Hearing for City Councilman Accused in 'Touching' Incident Rescheduled

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez denied allegations that he aggressively "touched” a female City Council staff member ...

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DNAinfo/Carla Zanoni

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER MANHATTAN — A City Council hearing into allegations that Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez aggressively “touched” a Council staffer has been rescheduled for next Wednesday and will be held in private, despite the councilman’s request it be made public.

Rodriguez had denied he touched the unidentified Council staff member in a threatening manner during recent budget talks and accused the Council ethics committee investigating the incident of leaking information about the complaint. 

“All I did that Friday was to advocate to restore funding for programs in the community,” he said in Spanish during last week's rally, adding later, “I am just asking that the hearing be open and transparent.”

Rodriguez's hearing was originally slated for this past Wednesday, but was postponed at the request of a council member who had a scheduling conflict.

Last week, a rally was held in support of the Councilman and a press conference Tuesday, featuring community leaders, also called for the hearing to be made public.