{"id":623,"date":"2026-08-20T14:12:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=623"},"modified":"2026-08-20T14:12:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:12:45","slug":"where-are-the-subpoenas-julie-menin-touted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=623","title":{"rendered":"Where are the subpoenas Julie Menin touted?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin made it clear she intended to beef up the City Council\u2019s oversight powers, but eight months into her term, the council has yet to flex one of its strongest muscles: the rarely used subpoena power.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Hochul launches her first TV ads of the cycle as she shifts into full campaign mode<\/a><\/p>\n

No one from Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s administration attended Tuesday\u2019s oversight hearing on the city\u2019s pied-\u00e0-terre tax rollout. Attendance at council hearings is a sticking point for the speaker. \u201c(It) is completely disrespectful to not have commissioners attend City Council hearings,\u201d said Menin during an interview with The New York Editorial Board in January. \u201cSo that is something that is going to change. I fully expect that commissioners show up at the City Council hearings and not only show up but be prepared to answer questions.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The administration\u2019s no-show seemed like a potential opportunity to force the agency\u2019s hand with that subpoena power, which Menin stated she would use.<\/p>\n

So why not wield it? Likely because it\u2019s seen as a somewhat drastic measure that can carry risks. For one thing, the administration could fight the subpoena and win in court, carrying the possibility of defang-ing future attempts. It can also heighten tensions between the mayor and council. (Though tensions are already climbing between Menin and Mamdani and their respective sides of City Hall. On Wednesday, the mayor\u2019s office planned to file a lawsuit against the City Council over its legislation to raise paraprofessionals\u2019 pay.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Typically, the subpoena is seen as a last resort option in the council\u2019s oversight toolkit and not using it is seemingly one way Menin is being careful about how adversarial the council gets with the Mamdani administration.<\/p>\n

Instead, Menin\u2019s intended targets for the subpoena power, if the council does use it, are more likely to be corporations and bad actors. Last week, the council opened an investigation into four prediction market platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket, focused primarily on their marketing and advertising practices in the city. If they were to completely shirk questions and hearing appearances requested by the city, a subpoena could be on the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe council has utilized its subpoena power on rare occasions and it is an important tool to protect New Yorkers and ensure accountability. Speaker Menin has expanded the Council\u2019s proactive investigative work into industries like prediction markets,\u201d said Menin spokesperson Henry Robins. \u201cThe council will consider all appropriate tools available to ensure accountability from both private entities and city government.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Some BK Dems call for district leader\u2019s resignation for \u2018antisemitic conduct\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams also faced calls to use the subpoena, following a string of no-shows by the New York City Police Department at oversight hearings in 2023. At the time, several members of the council joined calls to use the power to compel testimony. But that council never did, and councils before it used it sparingly too.<\/p>\n

Council Member Gale Brewer, who previously chaired the Committee on Oversight and Investigations, mulled over the possibility when asked on Tuesday about the possibility of subpoenaing documents from the administration regarding the pied-\u00e0-terre tax rollout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure we could. We\u2019re working with the speaker\u2019s office,\u201d Brewer told reporters at a press conference. \u201cThe first thing we\u2019re going to do is have the hearing, send the questions, we want answers to all of them, and if we don\u2019t, then we\u2019ll take the next step. But right now that\u2019s our steps.\u201d Speaking to City & State on Wednesday, Brewer referred to it as a rarely used power and said she didn\u2019t recall it being on the table in the past either.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a story in The City Reporter earlier this week about the cumbersome reporting bills that City Councils typically pass, requiring agencies to compile extensive information, Alex Camarda, a senior policy advisor at Reinvent Albany, suggested the City Council could more often use its oversight powers \u2013\u00a0including subpoena power when necessary. \u201cSubpoenas should be reserved after all options are exhausted as opposed to defaulting to passing legislation that requires reports and burdens agencies,\u201d he told City & State Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For now, Menin seems content to simply flash the weapon, reminding the administration that the council can, if needed, fire it. Last month, she threatened a subpoena to retrieve requested contracts from the Department of Education after months of waiting. \u201cEven the threat of a subpoena can be more useful than the subpoena itself,\u201d Camarda said.<\/p>\n

Read more Who\u2019s cooking for Mamdani? It could be you!<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eight months into her time as speaker, Julie Menin has not issued a subpoena, but she speaks often of beefing up the City Council\u2019s oversight powers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,20,71,18,45],"tags":[72,21,73,19,46],"class_list":["post-623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-julie-menin","category-new-york-city","category-new-york-city-council","category-policy","category-zohran-mamdani","tag-julie-menin","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-council","tag-policy","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere are the subpoenas Julie Menin touted? - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=623\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where are the subpoenas Julie Menin touted? 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