{"id":57,"date":"2026-06-18T19:09:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T19:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/?page_id=57"},"modified":"2026-10-19T17:43:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T17:43:06","slug":"press-releases","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/press-releases\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Releases"},"content":{"rendered":"

VERNIKOV PASSES TOWING BILL WITH NEAR UNANIMOUS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nNEW YORK, NY \u2013 October 12, 2026 \u2013 At last week\u2019s Stated Meeting, the City Council passed Councilwoman Inna Vernikov\u2019s bill, Introduction 489-A. This bill requires the Department of Finance, along with other city agencies, to create a centralized database where drivers can look up the location of their vehicle that has been towed or moved. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support, with zero \u201cno\u201d votes and only one abstention.<\/summary>\n

This legislation was inspired by an incident that took place when Vernikov\u2019s own staffer struggled to locate his towed car for hours on end. Constituents have raised the same issue for years, describing the difficulty of navigating through red tape when their car goes missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy bill will replace an outdated and non-functional system,\u201d said Councilwoman Vernikov. \u201cIt will cut through layers of red tape that I\u2019ve heard endless complaints about. Instead of New Yorkers frantically calling agency to agency to locate their missing car, they will be able to go to the Department of Finance website, input their car\u2019s information, and easily find out where their car is located. I thank Speaker Menin, Public Safety Chair Oswald Feliz, city agencies, and everyone who helped this bill pass with such wide support. This will improve the lives of countless New Yorkers, on and off the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

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VERNIKOV JOINS CALL FOR PERMANENT OCTOBER 7 MEMORIAL<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nBROOKLYN, NY \u2013 October 6, 2026 \u2013 Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, the Co-Chair of the NYC Council Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, will join NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin, her Task Force Co-Chair Eric Dinowitz, State Senator Sam Sutton, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, local elected officials, and community leaders in a press conference calling for the creation of a permanent memorial honoring the victims of the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
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WHEN:<\/strong> Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at 2:30 PM EST<\/p>\n

WHERE:<\/strong> Avenue R between East 4th Street and East 5th Street, Brooklyn<\/p>\n

The proposed memorial would be located at the Mickey Kairey Garden and would occupy approximately a 6-foot-by-6-foot footprint. It would be the first public memorial of its kind in NYC, providing a permanent place to remember those murdered and taken hostage on October 7. It would also serve to honor the families who grieved their lost loved ones and educate future generations about the atrocities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOctober 7 was the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. The victims deserve to be properly remembered and respected in a city with almost 1 million Jews, the highest population outside Israel,\u201d said Councilwoman Vernikov.<\/p>\n

\u201cOctober 7 must never be forgotten,\u201d said State Senator Sam Sutton. \u201cThis memorial will give our community a place to remember the victims, honor their memory, and teach our children and grandchildren what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community leaders are committed to privately raising the funds for the memorial design, installation, and long-term maintenance while working with the appropriate City agencies to secure the necessary approvals.<\/p>\n

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VERNIKOV, DINOWITZ PRAISE SPEAKER MENIN FOR ROLE IN CANCELLING JOHN GALLIANO MET GALA EXHIBIT<\/h4>\n
\nNEW YORK, NY \u2013 August 31, 2026 \u2013 On behalf of the New York City Council Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, Co-chairs Vernikov (R) and Dinowitz (D) praised Speaker Menin for her role in the Metropolitan Museum of Art\u2019s decision to cancel its planned celebration honoring John Galliano.<\/summary>\n

The Met planned to give Galliano a rare honor at a Spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition, opening alongside the Met Gala, but soon faced scrutiny for this decision due to Galliano\u2019s history of racist behavior. In 2011, the designer yelled antisemitic and anti-Asian slurs outside a Paris caf\u00e9, and was separately caught on video declaring, \u201cI love Hitler.\u201d Speaker Menin boldly spoke out and made her disapproval clear from the start. After \u201cnumerous and lengthy meetings and conversations\u201d with the Met, the Galliano exhibit was cancelled.<\/p>\n

