New occupant for vacant Bx. Council seat

The City Council seat Andy King vacated under a thick cloud of scandal will get a new occupant.

Kevin Riley, an aide to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, declared victory in a special election for the Bronx seat, which King was drummed out of after the Council voted to expel him over ethics charges.

“I would like to thank the voters of the 12th Council District for giving me the privilege and honor to represent them in City Council,” Riley said in a tweet Tuesday night. “This victory is not only for me, but for each and every single individual who supported me.”

The Council expelled King in October after finding he harassed and discriminated against a female employee, took a kickback from another staffer and failed to pay a fine for previous misconduct.

According to the Council’s Ethics Committee, King forced a female staffer to go on unpaid leave after she complained of menstrual bleeding, telling her at one point to “put a Band-Aid on it.”

He gave another staffer a $9,500 payment with Council cash — and then demanded a $2,000 kickback in return, the committee found.

King also refused to accept part of the punishment he received last year for separate violations and belittled a monitor who was placed in his office with sexist remarks and profanity.

The Council district, which Riley will take over for the remaining year of King’s term, encompasses Co-op City, Edenwald and Baychester.

A separate election for the next term will take place in 2021.

Results posted on the city Board of Elections website show that Riley won Tuesday’s special election with 65% of the vote tally with a total of 3,834 votes.

Pamela Hamilton-Johnson came in second with 1,380 votes.