“I don’t have the words for him,” the victim’s mom said of her daughter’s killer. “He was a coward. A weak man. People like that aren’t supposed to be on earth.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is opposing Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn’s proposal to significantly expand the party’s executive committee ahead of a fight over who will lead the county organization, his office told amNewYork Thursday.
Bichotte Hermelyn rejected growing accusations that the overhaul is akin to a power grab, saying the change is meant to spread decision-making power beyond the 42 district leaders who currently make up the voting membership of the party’s executive committee and give more elected party members a voice.
The Brooklyn Assembly Member unveiled the plan on NY1 Wednesday amid an effort by reform-aligned district leaders to replace her with Julio Peña III. During the same appearance, she said she had been speaking with Jeffries about the Brooklyn party and that they were “working hand in hand.”
On Thursday, Jeffries’ office said he had not spoken with Bichotte Hermelyn about the upcoming organizational meeting, was surprised by the proposal, and does not support it.
“Leader Hakeem Jeffries has not met with or spoken to Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn about the upcoming organizational meeting,” spokesperson Justin Chermol said in a statement to amNewYork. “He was surprised by yesterday’s announced plan to expand the executive committee of the Kings County Democratic Party and does not support it.”
Bichotte Hermelyn told amNewYork Thursday that her comments about Jeffries on NY1 referred to broader conversations about the Democratic Party, not the proposed rules change.
“My saying that I’m talking to Hakeem has nothing to do with the rules proposal,” she said. “I talked to him, [to] talk about the party. When I say the party, the general Democratic Party.”
On NY1, host Errol Louis had asked Bichotte Hermelyn whether she had spoken recently with Jeffries as the Brooklyn party heads toward its leadership fight. She said she had and discussed efforts to strengthen the party and regain seats lost in southern Brooklyn before adding, “we are working hand in hand with the minority leader.”
Bichotte Hermelyn said Thursday that she would like to explain her proposal to Jeffries.
“I completely understand where he’s coming from, and it is his right,” she said. “It is in his right to oppose what may seem to be a power grab.”
The proposal would reshape the body that chooses the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s leader.
Bichotte Hermelyn said that the executive committee, whose voting membership currently consists of 42 district leaders, would grow to more than 68 members. She said the new structure would include 26 County Committee executive officers with voting rights and would also add representatives selected from Assembly District committees.
The party’s current rules say its executive committee includes State Committee members elected from Brooklyn, people selected to fill vacancies in those posts and four County Committee officers — the chairperson, secretary, treasurer and assistant treasurer. But the rules specify that only the State Committee members, commonly known as district leaders, and people filling vacancies in those positions are authorized to vote. The executive committee elects its chairperson, who serves as the county party leader.
Bichotte Hermelyn confirmed to amNewYork that the additional members envisioned by her proposal would be able to participate in the upcoming chair election.
Asked whether the newly added executive committee members would be eligible to vote for county chair, she replied, “Yes, they will be. That’s part of the decision making.”
Bichotte Hermelyn, however, said she has not decided whether she will seek another term herself.
“I haven’t made that decision whether I’m running or not, and that’s been a pending decision for some time,” she said.
She later added: “This is not about me. This is not about the chairmanship. This is about the people.”
Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.Photo by Dean Moses
‘Anti-democratic power grab’
Bichotte Hermelyn has presented the proposal as an expansion of representation within a county party that she says puts too much decision-making authority in the hands of its 42 district leaders.
In a statement announcing the proposal, Bichotte Hermelyn said the change was intended to give more Democrats a role in party decisions.
“This is about building a Party where more people can lead, more people can contribute, and more people can shape the future of Brooklyn,” she said. “Democracy works when everyone has a seat.”
The announcement landed in the middle of a leadership battle that accelerated after June’s Democratic primary.
Reform-oriented candidates aligned with New Kings Democrats and Brooklyn Can’t Wait won eight of nine contested district leader races, bringing their coalition to 22 of Brooklyn’s 42 district leaders, The City Reporter reported in July. The outlet reported that the 22 had pledged to support Peña for party chair.
New Kings Democrats said Thursday that those 22 would constitute a majority of the existing executive committee once seated and called Bichotte Hermelyn’s proposed expansion an “anti-democratic power grab.”
“This would be a flagrantly anti-democratic power grab, a return to the worst days of bossism,” the group said, comparing the maneuver to one it said former Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez attempted two decades ago.
The group accused Bichotte Hermelyn of trying to add “handpicked party officers” to the executive committee in order to remain in power.
Bichotte Hermelyn rejected that characterization. She said the County Committee officers would be elected by County Committee members, not appointed.
“This is not handpicked. This is not appointed,” she told amNewYork.
She also defended the timing of the proposed changes, saying Brooklyn Democrats have previously considered rules changes ahead of organizational meetings.
