Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Harlem lawmaker sanctioned for explicit remarks about his mom after Rep. Rangel's death
By
Jimmy Vielkind
Published Dec 19, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Jimmy Vielkind
Published Dec 19, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A Democratic state lawmaker from East Harlem has been sanctioned for “sexually explicit remarks” he gave on the chamber floor earlier in the year, Speaker Carl Heastie announced Friday.
Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs received a warning letter and was ordered to undergo counseling “to address the use of sexually explicit remarks and the use of professional communication,” Heastie’s office said.
The statement in question came during a speech Gibbs gave in May after the death of former Rep. Charlie Rangel.
Gibbs said on the floor that his late mother was enamored with both Rangel and Rangel's predecessor, Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
“My mother was a big fan of Adam Clayton Powell, the congressmember, and she would tell me often that Adam Powell made her moist,” Gibbs said, according to an official transcript. “And then when Charlie won the seat — had the seat, she said Charlie made her wetter. I don't know what that means, but that's the way she felt about Charlie.”
Gibbs said in an interview that he didn’t mean to offend anybody.
“I understand that in Albany – it’s robotic there. I have different language, I don’t talk their language,” he said. “In my community, this is how we speak and talk to each other – and my mother would have said the same thing to you if she was alive today.”
He said his mother was a “celebrated cocaine addict” and that something about Rangel “put her head over heels.”
The state Assembly’s ethics committee determined that Gibbs violated the chamber’s anti-harassment policy.
Gibbs assumed office in 2022 after he won a special election to replace Robert Rodriguez, whom Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed as secretary of state. Gibbs says he is the first formerly incarcerated person to serve in the state Legislature and credits his time in prison with turning his life around.
At the Capitol, Gibbs has been a staunch advocate of prison reform and sponsors numerous bills to help incarcerated people, including one that would increase the amount of “gate money” given to prisoners upon release.
Gibbs was arrested in 2024 after police said he interfered with a traffic stop involving the assemblymember’s brother. He was charged with disorderly conduct.
One bill Gibbs sponsored was signed by Hochul this year: a measure to extend requirements that college students with disabilities be given instructional materials electronically.
Tagged
Politics
new york
Jimmy Vielkind
Jimmy Vielkind covers how state government and politics affect people throughout New York. He has covered Albany since 2008, most recently as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Jimmy led a team of reporters that won a New York Press Club award for coverage of Andrew Cuomo’s downfall and was on a team that won a Gerald Loeb Award for coverage of Amazon’s HQ2 process. A native of the Capitol Region, Jimmy has two degrees in urban planning. His position is funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Reach Jimmy at [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .