Exclusive | NY city and state lawmakers condemn CUNY chancellor after anti-Israel melee at Brooklyn College: Step up or step down

A bipartisan group of nine New York City and state lawmakers is demanding Brooklyn College take swift action after a mob of anti-Israel protesters brawled with cops on campus Thursday, resulting in more than a dozen arrests.“It is unacceptable but not surprising that almost two years after October 7th — after an investigation into CUNY and several public hearings — we are still grappling with disruptive and criminal behavior against Jewish students, encampments and masked agitators on campus,” reads a May 9 letter to Brooklyn College chancellor Félix V.Matos Rodríguez exclusively obtained by The Post.The letter was signed by Councilmembers Inna Vernikov, Farah Louis, Mercedes Narcisse, and Robert Holden, and Assemblymembers Kalman Yeger, Lester Chang, Eric Ari Brown, Jamie Williams and Alec Brook-Krasny.The chaos erupted around 4:50 p.m.

Thursday after a group of agitators attempted to start a tent encampment on the Bedford Avenue campus as students were studying for finals.The protesters “erected tents on the Brooklyn College quad in violation of college policy,” a Brooklyn College spokesperson said in a statement.“After multiple warnings to take the tents down and disperse, members of CUNY Public Safety and NYPD removed the tents and dispersed the crowd,” he added.

“The safety of our campus community will always be paramount, and Brooklyn College respects the right to protest while also adhering to strict rules meant to ensure the safe operation of our University and prohibit individuals from impeding access to educational facilities.”The NYPD arrested at least 14 people during the fracas.However, police waited “for hours” outside the school’s gate before they were allowed on campus to disperse the rioters, the lawmakers’ letter said.Judge Jonathan Lippman — a highly respected, retired state chief judge — conducted a damning 10-month probe into antisemitism at CUNY schools at Gov.Kathy Hochul’s behest last year.Among the fi...