By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-19 12:06:28 | Updated at 2026-10-19 12:50:39
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic Socialists of America crony Chi Ossé has the worst attendance record of any member of the City Council, records show.
The left wing lawmaker has missed four out of the required 18 of the body’s legislative meetings for unexcused reasons even as the vast majority of the 51 lawmakers charted perfect attendance for this legislative session.
Ossé’s lackluster attendance record was even called out by one of his fellow Democrats last week.
“Your attendance record says everything we need to know: you literally have the *worst* attendance record of all 51 council members this session; and when you attend [regular scheduled meeting] via Zoom, you leave as soon as you possibly could,” quipped Council member Oswald Feliz (D-15).
The pointed remarks came after Ossé accused Feliz, the chairman of the Public Safety Committee, from blocking his legislation to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group — a favorite target of law enforcement reform activists and the DSA.
“It’s unfortunate that you are more interested in doing the performative stuff for social media attention, rather than doing the difficult work to resolve this important issue,” Feliz added.
Other members with low marks at legislative meetings were Darlene Mealy (D-41), who missed three of 15 meetings, Rita C. Joseph (D-40), who missed three of 18 meetings, and Alexa Avilés (D -38) – who’s skipped out on two of 18 meetings.
Both Avilés and Ossé were caught ditching a Sept. 24 meeting to protest Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly.
The remaining members have only one or no absences at meetings and the data does not count excused call outs for medical or bereavement reasons.
The council’s 2026 attendance policy, which was blasted out internally in May of this year and later obtained by The Post, doesn’t outline a set number of no-shows that would lead to disciplinary action — but the policy does note that regular attendance is a “core responsibility” for members.
“Council Members must appear in person at a meeting, unless, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, they are authorized to participate remotely,” it states.
Committee meeting absences – where legislation is first heard before it’s brought to vote by the entire council – are much more common place among members.
Only four active members have a 100% committee attendance rate — Elsie Encarnacion, Justin Sanchez, Shantel Thomas-Henry, and Speaker Julie Menin – though Menin has only been required to attend 2 meetings this session.
Those with the worst attendance were James Gennaro (D-24) who only showed for 52.3% meetings, Ty Hankerson (D-28) who showed for 60% and Althea Stevens who attended 62.1% (D-16).
A spokesperson for Gennaro said he “endured a series of health challenges” over the last year and is still being monitored for one of the unspecified issues.
“He has a good record of chairing his own committee and attending Stated meetings,” the spokesperson said. “That said, he has had to prioritize medical appointments over some committee hearings.”
“Most of our legislative work happens in committee meetings and hearings where we discuss proposed laws, receive updates from agencies, and hear feedback from New Yorkers like you,” the council’s website reads.