As one of the most respected cultural institutions in the world, the Met has a responsibility to wield its influence thoughtfully. The Met\u2019s decision to honor an individual with a history of antisemitism amid a time of rising hostility toward Jews, including a troubling 8.5% year-over-year increase in antisemitic hate crimes in New York City, was incredibly insulting to the Jewish community and New Yorkers. \u201cAntisemitism must be eradicated from New York City\u2019s institutions, culture and the arts,\u201d said Councilmembers Vernikov and Dinowitz. \u201cWe are grateful to Speaker Menin for her strong leadership in ensuring that the Met reverses this terrible decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

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FELDER, EICHENSTEIN, YEGER, VERNIKOV: “THE COURTS HAVE SPOKEN. STOP THE BIKE LANES!”<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nBROOKLYN, NY \u2014 August 7, 2026 \u2014 A bipartisan coalition including Councilmembers Simcha Felder and Inna Vernikov and Assemblymembers Simcha Eichenstein and Kalman Yeger announced that on Tuesday, August 5, a New York State Supreme Court Justice issued a temporary restraining order preventing the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) from installing controversial bike lanes in Midwood, south of Avenue H in Brooklyn’s Community Board 14.<\/summary>\n

The coalition sent a Cease-and-Desist letter to DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn on July 21st. The group demanded that he immediately halt the project, alleging DOT had violated City law by failing to provide the required notice to local elected officials and disregarding Community Board 14’s request for a public meeting before the project moved forward.<\/p>\n

Using this letter as the foundation of their legal complaint, a group of concerned citizens, including Community Board 12 Vice-Chair Yaakov Kaplan and Mr. David Lebovic, and community institutions including The Yellow Door, Ltd., Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, and Glatt Mart, Inc. filed a court action that has resulted in a temporary restraining order. The restraining order will remain in effect through November 25, 2026.<\/p>\n

“DOT is not above the law,” said Councilman Simcha Felder. “When the agency refused to listen to the community or its elected representatives, local residents stepped up and asked the courts to enforce the law. This is an important victory for representative government and for every resident who deserves to have a voice before their neighborhood is fundamentally changed.”<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen bureaucrats in their ivory towers who know little about the dynamics of our neighborhoods impose their agenda on unsuspecting New Yorkers, the results can be disastrous,\u201d said Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein. \u201cThe Department of Transportation has provided absolutely no communication regarding this proposal to dramatically change a quiet residential street. As elected representatives of this community, we deserve the opportunity to review the plan and voice our concerns before such changes are considered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe local representatives of a neighborhood know the neighborhood best,\u201d said Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, who previously represented the area as a Council Member. \u201cWe live here, work here, grew up here, and we know the needs of our community. The fact that a group of nameless, faceless bureaucrats snuck their paint job in the middle of the night without any notice to the community says all we need to know. The Mamdani Administration does not care about our community. This is a dangerous plan, will surely result in injury and death, and must immediately stop. Enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYet again, this administration is making decisions targeting the Jewish Community without any consideration for its needs. My office has been fielding complaints non-stop about the unwanted and unasked-for bike lanes, which greatly inconvenience residents and business owners in the area,\u201d said Councilmember Inna Vernikov.<\/p>\n

The elected officials maintain that the current administration abandoned the approach taken by both the de Blasio and Adams administrations, each of which declined to advance the proposal after hearing from local residents and elected officials. For years, Community Board 14 repeatedly requested public engagement, while residents consistently voiced concerns that the proposed bike lanes would funnel cyclists toward dead-end streets and some of southern Brooklyn’s busiest and most dangerous intersections.<\/p>\n

The elected officials have also questioned the need for the project, noting that an analysis of New York City’s Open Data 311 records from 2020 through 2026 found only 23 sidewalk cycling complaints within the project area\u2014just 0.13% of the city’s 16,846 such complaints during that period.<\/p>\n

“Government works best when communities have a voice; not when decisions are imposed on them after the fact,” Felder said. \u201cWe hope DOT will use this as a lesson to engage with the community the way the law requires and make transportation decisions that make sense for the people who live here.”<\/p>\n

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VERNIKOV GETS TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER IN SHELTER FIGHT<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nBROOKLYN, NY \u2014 July 30, 2026 \u2014 The Appellate Division of the Kings County Supreme Court has granted a request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in Vernikov v. City of New York<\/em>, Index No. 527627\/2026, immediately restricting the city from admitting any additional single adult men into the shelter at 3218 Emmons Avenue, pending a hearing scheduled for mid-August.<\/summary>\n