“We’ve always proposed rules ahead of the county committee organization,” Bichotte Hermelyn said. “We did it last year. We did it two years ago. We did it four years ago. So this is not uncommon.”
Party rules reviewed by amNewYork going back to 2020 reserved Executive Committee voting rights for district leaders. The party has made other rule changes expanding participation, including gender-related reforms in 2020, but not an expansion of the committee’s voting membership comparable to the one now proposed
Peña separately accused Bichotte Hermelyn of trying to override the effect of the June district leader elections.
“When a party boss throws out the party rules to overrule the result of an election, it echoes the same anti-democratic playbook we criticize from Republicans: consolidating power, limiting accountability, and treating voters as an obstacle rather than the foundation of democracy,” Peña wrote on X.
“Brooklyn can’t turn back to bossism and the worst days of Vito Lopez,” he added.
Bichotte Hermelyn denied that stopping Peña was the purpose of the proposed expansion.
“Absolutely not,” she said when asked directly whether the proposal was intended in any way to prevent him from taking control of the party.
She also questioned whether the 22 votes claimed by Peña and his allies will ultimately hold.
“I am not convinced that 22 leaders are voting for anybody because people tend to reserve their rights to vote until the day of the election,” she said.
Asked whether any of the district leaders publicly pledged to Peña had told her they might switch, Bichotte Hermelyn said her skepticism was based on her experience in previous party contests rather than on such conversations.
“It’s just a case from my experience,” she said.
The Brooklyn Democratic Party’s existing bylaws allow its rules to be amended by a majority of County Committee members or, when the County Committee is not in session, by a majority of executive committee members present at a meeting with a quorum. They require proposed amendments to be sent with notice of the meeting at least five days in advance.
The current rules also call for County Committee officers to be elected before duly filed rules amendments are considered at the organizational meeting.
The full text of Bichotte Hermelyn’s proposed amendments was not immediately available to amNewYork Thursday.
Bichotte Hermelyn maintained that the proposal should be viewed as an expansion of participation, not a reduction in the influence of existing district leaders.
“Expanding leadership is not dilution,” she said. “Let’s be clear, it’s democracy.”
Bichotte Hermelyn also preemptively defended the proposal against the prospect of a court challenge, arguing that the party’s rules permit it to amend its own governing structure. “This is a legal thing that we’re doing,” she said.
The lefty wunderkind Morris Katz, 27, missed multiple months of rent payments and bounced checks during his short six-month lease of a top-floor duplex on Lorimer Street, where he ran up a tab of $14,000 in back rent with his landlord, according to two people with knowledge of the deadbeat’s dilemma.
The Brooklyn-based non-profit Haiti Cultural Exchange (HCX), which was established to develop, present, and promote the cultural expressions of the Haitian people, has launched an open call cycle for a new cohort of Lakou NOU artists-in-residence.
The institution showcases and hosts cultural engagement, art exhibitions, artist residency for Haitian-based artists, community events, and youth arts education, among several other educational programs.
Lakou NOU, one of the organization’s many initiatives, is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. Moreover, the artist-residence supports the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Canarsie, East Flatbush, and Flatbush, said HCX. In all, the program prides itself in working collaboratively with Haitian artists that are interested in tackling the socio-political issues, such as cultural identity, intergenerational connection, traditional practices, forced migration, and revolution, among other interests.
“The incorporation of the professional development workshops helped to define and ground my project; especially the session on impact.” said Stephanie Pierre, a former cohort participant in 2024.
Artwork hands on the wall inside Haiti Cultural Exchange’s space in Brooklyn.Orlande Fleury
HCX emphasizes that, “in rural Haiti, the Lakou communal living system embodies the intersection of land, family, and spirituality. Former enslaved people created the Lakou in resistance to the racial and class divides perpetuated by colonial plantations. By organizing around shared land, the Lakou promotes economic equity and avoids exploitation. Lakou NOU (“Our Yard” in Haitian Creole) is a creative adaptation of this traditional model.”
Haiti Cultural Exchange further stated that its aim is to invest in artists of Haitian descent, positioning their creative talents as a resource of the community, developing new creative works and uniting diverse stakeholders around mutual aims. Additionally, the program is designed to support emerging artists interested in place-based creativity and highlight community-led activism.
A previous artist, Georgie Exinord, who participated in the cohort in 2025, stated that, “Being a Lakou NOU artist has been the single greatest thing to happen to my career so far. It’s a rare gift to be supported in actualizing your project fantasies, and the network of other incredible artists I gained alongside it did wonders for my artistic confidence that I honestly can’t fully measure.”
Lakou NOU’s artists-in-residency program is proudly supported by the Jerome Foundation and the applications are now open for interested artists.
