NEW YORK — Legacies for me, but not for thee.

Two years ago, Rep. Jamaal Bowman introduced a bill in Congress seeking to prohibit preferential admissions for legacy applicants at colleges — but a video recently unearthed by the New York Daily News shows two of his own children benefited from a version of that very system.

Bowman revealed his own family’s reliance on legacy admissions earlier this year during a talk with students at the Forsyth Satellite Academy, a public school on the Lower East Side.

“I worry for my kids in the education system, but I’m very privileged, and I’m embarrassed to say this to everybody: my kids go to private school,” the Democratic lawmaker can be heard saying in the video, which is dated Feb. 27, 2024 and was posted on Forsyth’s Instagram page.

Bowman, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester, went on to explain that his second wife had attended private school, which bestowed legacy status upon their two children.

“She graduated from private school. So, now that she has kids, those kids get legacy admissions into these private schools,” he continued. “So now I got two kids with my second wife who goes to these private schools. It was her decision, not mine, but I went with it because I like the school.”

Bowman is now locked in a competitive primary fight with Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Voting for that contest is set for June 25.

The race has been dominated by debate over where the two stand on the Israeli conflict with Hamas in Gaza, with Bowman taking a more pro-Palestinian stance and Latimer siding primarily with the Israelis. Bowman has also taken heat for defending a mural depicting Louis Farrakhan and for pulling a fire alarm on Capitol Hill, while Latimer has come under fire for accepting donations from contributors who also gave to former President Donald Trump.

Now, Bowman’s position on legacy admissions is being called into question as well.

Former Gov. David Paterson, who endorsed Latimer earlier this month, said it demonstrates the Congressman is failing to lead by example.

...continued

©2024 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.