NYC official suspended for naked appearance on work Zoom call

Blurry video shows Tolozano with a woman while other employees try to figure out what was going on

A New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) in Brooklyn

Sravasti Dasgupta

April 11 2022 09:47 AM

A New York city administrator has been suspended after he was found allegedly engaging in sexual activity during a routine weekly video conference.

Alex Tolozano, 53, a Bronx neighbourhood administrator of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), appeared in his Microsoft Teams window naked and next to a woman last Wednesday, reported The City.

The call was video recorded by another employee of the NYCHA.

The blurry video showed Mr Tolozano with a woman while other employees tried to figure out what was going on.

“So he’s laying in the bed,” one of the participants can be heard saying in the video.

Another participant can be heard shouting: “Oh my God” when the woman can be seen appearing on the screen.

The video subsequently shows Mr Tolozano appearing naked in the video moments later.

Other participants can be heard saying: “Oh my God! No!”

The meeting included at least 50 employees including upper-level managers and superintendents of the NYCHA, sources were quoted as saying to The City.

Officials said that during the meeting Mr Tolozano’s phone camera was on the screen for “at least two minutes revealing that he was potentially engaged in inappropriate activity with another individual.”

In an email statement Barbara Brancaccio said that Mr Tolzano has been suspended without pay for 30 days.

“NYCHA took swift disciplinary action following this incident by immediately suspending the employee, initiating an investigation and beginning the administrative process for dismissal,” Ms Brancaccio said.

“Inappropriate activity, absconding from work, and time abuse are not tolerated at NYCHA and will be met with suitable consequences,” she added.

Mr Tolozano has previously faced disciplinary proceedings over work performance issues three times prior to this incident, NYCHA officials said.

“Most importantly, NYCHA is working tirelessly to root out bad actors and create a culture of compliance, service, professionalism and respect, and we will not allow this unacceptable behaviour to deter us from our mission or discourage or demoralise our extraordinary workforce,” Ms Brancaccio’s statement said.