Pol accused in sexual advances under fire from progressives
ALBANY — A growing number of elected officials are calling on embattled Queens Assemblyman Juan Ardila to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct that date to nearly a decade ago.
A group of Ardila’s fellow progressives joined the chorus of those calling on him to step down after a pair of women came forward this week and accused him of making unwanted sexual advances at a party.
“The accounts from the women who experienced sexual assault are harrowing and reveal indefensible actions — to which he has admitted,” the coalition of Ardila’s fellow Queens Democrats said in a statement. “While we believe in restorative justice, this process cannot occur while holding a position of power.”
The group includes state Sens. Kristen Gonzalez, Julia Salazar and Michael Gianaris, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and City Councilwoman Julie Won.
Ardila, 29, took office in January. The Fordham University grad, who represents Maspeth and Sunnyside, replaced former Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, who chose not to seek reelection last year after serving almost four decades in Albany.
Ardila is accused of forcibly touching two women at a 2015 party while they were intoxicated and exposing himself to one of them. The Queens Chronicle first reported the alleged misconduct.
One of the women, who spoke anonymously to the Chronicle and the Queens Daily Eagle, said Ardila (photo) kissed and groped her during a party in October 2015.
That woman relayed written allegations from a second woman, who the Chronicle reported was pulled into a bathroom by Ardila. Once there, she alleges, he kissed her, and that when she pulled away, he exposed himself.
“I apologize for my behavior,” Ardila told the Chronicle. “I have spent time reflecting, and I hope to prove I have matured since college. I’m committed to learning from this and I am able to demonstrate my own personal growth.”
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) called the allegations against Ardila “unacceptable,” but added that whether he should step down is up to the lawmaker and his constituents.
Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens), who Ardila ran against for City Council two years ago, called on the district attorneys of the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan, as well as the NYPD, to investigate the claims.
“The two women who have come forward with allegations of sexual assault by Assembly member Ardila deserve to have their voices heard and receive justice for the harm done to them,” Holden wrote to the officials.
Progressive Councilwomen Tiffany Caban and Jennifer Gutierrez, meanwhile, issued a separate statement on Wednesday echoing their colleagues’ calls for Ardila to resign — while also slamming critics who said Ardila’s one-time liberal allies weren’t responding quickly enough.
“This is not the survivor-centered trauma-informed process we believe in,” Caban and Gutierrez said. “In the world we want, survivors, those who’ve done harm, [and] their communities all come together to determine how to make things as right as possible, and how best to foster healing and growth going forward.
“That said, such a process requires that those who have transgressed take accountability, tell the truth, and do the hard work of atonement and repair. Juan Ardila has not lived up to that standard,” they added.