By:  Hal C Clarke

Despite his racist tirade at a City Council hearing in 2022, a child sex offender affiliated with a progressive advocacy group maintains close ties with some left-leaning lawmakers.

Douglas Powell, an ex-convict and Level 2 sex offender, made derogatory remarks about Asians while testifying on behalf of VOCAL-NY, a nonprofit organization focused on social issues such as ending the AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, and homelessness, NY Post reported.

Powell’s comments, which included stereotypes and discriminatory language, were denounced by several lawmakers, but VOCAL-NY chose not to sever ties with him.

VOCAL-NY receives millions in taxpayer money for their far left woke garbage.

Powell’s anti-Asian rant occurred at a December 2002 City Council hearing, where the radical left group was making the case to ban landlords from using background checks.

“Did you see those Asian people that just were talking?” he said in videotaped remarks, referring to two women who testified before him. “I live in Rego Park now. That’s the most racist neighborhood I’ve ever been in, and it’s nothing but Asians.”

“If you go into a store, they will follow you around like you’re getting ready to steal something,” Powell, 59, added. “They don’t want black people living in black people neighborhoods. Because it’s not their neighborhood, because they’re from China, they’re from Hong Kong. We from New York.”

Powell had been convicted in 2012 for an attempted criminal sex act involving a victim under the age of 15 in 2008.

Council members were recently captured in photos and videos interacting and protesting alongside Powell, despite their previous denouncement of his vitriolic statements, NY Post reported

This raised concerns among those who were directly affected by Powell’s remarks. Susan Lee, one of the women targeted in his tirade, expressed her disappointment, stating that the presence of Council members alongside Powell conveyed a disregard for the harm caused by his words.

In a gathering hosted by the Jewish organization Tidorf on May 4, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who had previously condemned Powell’s remarks, was seen sitting across the table from him. Councilwomen Gale Brewer, Shahana Hanif, and Sandy Nurse were also present at the table, while another photo showed Councilwoman Pierina Ana Sanchez alongside Powell.

Nurse further stood in the front row with Powell at a VOCAL-NY memorial rally for Jordan Neely, an action that drew public criticism during a Council budget hearing.

City Councilman Ari Kagan, a Republican from Brooklyn, joined the Council’s other Republicans and moderate Democrat Robert Holden in voting against reallocating funds for VOCAL-NY in February. Kagan called on council members to distance themselves from Powell, stating that anyone claiming to support the Asian American community and condemn racism should stay away from him. Holden had previously written a letter to the Council speaker, urging the cessation of funding for VOCAL-NY due to their engagement in what he deemed “radical and deplorable rhetoric.”

Despite these concerns and criticisms, the City Council continued to allocate funds to VOCAL-NY. During the fiscal year ending on June 30, the Council provided $642,000 in discretionary funding to the organization, supporting various progressive causes such as opioid prevention and treatment measures and education workshops on housing and housing rights.

When approached for comment, Powell declined, citing an inability to provide assistance.