New York City URGENTLY needs a sane City Council speaker

With Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani taking office Jan. 1, New York City desperately needs some steady hands at the top of city government: Having the City Council tap Julie Menin as its next speaker would be a great start.

The council itself will still have the solid progressive majority that saw it overriding at least eight of Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes, including last year’s How Many Stops Act; it also passed multiple dubious measures with veto-proof majorities that Adams simply let become law.

Menin herself is no conservative, and only “moderate” compared to Mamdani: She voted “aye” with the other progs on all those measures; she’s bragged about funding Drag Queen Story Hours in her district and opposing righty group Moms for Liberty hosting a forum in the city.

And we slammed her repeatedly for her role in pushing a hotel-regulation bill that was basically a gift to the powerhouse hotel-workers union under guise of promoting safety.

But at least she made some compromises on the way to getting that bill passed; a host of established interests — unions and Democratic regulars as well as many in the business community — see her as a voice for practical common sense who can help steer the new mayor into implementing his agenda without triggering a mass exodus of taxpayers.

And she actually knows city government as a three-time former head of a major city agency and a veteran of the city’s Law Department before winning her East Side council seat. 

Three other known speaker hopefuls are markedly more aligned with the progressive-activist community: Crystal Hudson (Brooklyn), Amanda Farias (The Bronx) and Chris Marte (Manhattan), who backed Mamdani in the general election.

Queens councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers, like Menin, didn’t endorse a mayoral candidate.

The mayor-elect is sending every signal he means to go full speed ahead; the most obvious hope for any semblance of stability is a speaker who can at least help him avoid the worst potholes.

Julie Menin may be the only game in town for New Yorkers eager to avoid four years of nonstop disaster.