Queens Community Board member under fire for bike lanes and immigrants comments

CORONA, Queens (WABC) -- A long time Community Board member in Queens is making no apologies for saying bike lanes in the Corona section will be empty because, all the "illegals" will be gone thanks to President Trump.

There is big reaction against her in Queens which is home to nearly half of the city's 500,000 undocumented immigrants.

"When ICE goes through, logically speaking they're not going to have people using bike lanes," said Ann Pfoser Darby, at a community board meeting.

Longtime community board member Ann Darby spoke on the phone with Eyewitness News Wednesday night.

She was doubling down on comments she made Tuesday night in Corona, Queens, about why she thinks bike lanes are a waste of money.

An audio recording of that meeting was obtained exclusively by Eyewitness News.

"There's no sense as I said last May to do the bicycle lanes on Queens Boulevard because they're going to have to be removed, and all over the city. Because people are not there to ride those bicycles anymore, the people are back home. And there's going to be more people back home. And the federal money is not going to come into this city. We've gone too far. We've gone a little too far!" Darby said.

On the phone, Darby, who has been a member of Community Board 4 for 30 years, says she can tell who is undocumented by looking at them.

"Some people they wear unusual dress so you can tell if they were born and bred here," Darby said.

Elected officials are now calling for her resignation.

"It's even worse. To suggest that you can tell someone's immigration status by what they're wearing and also imply that ICE that has picked up 90% of the people they are seeing," City Councilmember Julissa Ferreras-Copeland said.

In a statement, the chair of Community Board 4 said, "This Board member's comment is solely her opinion and does not reflect the opinion or the values of Community Board 4. Apologies were given to those members of the public who were present."

Meanwhile, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who has discretion of Community Board appointees said, "These types of comments by public servants are never acceptable."

But Sherry Tang has been Darby's next door neighbor for a decade and she says they've never had any problems.

"She's nice to me, sometimes I help her to shovel snow. Yeah. Very nice to each other," Tang said.

As for Darby, she says this is all a product of attacks from her political opponents.

"I'm a realist not a racist. I speak the truth. And I don't want them to harass me because this is political correctness," Darby said.