Brooklyn Dem Party chief accuses veteran ex-lawmaker of ‘white supremacy,’ claims he discouraged local Asian community
The head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party has accused a Dem former state lawmaker of engaging in “white supremacy” for allegedly discouraging members of the local Asian community from running for office.
But the targeted veteran ex-assemblyman, Peter Abbate, says accuser and Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairwoman Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn is only dividing Democrats and aiding Republicans with her claims involving the more conservative southern part of the borough, where the GOP has made inroads in recent elections.
Bichotte-Hermelyn kicked off the infighting by recently telling The Post that Abbate discouraged the party’s backing of Pei “Sanny” Xia Chen Liu, the wife of slain NYPD Officer Wenjian Liu, for a Democratic district leader post.
“I got a text from Abbatte that said, ‘Big mistake,'” the party leader said.
Bichotte-Hermelyn said Abbate also talked Jimmy Li out of running for Assembly in the 49th District, the seat that Abbate held for three decades before losing to Republican Lester Change two years ago and is now seeking to reclaim again.
“This white supremacy stuff has to stop,” Bichotte-Hermelyn said.
City Councilwoman Susan Zhuang also accused Abbate of verbally abusing her at a recent community event.
“I was invited by a local community leader to a pre-Sabbath gathering inside a local Southern Brooklyn small business. Suddenly, former Assemblyman Peter Abbate stormed inside and immediately approached me up close, violating my personal space, and began to verbally assault me,” Zhuang told The Post.
“I don’t think he will do that to a man or non-immigrant,” she said. “His sexist, misogynistic, and toxic intimidation tactics will not deter me from fully exercising my democratic rights.”
Abbate denied verbally abusing Councilwoman Zhuang and dismissed Bichotte-Hermelyn’s accusations, saying she is “sabotaging” the Democratic Party in southern Brooklyn.
He noted that state Sen. Iwen Chu, the first Asian woman elected to that body, was his chief of staff before winning her seat, and that he is backing Jimmy Li as a Democratic district leader.
The former lawmaker also said he authored a law to boost benefits for Sanny and Wenjian Liu’s daughter, Angelina.
“For her to say that is outrageous,” Abbatte said of Bichotte-Hermelyn’s “white supremacy” claim.
“All she is doing is dividing the Democratic Party,” he said. “She is a disgrace to the Democratic Party. The best thing she could do is resign.”
He said the party leader was “using” Sanny Liu and other Asian residents for her own political ends.
Bichotte-Hermelyn is no stranger to controversy. This past fall, she dragged race and class into the city’s migrant crisis, claiming the wealthier whiter neighborhoods in her borough were not shouldering their fair share of shelters.
