STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A former Staten Island councilmember is facing fierce backlash after using a slur in a tweet on Super Bowl Sunday. <\/p>\n
Joe Borelli, who left his South Shore City Council seat January 2025, wrote in a since deleted post to X, the following: \u201cThis was the most r——d thing to happen during the Bad Bunny show.\u201d <\/p>\n
His comment was in reference to Michigan\u2019s Democratic Congressmember Shri Thanedar posting two selfies in front of his TV screen with Bad Bunny performing in the background \u2014 not the Bad Bunny halftime show itself. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was wrong for a member of the school board to use that word. It just was. No excuses. I apologize,\u201d Borelli said in a comment to the Advance\/SILive.com. <\/p>\n
Borelli presently serves on the New York City school board \u2014 specifically, as a member of the Panel for Educational Policy. <\/p>\n
The school board\u2019s chair, Greg Faulkner, said this of Borelli\u2019s tweet<\/a>: \u201cSuch language is fundamentally at odds with the mission of this Panel and the inclusive environment we strive to build for our students and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are unwavering in our support for all of our students, regardless of background or disability, and we strongly condemn the type of language used by a PEP member yesterday evening,\u201d NYC Education Department Spokesperson Nicole Brownstein said in a written statement. <\/p>\n Borelli was recently honored in July 2025 for his work with Eden II<\/a>, a Staten Island non-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting community members with autism. <\/p>\n