The Yonkers City Council Majority Leader, Tasha Diaz, faces rebuke after Council Member Corazón Pineda-Isaac files a lengthy complaint alleging a history of violent threats made by Diaz while in City Hall.
A record of threatening remarks
Tasha Diaz achieved an upset victory in the 2019 race to represent the third district on the City Council. Only two years into her first term, she accomplished another unexpected feat by becoming Majority Leader of that body. However, her ascension to that office faced public scrutiny. Criticism came not only from the colleague she replaced, Corazón Pineda-Isaac, but also then first district Council Member, Shanae Williams.
During the re-organization meeting to adopt the rules for these offices, Williams enumerated the personal flaws she felt precluded Diaz from this leadership role. In her remarks, Williams submits that Diaz threatened to “F them up” referring to both Pineda-Isaac and fourth district Council Member John Rubbo. She herself claims to have also received a threat on the council floor over the failed affordable housing ordinance. Williams further alleges that Diaz “cursed out” the Commissioner of the Parks Department, the Deputy Mayor, and called another commissioner the “C word.”
Watch Council Member Shanae Williams Speak on the Conduct of Member Tasha Diaz
Despite these warnings, Tasha Diaz nevertheless became Majority Leader. Further to Williams’ dismay, Diaz did not rise to the office and outgrow her inappropriate method of communication.
Less than six months into her role, Diaz was confronted by Pineda-Isaac regarding comments she overheard across their adjacent offices. Least among them were Diaz’s insults about her wardrobe and name-calling like, “backwards b****.” However, these paled in comparison to the explicitly violent threat that Diaz would, “slap the taste out of [her] mouth.” A small portion of the May 2022 incident can be heard below or by clicking here.
Unsavory remarks from Majority Leader Diaz persisted outside of private offices as well. During the chaos of the November 2022 meeting to extend term limits for Mayor Mike Spano, Diaz chided colleagues and constituents alike. Most notably, she called some residents in the crowd beggars and implied her colleagues were “fake” and “phony.” She released a public statement a few days later saying that she herself was the victim of intimidation and harassment.
Another term, another threat
Despite these unbecoming incidents following Diaz like a shadow, the Council again voted her as their Majority Leader in 2024. But, it wasn’t long before Diaz allegedly committed her most egregious remark to-date. After that very same meeting that kept her in leadership, some in the council chambers claim to have heard Tasha Diaz threaten to “slit that b****’s throat” in reference to Corazón Pineda-Isaac. While no known recordings exist of this threat, more than one person informed us they will testify to authorities on that claim.
Someone among those witnesses likely told Pineda-Isaac of that threat which then became the basis of her formal complaint to the Human Resources Department. The January 24, 2024 letter to HR Commissioner Carlos Moran not only cites this recent remark, but outlines the history of Diaz’s inappropriate and potentially dangerous conduct.
Council Member Pineda-Isaac begins by stressing the difficulty in writing the complaint, but that she “cannot remain silent any longer.” After detailing the May 2022 “slap” threat, and her private outreach to Diaz for a remedy, Pineda-Isaac indicated that Diaz’s menacing behavior only “continued and worsened.” Subsequent incidents are also described such as in December 2023 when former City Council President Chuck Lesnick reportedly approached Diaz about personnel issues on the council. Diaz snapped back to Lesnick with, “did that b**** Corazón put you up to this?” And the HR complaint lastly references the “slit that b****’s throat” comment following the January 2024 re-org meeting.
Pineda-Isaac concludes her complaint with a plea for help. “When will this come to an end?,” she asks Commissioner Moran while noting that she is not the only person to be verbally attacked by Diaz. Furthermore, she fears the possibility that these words will become actions and result in physical harm to her and her colleagues.
We contacted both the Majority Leader Tasha Diaz and City of Yonkers Communications Director Christina Gilmartin for their comments on this complaint. Neither office responded with their comments.
