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Pol Apologizes After Being Accused Of Making Racially Charged Remarks
Filed Under:Ellen Birnbaum, Jay Jacobs, Mike Xirinachs, Nassau County Legislature
Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum (credit: NassauCountyNY.gov)Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum (credit: NassauCountyNY.gov)

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Nassau Democrats are calling on one of their own county legislators to resign over racially derogatory comments she allegedly made about a predominantly minority community.

Democratic leaders have already stripped Legislator Ellen Birnbaum, D-Great Neck, of her committee assignments, WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported.

According to Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs, Birnbaum made remarks along the lines of, “This is a bad neighborhood, and it’s a ghetto — and for good measures, it’s full of those black people.”

She was allegedly talking about the area around the Yes We Can community center in New Cassel.

“She said to the Yes We Can center, no they can’t because they’re black,” Jacobs said.

Birnbaum has apologized for her remarks, but she refuses to step down.

“I will work every day to regain the confidence and trust in those who I’ve lost,” she told Xirinachs.

“I believe my constituents have elected me to a two-year term, and I plan on staying.”

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