The suit was filed amidst a fight to prevent the city from converting the Emmons Avenue hotel from a family shelter into a shelter exclusively serving single adult men.<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Vernikov filed for the TRO on July 24 alongside Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, Community Board 15 Chairwoman Theresa Scavo, and several community members directly affected by the conversion, including a parent of three children who lives blocks from the shelter, the owner of a senior center located roughly 300 feet away, and a resident of that senior center.<\/p>\n

The legal action was brought by Lloyd Eisenberg of Eisenberg & Carton and Mitchell Shpelfogel of Pinczewski & Shpelfogel, P.C. Defendants named in the suit include the City of New York, the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS), DSS Commissioner Erin Dalton, the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS), and BHRAGS Home Care Corp.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit follows weeks of community outrage and organizing led by Councilwoman Vernikov, Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, and other elected officials. On July 16, the electeds organized a rally attended by hundreds of protesters. They have also sent formal letters of opposition to DSS, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Laura Zuckerwise. Comptroller Levine has since opened an investigation and is actively auditing BHRAGS.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am thrilled to see the TRO granted and extremely thankful to attorneys Lloyd Eisenberg and Mitchell Shpelfogel for their time and tremendous efforts to make this happen, as we could not have done this without them,\u201d said Councilwoman Vernikov. \u201cI will not allow this administration to target our neighborhoods and place our children and seniors at risk. My district is not a dumping ground for Mamdani\u2019s political games. We will fight this tooth and nail.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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SPEAKER JULIE MENIN ALLOCATES FUNDING TO BROOKLYN HATE CRIMES BUREAU AFTER TASK FORCE TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM ADVOCACY <\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nBrooklyn, NY \u2014 July 27, 2026 \u2013 New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has allocated $750,000 in funding to the Brooklyn District Attorney\u2019s Hate Crimes Bureau, providing critical resources to strengthen the borough\u2019s efforts to prosecute bias-motivated crimes.<\/summary>\n

“Every New Yorker deserves to live free from fear and hate. As antisemitic incidents and other hate crimes continue to threaten our communities, it is critical that prosecutors have the resources they need\u2026The City Council is proud to provide this funding,” Speaker Menin said.<\/p>\n

This new funding comes after Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez highlighted the Hate Crimes Bureau\u2019s sparse resources during an April 22 Task Force to Combat Antisemitism hearing. Gonzalez lamented that the Brooklyn DA\u2019s Office received only $50,000 from the previous administration  to address all hate crimes, while other boroughs receive “in excess of a million.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked for $1.5 million to fund the dedicated Hate Crimes Unit that would be funded like\u2026the Manhattan DA’s office or the Queens DA office\u2026I think the people of Brooklyn deserve to be funded with a dedicated unit,\u201d Gonzalez testified.<\/p>\n

After learning of this disparity, Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-48), the Task Force\u2019s co-chair who represents a South Brooklyn district, pushed for increased funding for Brooklyn\u2019s Hate Crimes Bureau.<\/p>\n

\u201cMamdani found $200 million in funding for BHRAGS, an organization under federal indictment, but failed to fund Brooklyn’s Hate Crimes Bureau, despite a 74% citywide rise in hate crimes, more than half of them targeting Jews,\u201d said Councilwoman Vernikov, referencing NYPD Hate Crime Data.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the news of the stabbing last week of an Asian American and a Jewish American on the Upper West Side, this funding is especially critical and timely,\u201d Vernikov continued.<\/p>\n

DA Gonzalez is \u201cdeeply grateful to Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Inna Vernikov for their leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis investment will allow us to expand our work, strengthen specialized training, and engage more proactively with communities targeted by hate so that we can prevent harm, support victims, and hold offenders accountable,\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n

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VERNIKOV FILES LAWSUIT TO STOP SHELTER CONVERSION<\/h4>\n
\nBROOKLYN, NEW YORK \u2013 July 24, 2026 \u2013 Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R \u2013 CD 48), Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D \u2013 AD 41), and several community members filed a lawsuit (Index No. 527627) this morning seeking a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the city\u2019s plans to convert a family shelter located at 3218 Emmons Avenue into a shelter for single adult men.<\/summary>\n

