Brooklyn Republican Lester Chang pushes back on Assembly residency probe

ALBANY — Assemblyman-elect Lester Chang insists Brooklyn has always been his home borough despite residency questions raised by Democrats running the chamber.

The Republican, who defeated longtime Democratic Assemblyman Peter Abbate last month, spoke out over the weekend for the first time since the Assembly launched a probe to determine whether Chang truly lived in the borough for at least a year prior to Election Day, as, required by law.

“It was my childhood home, I never left,” Chang said during a Saturday rally in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Earlier this month, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) directed the chamber’s Judiciary Committee to investigate Chang, a Navy veteran who previously ran an unsuccessful bid for a state Senate seat in 2020 and lost a special election for a Manhattan Assembly seat in 2016.

Chang defeated Abbate in a tight race to represent the 49th Assembly District, which covers Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst.

Questions were raised about whether he is eligible to represent the area because he voted in Manhattan in 2021. Chang conceded that he lived with his wife in Manhattan until her 2019 death, but maintains he remained a Brooklyn resident.

“Yes, I spent time in Manhattan,” he said. “I am personally offended that anyone would challenge my honor and integrity.”

In typical election cycles, candidates must live in the district they seek to represent for at least a year. Due to redistricting, those running for legislative offices this year only had to live within the same borough as the seat they were running for.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the matter next Monday. Should lawmakers move to boot Chang during a vote by the full chamber in January, Gov. Hochul could call a special election.

“Residency is the law,” Heastie told reporters last week. “And this has nothing to do with the election.”

Last month, Chang was part of a red wave that swept over southern Brooklyn as Republicans unseated some incumbent Democrats.

In addition to Abbate, Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz lost to Republican challenger Michael Novakhov, and Assemblywoman Mathylde Frontus was narrowly defeated by Democrat-turned-Republican Alec Brook-Krasny.

Republicans campaigned hard on crime as well as cashless bail reforms enacted under Democrats in Albany. Despite the Republican gains, Dems maintained control of both the state Senate and Assembly.