City councilmember forcibly kissed at subway station, but NYPD says no complaint filed

The NYPD says there is no active complaint on file after City Councilmember Inna Vernikov was forcibly kissed in a Brighton Beach subway station in an act that was caught on video by a television reporter.

CBS news reporter Hannah Kliger shared a video on Thursday of Vernikov giving an interview on peeling lead paint falling from a subway station in her Brighton Beach district. In the video, a man is seen entering the shot, where he kisses Vernikov on the cheek and laughs. The councilmember is heard yelling “What the f—?” as the man walks away.

Vernikov addressed the incident at length in a statement issued on Sunday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The unwanted and uninvited behavior was a breach of my bodily autonomy and private space,” she wrote. “No woman should ever have to experience that.”

But when asked about an investigation, the NYPD said there was no complaint on file.

Vernikov, who represents parts of south Brooklyn, declined to comment on the matter further to Gothamist. After the incident, she said the exchange was “not the kind of love I expect from constituents!” on social media.

Other councilmembers denounced the exchange in the days that followed. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams referred to the incident as an instance of sexual assault.

“There is no place in our city or anywhere for this violence, yet we know women are subjected to this every day,” Adams said in a post on X.

Vernikov, a Republican, said that she appreciated the concern from her colleagues “from both sides of the aisle.”

“And although the outrage surrounding the event is warranted, I want to make sure that this incident does not trivialize the very serious, pervasive, sexual abuse and harrassment that causes victims years of pain and crippling trauma that impacts their lives for years to come,” she added.

The headline of this story has been updated.