The plaintiffs joining the elected officials include Community Board 15 Chairwoman Theresa Scavo, a resident with three children who lives blocks from the shelter, the owner of a senior center located roughly 300 feet away, and a resident of that senior center.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit, filed by the firms Eisenberg & Carton and  Pinczewski & Shpelfogel, P.C., follows weeks of community outrage and action led by Councilwoman Vernikov and her counterparts in the Assembly and Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy district is not a dumping ground for decisions made behind closed doors without proper notice and community input. I will continue to fight Mamdani\u2019s plans to intentionally harm my community, using every tool available to ensure the safety of my constituents,\u201d said Vernikov.<\/p>\n

The Councilwoman was joined by Assemblyman Yeger and Senator Sam Sutton (D \u2013 SD 22) in attending meetings and writing letters to Commissioner Dalton, DHS, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Laura Zuckerwise. Together, they raised concerns about the conversion and organized a rally at the site on July 16, which drew hundreds of protesters.<\/p>\n

The conversion has already moved 55 families with children out of the shelter \u2014 a move Councilwoman Vernikov described as “inhumane and inconsiderate” in a previous letter to DSS. The next step in the plan is to move in up to 110 single men who will not be vetted for criminal background. At least 35 single adult men have already moved in.<\/p>\n

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COUNCILWOMAN VERNIKOV, JOINED BY ASSEMBLYMAN KALMAN YEGER AND SENATOR SAM SUTTON TO PROTEST CONVERSION OF 3218 EMMONS AVENUE SHELTER TO SINGLE-ADULT MALE FACILITY<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nBROOKLYN, NY \u2014 July 14, 2026 \u2014 New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-48th District), joined by Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D-41st AD) and Senator Sam Sutton (D-22nd SD), will hold a press conference this Thursday, July 16th, at 6:00 PM outside the 3218 Emmons Avenue Homeless Shelter to protest its planned conversion from a family shelter into a single-adult male shelter.<\/summary>\n

Members of the public, particularly residents of Sheepshead Bay and the surrounding communities, are invited to join a protest against the planned transfer of 55 families with children from the shelter at 3218 Emmons Avenue and their replacement with 110 single and unvetted adult men.<\/p>\n

Local elected officials got wind of this plan and immediately jumped into action, contacting agencies with their concerns.<\/p>\n

“We ask that you immediately cancel plans to transfer out families with children who have formed significant ties to the community to make room for one hundred and ten unvetted single adult males,” Vernikov wrote in a letter to the NYC Department of Social Services, copied to the Department of Homeless Services and co-signed by Yeger and Sutton.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only is it inhumane and inconsiderate to transfer out these families who integrated into Sheepshead Bay, but this will be devastating for the surrounding neighborhood and community,\u201d the letter continued.<\/p>\n

Displacing the families with children currently residing at the site would be disruptive to parents who have secured steady employment and children enrolled in local schools. Bringing 110 unvetted single adult men into this site may introduce a host of issues, such as drug use, public indecency, and theft into the neighborhood and community.<\/p>\n

The current DSS and DHS protocols lack vetting to make this transfer suitable for a location across from a children\u2019s playground, as their policy does not turn away individuals with criminal offenses and expects sex offenders to self-identify.<\/p>\n

Officials are also outraged with the decision to partner with BHRAGS, as its senior executives currently face federal indictment charges for the embezzlement of over $1 million as well as bribery. These allegations \u201craise significant questions about the provider’s fitness to operate a taxpayer-funded shelter,\u201d according to Vernikov in her letter to NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, which was also co-signed by Yeger and Sutton.<\/p>\n

The press conference will take place Thursday, July 16th<\/strong> at 6:00 PM<\/strong> outside the 3218 Emmons Avenue<\/strong> site.<\/p>\n

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VERNIKOV PASSES TOWING BILL WITH NEAR UNANIMOUS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/small><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK, NY \u2013 October 12, 2026 \u2013 At last week\u2019s Stated Meeting, the City Council passed Councilwoman Inna Vernikov\u2019s bill, Introduction 489-A. This bill requires the Department of Finance, along with other city agencies, to create a centralized database where drivers can look up the location of their vehicle that has been towed or moved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-57","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57\/revisions\/183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/inna-vernikov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}