NYC Councilmember Joe Borelli announces resignation

Borelli was set to be term-limited at the end of this year.

Republican Joe Borelli, the minority leader of the New York City Council, will resign at the end of the month, he told Gothamist on Saturday.

“ I can't run for office again. So the right opportunity did come along and it was the right time for my family and I to take the plunge,” Borelli said. “ I feel very comfortable leaving Staten Island in the capable hands of the present and future elected officials and I wish everyone in City Hall luck going forward.”

The Staten Island lawmaker, who has represented the borough’s South Shore in the Council for nearly a decade, first told the New York Post he would resign months before he was set to be term-limited from his office at the end of this year. He said he will become a lobbyist with Washington D.C.-based Chartwell Strategy Group and will open the firm's New York office.

In the Council, Borelli began with a three-member Republican delegation that has since grown to include six of the Council’s 51 members. Those small numbers mean he could not advance much legislation.

“ It was tough to lose the overwhelming majority of policy battles,” Borelli said. “Being a Staten Islander, you know we're already on our back foot, so I'm just one of those believers in the idea that it's great to pass the baton to people who are fresher and younger and have different ideas about how to accomplish things.”

The conservative lawmaker voiced concern about the future of the city’s finances, and whether spending levels and the current tax burden on New Yorkers were sustainable. But he also said he’s pleased to see the city’s electorate shift rightward, and added that he sees that shift as part of his legacy.

At one point, Borelli was mentioned as a possible mayoral candidate if Mayor Eric Adams were to resign or be removed from office. But in another sign that Republicans may be warming to Adams, Borelli made it clear that he no longer saw that as an option. Instead, he’s excited to watch it all play out.

“Look, 2025 is going to be a made-for-TV movie,” Borelli said. “I’m excited to be on the sidelines with some popcorn, cheering on different people as they go through the process. I wouldn’t count the mayor out at all. Incumbents have a special way of always seeming to win,” he added.

His resignation will trigger a special election for his seat in the Council’s 51st District, which has always been represented by a Republican and is the city’s most conservative Council district.

Borelli, who previously served on the state Assembly, first entered the Council after winning a special election in 2015. He has since been a prominent conservative voice in the mostly liberal city legislature, and was elected to the position of minority leader in 2021.

This story may be updated with new information.