A Democratic council member from Brooklyn at New York City is facing bipartisan accusations of anti-Italian bias over comments he made about a landscaping company.
Councilman Chi Ossé, a 25-year-old Democrat from Brooklyn, was accused of anti-italian racism after his comments about Dragonetti Brothers Landscaping, a company that had to pay $1 million in restitution after pleading guilty to insurance fraud last year.
“I just want to say about Dragonetti – that name alone should have been the first red flag in terms of the City contract,” Osse said at a council hearing on Monday.
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Councilman Chi Ossé, a 25-year-old Brooklyn Democrat, has been charged with anti-Italian racism after his comments about Dragonetti Brothers Landscaping, a company that had to pay $1 million in restitution after pleading guilty to fraud in insurance last year. ((Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images))
Two days aftera video clip of his remarks made the rounds on the Big Apple political scene and drew searing accusations of racism from two of his Italian colleagues on both sides of the aisle: Republican Councilman Joe Borelli of Staten Island and Democratic adviser Bob Holden of Reines.
Borelli told Fox News Digital on Friday that Ossé “made an offensive joke and, unfortunately, the standard that politically correct progressives like him demand is zero tolerance.”
“It’s not the first time he’s said or tweeted offensive things, so the rules have to apply,” Borelli said. “Hate has no place here.”
Borelli previously told local press that Ossé’s comment was “a racist statement made on official council business.”
“I bet all the salt in the sea that there will be no consequences,” he added.
“We must unite as a city and unequivocally reject hate and bigotry in all their forms. Osse’s comment during a city council hearing comparing Italians to organized crime is reprehensible and disgusting and has no no place in our society,” Holden told Fox News Digital.
Two days later, a video clip of Ossé’s remarks made the rounds on the Big Apple political scene and drew searing accusations of racism from a pair of his Italian colleagues on both sides of the aisle. : Republican adviser Joe Borelli of Staten Island and Democratic adviser. Bob Holden of Queens. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
It’s disturbing to see him display bigotry and racism repeatedly, and it’s time for him to apologize for his comment, undergo sensitivity and bias training, and commit to doing better at the future,” continued the Democratic adviser.
Ossé responded to the accusations by pointing to Dragonetti Brothers Landscaping’s criminal record, saying his comments “had nothing to do with the Italians” and “had everything to do with the company having already been tarnished.”
Borelli and Holden also pointed to Ossé’s history of racial comments about white Americans, including public tweets, as evidence that Dragonetti’s comments are not unique. Borelli called them a “model”.
“A cis white man should not be the next Council speaker,” Ossé tweeted in June 2021.
“Is it white culture? Ossé tweeted in June 2019 of a drunken white woman dancing at a wedding.
Ossé also called the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group (SRG) a “team of morons” earlier this week.
“I can specifically call the SRG a team of morons because they are specifically a team of morons – like that crazy party you decided to join,” Ossé tweeted.
“At least the SRG is true to itself,” he continued. “You are not faithful to anything.”
Both Borelli and Holden are members of the council’s Italian-American caucus.
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The Brooklyn Democrat did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
