Democratic Assemblyman Eddie Gibbs violated the Assembly’s policy prohibiting harassment, discrimination and retaliation by making sexually explicit comments during a legislative session, according to the Assembly Ethics Committee.
Following the finding, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie Heastie directed Gibbs to undergo counseling within 90 days, according to a Friday, Dec. 19, letter that Heastie sent to Gibbs and was obtained by Daily Voice.
The ethics committee said it launched the investigation after receiving reports of potential policy violations involving Gibbs. The matter was referred to an outside, independent investigator, Christopher Massaroni of the law firm Hodgson Russ LLP, who conducted the inquiry, according to the committee’s letter to Heastie.
Gibbs cooperated with the investigation and later appeared before the committee on Wednesday, Dec. 10, the letter states. After reviewing the investigator’s findings and hearing from Gibbs, the committee determined that his conduct violated Assembly policy.
The committee recommended that the speaker issue a written warning and require counseling focused on professional communication and the use of sexually explicit remarks, according to the letter.
Heastie said he accepted those recommendations “in full” and formally warned Gibbs that his conduct violated Assembly policy, ordering him to complete counseling within 90 days, according to the speaker’s letter.
The Assembly has not publicly specified which remarks triggered the investigation. However, David Lombardo, host of WCNY’s The Capitol Pressroom, said the investigation likely stemmed from comments Gibbs made during a late-May Assembly session.
In those remarks, Gibbs recounted comments he attributed to his mother about former Rep. 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, made her moist,” Gibbs said. “And that 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 has represented New York’s 68th Assembly District since 2022. The district includes East Harlem, parts of Central Harlem, and a section of the Upper East Side in Manhattan.
Daily Voice has reached out to Gibbs’ office for comment.
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