An eleventh-hour New York City school board appointment by Mayor Adams has sparked controversy over his use of the word “retarded” describing a response to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show — leaving Mayor Mamdani to deal with the fallout over a member he did not select.
In a since-deleted post on X, current Panel for Educational Policy and former City Council member Joe Borelli, a Republican, used the derogatory term to mock a Democratic congressman’s post about the Puerto Rican musician’s performance, a flashpoint for President Trump and his supporters.
“This was the most retarded thing to happen during the Bad Bunny show,” the ex-lawmaker retweeted Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.)’s post, including two “selfies” with Bad Bunny on his television screen.
Borelli’s post, which did not criticize the halftime show directly but rather Democrats’ response to it, quickly sparked backlash among local education advocates, who said it was unbecoming of a citywide school board member and discriminatory toward people with disabilities.
X.com
A since-deleted X post by Joe Borelli used a derogatory term to mock a Democratic congressman’s post about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show. (X.com)
The controversy presents an early test for Mamdani, who campaigned on a platform to end mayoral control of city schools. More recently, his administration asked the state to extend the mayor’s authority over the system for another four years, while promising to be more accountable to the public.
The PEP chair, who is a mayoral appointee, reached out to Borelli and asked him to delete the post, and he did, apologizing to “whoever was offended,” Borelli told the Daily News on Monday.
“I apologized and took it down,” Borelli said.
A rep for the school system said Borelli’s term is scheduled to end on June 30. The panel chair, Gregory Faulker, is working on a resolution restating the PEP’s support for students with disabilities.
“We are unwavering in our support for all of our students, regardless of background or disability, and we strongly condemn the type of language used by a PEP member yesterday evening,” said Nicole Brownstein, a spokeswoman for the city’s public schools.
A spokeswoman for Mamdani referred The News to the school system’s statement.
Under recent changes to state law, Mamdani cannot remove school board members in most instances until the end of their term, but can remove a mayoral appointee for “good cause.” The new protections for PEP members were added in recent years to give the panel more independence from mayors, who have historically used their power to remove members who voted against their directive on school policies and contracts.
Some progressive advocates believe that power is warranted in the aftermath of Borelli’s post.
“It’s my opinion that Borelli needs to resign or be removed as his use of an ableist slur violates his oath of office,” said Jessamyn Lee, a former PEP member and advocate for students with disabilities.
Gavin Healy, who penned an open letter to the PEP, told The News that the panel should call on the mayor to remove him: “I understand that a mayoral appointee be removed by the mayor only for ‘good cause.’ I think this constitutes good cause,” Healy said. “The mayor should take a stand on this since we are under a system of mayoral control.”
Healy’s letter called “the r-word” a “slur” and its use by a panelist “appalling.”
Borelli, when read from the letter, said he agreed that his use of the word was wrong: “I agree with every point in that letter.”
