Hoylman-Sigal spotlighted Epstein’s history as a tenant advocate, including his leadership of Housing Conservation Coordinators and his years as the tenant representative on the New York City Rent Guidelines Board, where he helped achieve a rent freeze. “To have someone who’s a tenant leader, to have someone who is a former member of the Rent Guidelines Board, coming into the New York City Council is extraordinary,” he said, “especially when our mayor-elect [is] Zohran Mamdani with his own focus on housing and affordability.” Hoylman-Sigal also listed the many progressive laws Epstein had shepherded through the state legislature as an assembly member.

State Senator Kristen Gonzalez—representing District 59 which includes Stuyvesant Town, Kips Bay, and Murray Hill—joked she had been asked not to sing. Gonzalez praised Epstein as a fighter who’d been on the frontlines of recent battles to save Beth Israel Hospital and oppose Manhattan casinos. Witnessing Epstein behind the scenes, she declared him “the same person behind closed doors that he is on the streets.” She also touted his commitment to diversity, asking him to “take this moment and see…how diverse this room is because it is a testament to all the incredible work that you have done.”

Ayo Harrington, once a proud member of the famed African American female a cappella group “Sweet Honey in the Rock,” joked she was “pissed” that she had not been asked to sing, and treated the audience to a stanza of Ain’t Nobody Going To Turn Me Around. Co-chair of CoDA, a Lower East Side political club, she recalled first meeting Epstein years ago through the local PTA and being impressed by his outspoken advocacy against the “school-to-prison pipeline,” the systemic channeling of kids, especially kids of color, out of schools and into jails and prisons.

She also noted that this summer, when she complained about local elections being held on Juneteenth, the federal holiday celebrating the end of slavery, Epstein immediately wrote a bill to stop it, which was enacted this session.

City Council Member Julie Menin, expected to be the next council speaker, spoke of her happiness at having Epstein as a new colleague. “Affordable housing is the number one issue…and there’s no one with more experience, Harvey, than you,” she said. “So I know you’re going to lead in the city council. We need you. We’re going to utilize you and we couldn’t be more excited to have you as a key part of our body.”

Menin observed that her partnership with Epstein dates back to their days as leaders of adjoining downtown Manhattan community boards after 9/11, when they confronted federal stonewalling on toxic air. She also praised Epstein as “one of the most compassionate people I know.”

New York State Attorney General Tish James—beloved as a successful Trump adversary who so got under his skin that she is a top target of retribution—wowed the crowd with a speech both personal and political. She noted how moved she was to follow Epstein’s mom, Barbara, as a speaker, “Because today is my mom’s birthday,” she said. “She died when I was a member of the city council, and she had no idea what I did. And the reason is because I didn’t tell her. You see, she grew up in the South, and she was afraid that I would get hurt, she was afraid for me as a Black woman. And when she got sick and I would take her for a walk, she would ask, ‘Why does everybody know your name?’ And I told her, ‘Cuz I’m head of the block association.’ And she said, ‘Well, just be careful.’ And I said, ‘Okay, mom.’ ”

James urged Epstein to keep his mom and his family close, and pressed the audience to “just wait, don’t disturb him,” when they see Epstein out with his family.

She then credited Epstein with being—along with the late tenant leader Michael McKee—one of the two most impactful individuals on housing policy in New York state. “He recognizes that housing is a human right,” she said. ”He also understands that during these challenging times…that this is not a time to hide. This is not the time to give in, to give up, to concede, to capitulate. This is not the time to be fearful. This is the time to be fearless, and to just stare them in the face. And to let them know that there’s more of us than there are of them.”

“Just remember,” she continued, “those seven million people who came out on the streets during No Kings Day…. And so we’ve got to continue to stand together, arm in arm…with no space between us, standing up to this government.”

Following cheers and applause at the conclusion of her speech, James swore Epstein in as a New York City Council member.

Others who spoke included poet Debby Gonzalez, Epstein’s former chief of staff John Blasco, Epstein’s son, Josh Epstein, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Brooklyn Assemblymember Rodneyse Hermelyn, and outgoing City Comptroller (and newly-announced District 10 congressional candidate) Brad Lander.