Vickie Paladino: Controversies and Criticism

COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate and Holocaust Comparison (January 2022)

On her first day in office, Paladino refused to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination as required to enter the council chamber. She likened the documentation requirement to practices associated with authoritarian regimes during the Holocaust, a comparison that drew swift and widespread condemnation from colleagues, Jewish organizations, and media outlets . Paladino subsequently apologized for the specific comparison but maintained her opposition to the vaccine mandate itself . She was barred from the council chamber until she received a religious exemption weeks later .

Drag Queen Story Hour Remarks and Committee Removal (June 2022 to March 2023)

In June 2022, Paladino posted a series of statements on social media condemning Drag Queen Story Hour, a city-funded program in which drag performers read to children at schools and libraries. She described the program as inappropriate for children and accused its supporters of facilitating the sexualization of minors . She also threatened to withhold funding from any school in her district that hosted such events . Councilmember Chi Osse, who is bisexual, publicly objected to Paladino's characterization of the program. The LGBTQIA+ Caucus called for her censure and removal from committee assignments . In March 2023, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams removed Paladino from the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addiction, citing a lack of confidence in her commitment to inclusivity . Paladino reported receiving death threats following the controversy .

Son's Activity on Far-Right Social Media Platform (2018 to Present)

Thomas Paladino Jr., Paladino's son and longtime campaign strategist, has maintained an account on Gab, a social media platform associated with far-right and white supremacist users. Reporting by Gothamist in October 2018 documented posts on his account that included inflammatory content about a member of Congress, racially charged language about people in Africa, and an image of a television personality depicted with a mustache associated with Nazi imagery . The account also reposted content from a user who had been identified as promoting white supremacist ideology, including a post suggesting Vickie Paladino as a potential replacement for a prominent white nationalist figure .

Thomas Paladino Jr. has described his Gab activity as provocative humor and denied racist intent . Reporting has also noted that Vickie Paladino's own Twitter account previously engaged with a post containing anti-Asian language, and that she once spoke favorably of the Proud Boys, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated a hate group . A former field director for Paladino's campaign was separately reported to have used a numerical slogan associated with white supremacist movements and to have expressed support for a prominent white nationalist figure online .

Thomas Paladino Jr. continued to attract controversy in subsequent years. At a Department of Transportation workshop in October 2024 about a proposed greenway in northeast Queens, he was recorded engaging in confrontational exchanges with attendees . On the day before the November 2025 election, he was filmed confronting and berating volunteers for Paladino's opponent Ben Chou at a polling site, accusing them of harassment in an exchange captured on video . City camera data showed that vehicles linked to Thomas Paladino Jr. had accumulated dozens of school-zone speeding violations .

Fake License Plate Allegation (2023)

In July 2023, Streetsblog NYC reported that a vehicle parked in Paladino's driveway appeared to display a fraudulent temporary license plate. The report drew particular attention because Paladino had herself sponsored legislation to address the use of fake temporary plates on vehicles . The vehicle was reportedly registered to Thomas Paladino Jr. .

Inflammatory Remarks About Pro-Palestinian Protesters (May 2024)

Following mass arrests at New York University during pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Paladino posted on social media that schools were producing dangerous individuals and that it was necessary to confront them, using combative language that critics interpreted as inciting violence against student demonstrators. She also called for the institutions and faculty connected to the protests to be dismantled . In a separate post, she characterized pro-Palestinian subway demonstrators as the worst members of society .

Congestion Pricing Laser Pointer Post (January 2025)

On the day congestion pricing launched, Paladino posted information about how commercially available laser pointers could damage camera sensors, adding a disclaimer advising readers not to point such devices at cameras. When a commenter asked whether the method would work on congestion pricing equipment, she responded with suggestive emojis . MTA Chair Janno Lieber called her statement inappropriate for an elected official . Critics noted that damaging public infrastructure could constitute criminal mischief and that laser pointers pose safety risks, including documented incidents involving airline pilots .

Threat of Violence in Social Media Post (January 2025)

In January 2025, Paladino responded to a StreetsBlog NYC report on illegal sidewalk parking by NYPD vehicles by posting a remark suggesting that the reporter had never experienced physical violence, which critics interpreted as a veiled threat. A spokesperson for the City Council issued a statement criticizing the post .

Anti-Muslim Social Media Posts, Ethics Charges, and Settlement (2025 to 2026)

In June 2025, Paladino called for the deportation of then-mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen who emigrated from Uganda as a child . In December 2025, following the Bondi Beach shooting during a Hanukkah celebration, she posted a call for the removal of Muslims from western countries and urged the creation of a legal framework for revoking citizenship. She deleted the post after condemnation from colleagues and then-Mayor-elect Mamdani . In February 2026, she described a photograph of Mayor Mamdani praying with Muslim sanitation workers as evidence of religious expansionism, stating that the population was being supplanted . She also questioned the appointment of a Muslim American city official who had been born in Brooklyn, asking whether the administration included any actual Americans .

In January 2026, Council Speaker Julie Menin removed Paladino from five of seven committee assignments and referred the matter to the Standards and Ethics Committee . In March 2026, the committee voted to charge Paladino with disorderly behavior and violating the council's anti-harassment and discrimination policy . Paladino, represented by attorney Jim Walden, filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the council, arguing that her posts were personal speech on matters of public concern and not subject to legislative discipline . In May 2026, the parties reached a settlement under which Paladino agreed to delete three posts, issue a public statement, and remove her council title from her personal X account, while the council withdrew the disciplinary charges .