Newly sworn-in New York City Councilman Yusef Salaam — one of the excluded Central Park Five — is set to take over as chairman of the council committee that oversees the NYPD, according to City Hall sources.
Salaam’s appointment to the Public Safety Committee is expected to be confirmed Tuesday evening when Council Speaker Adrienne Adams reshuffles council committee positions in the new session.
Committee appointments usually reward those who have been loyal team players for the party leadership and hold on to those who have proved difficult.
The former public safety chairman, Kamillah Hanks (D-Staten Island), will chair the key committee — a clear demotion within the party, Post sources said.
New councilman Yusef Salaam will be appointed chairman of the council’s public safety committee, which oversees the NYPD. AFP via Getty Images Yusef Salaam (shown here in 1990) was acquitted in the infamous 1989 Central Park jogger rape case. AP
“That was a huge slap in the face,” a council source told The Post, adding that he took a “big hit” with the controversial “How Many Stops Acts” bill.
Last month, the council passed the bill, which forces NYPD officers to file detailed reports on every street stop they make — even for low-level people like talking to potential witnesses to a crime.
Hanks faced a backlash from the police union for supporting the bill after Speaker Adams pressed him during the vote.
Mayor Eric Adams and Republican council members had urged Hanks to kill the bill in committee before it went to a vote, where it eventually passed 35-9.
Salaam said after his primary victory that he wanted “smarter” policing than the NYPD. Robert Miller Former public safety chair Kamillah Hanks demoted to Landmarks Committee. Gregory P. Mango
Hanks hesitated to include the lowest form of police stop in the bill, the “Level 1” stop, but sided with the speaker’s office. Police were previously only required to submit reports for “Level 3” investigations, which is when an officer has “reasonable suspicion” to detain someone, or stop short of making an arrest.
Hanks’ demotion is that he was “punished for the crime of having an independent mind about policing,” another council source said.
Party leadership sources said Hanks will be involved in most land-use decisions in the city and will remain on the public safety committee — not as chairman.
“It’s more of a power play,” the source said, noting Salaam’s unique history with the criminal justice system.
Hanks puts it down to a “fundamental difference” he has with the speaker.
“So this decision doesn’t surprise me,” he told The Post. “I congratulate the new Public Safety Chairman. My goal is and always will be to represent the people of New York City and the 49th district.”
Salaam, who was acquitted in the infamous 1989 Central Park jogging rape case, said after his rebel primary victory last year that he was willing to work with the NYPD to make the streets of Harlem safer.
“Most people would think that I would be pro-defund [the police]but the fact is we need the police,” Salaam, 50, told The Post after the stunning victory.
Salaam emphasized at the time that he wanted “smarter” policing instead of “over-enforcement.”
Several other Democrats were pulled from their committee posts in the reshuffle.
Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn) has been removed from his position as chairman of the Standards and Ethics chair.
Progressive dems Chi Ossé (D-Brooklyn), former chair of the Cultural Affairs Committee, and Tiffany Cabán (D-Queens), once chair of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity, were also given the boot.
Keith Powers (D-Manhattan), who was ousted from leadership in a surprise move earlier this year, turned down the chair of Standards and Ethics to lead the Rules Committee.
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