Accused by two women of sexual assault, Queens Assemblymember Juan Ardila is facing calls to resign from some fellow Democrats.  

But so far, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is not putting any pressure on him to quit.

In the pages of the Queens Chronicle, two women are accusing the freshman lawmaker of sexually assaulting them at a drunken party in 2015.

What You Need To Know

  • Two women are accusing Queens Assemblymember Juan Ardila of sexual misconduct

  • Some colleagues are calling on Ardila to resign, but Speaker Carl Heastie is not

  • Ardila was elected to the seat last year

  • The allegations are from 2015

The two women, who asked the newspaper not to identify them, said he forcibly touched them at the party, taking one of them into a bathroom where he allegedly forcibly kissed her and exposed himself to her.

But while some colleagues, including the deputy leader of the State Senate, were calling on Ardila to resign his Assembly seat, the Democratic Assembly leader was reserving judgment.

“The allegations that were made are serious. And the behavior was described as totally unacceptable,” Heastie told reporters at the state Capitol. “But I think that is a decision that Juan and his constituents have to think about.”

Ardila was on the floor of the Assembly in Albany Wednesday during the regular voting session.

When NY1 caught up with him on the first floor of the Capitol, he refused to answer our questions and walked out of the building with an Assembly security guard.

In a statement posted to Twitter Tuesday, Ardila says, “I want the public to know that I am deeply apologetic for my past behavior and acknowledge that my actions have caused great harm. I made mistakes and I am not perfect.”

Several colleagues in the legislature are calling on Ardila to resign, including Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, State Sen. Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris and City Comptroller Brad Lander.

Ardila once worked for Lander when he served in the City Council.

Ardila strongly identifies with the progressive-leaning Working Families Party. Sources say party officials helped Ardila write his response to the allegations, but the leadership of the WFP denies that is the case.

It was the Assembly report in 2021 and subsequent threat to impeach former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over sexual misconduct allegations that led to his resignation.

But Heastie says this case is different.

“Well, you have to remember that the allegations did not happen when he was a member of the Assembly. This is not something the Ethics Committee would look at, so we are limited in an Assembly response,” Heastie says.

Attempts to reach those making the allegations were unsuccessful.

Some assemblymembers said they believe disciplinary action should be taken against Ardila.