By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-08 20:30:57 | Updated at 2026-08-08 21:06:28
37 minutes ago
The husband of Nikole Hannah-Jones, the woke New York Times scribe behind the wildly controversial “1619 Project,” shamelessly plugged his new bookstore and bar during a public education meeting — and is facing calls to step down and possible ethics probes.
Panel for Education Policy Contracts Committee Chair Faraji Hannah-Jones used his official speaking time at the July 29 meeting at the High School for Fashion Industries in Chelsea to advertise that he and his wife Nikole are planning to open a bookstore in Bedford Stuyvesant that will push “banned” books.
“My wife and I are building an institution in Brooklyn, in Bed Stuy, called North Star Books and Bar,” Hannah-Jones said.
North Star Books and Bar is set to open sometime in 2026 on Macon Street and is named after the abolitionist newspaper founded by Frederick Douglass.
The PEP is a 24-member body consisting of 13 mayoral appointees which sets policy for city schools, approves contracts and handles school closures.
Hannah-Jones, who joined the panel in 2025, promised that North Star Books would be a “huge bookstore” and would sell “all the books that are banned” while his fellow PEP members looked on. Its bar, whose liquor license is pending, will sell “black-owned spirits,” according to its website.
City Councilman Phil Wong (D-Queens ) denounced the self-promotion and said Hannah-Jones violated Chapter 68 of the City Charter, which prohibits public servants from using their positions for personal profit.
“Government meetings are for conducting the public’s business, not promoting your own business,” Wong told The Post.
Last week he fired off letters to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, Office of Special Investigations and Special Commissioner of Investigation to launch three separate probes.
“Using official speaking time and a public position to promote one’s own private commercial venture appears to violate the prohibition against using public office to obtain a direct or indirect private advantage for oneself,” Wong wrote.
The DOE also confirmed to The Post that the matter has been referred for investigation.
“New York City Public Schools expects members of our governance bodies to uphold the standards and responsibilities of public service. Under the New York City Charter, public officials may not use their positions to promote personal or financial interests,” a DOE spokesperson said.
Former City Councilman Bob Holden also slammed Hannah-Jones’ blatant self-promotion and called for him to be removed from PEP.
“You don’t hijack public meetings to promote your own business and this PEP member crossed that line so blatantly he should be removed,” Holden said.
Hannah-Jones, and his wife Nikole are no strangers to controversy.
Nikole has claimed that America was “founded on racism” and authored the 1619 Project, which posits that America’s starting date occurred a century before the signing of the Declaration of Independence with the arrival of the first African slave.
Various states have sought to ban the book from being taught in schools due to widespread historical inaccuracies.
She also slammed the Greatest Generation as racist, claiming that though they fought for freedom abroad, they oppressed black people in the US.
The COIB declined to comment when reached by The Post. Neither the SCI nor the Hannah-Joneses responded to The Post’s request for comment.
