Exclusive | Joann Ariola, new head of NYC Councils GOP, reveals what she wants to tackle first

The new GOP chief on the City Council told The Post after her stunning ascension Friday that she wants to be a “hands-on” leader while growing the Republican presence in New York.“We want to grow our party in the senate, in the assembly, grow our party right here in the City Council,” said Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola — who took the helm of the smattering of Republicans on the council in a contoversial vote Friday.Ariola, born and raised in the 32nd District that she serves, said her focus as the council’s GOP leader won’t stray from her current priorities — which include getting unvaxxed city workers who were sacked during the pandemic their jobs back and making sure “sanctuary city” laws serving even some illegal migrants are used for their intended purpose. “If the president brought back the people who were in the armed forces without having to get alleged vaccine, why can’t our municipal workers come back?” Ariola said.“And our right-to-shelter laws in this city were meant for our homeless population,” she said. Such issues have been debated exhaustively between the council and the Adams administration —  but Ariola hopes as a GOP leader she’ll be able to push the agenda even more with the help of other Republican honchos and even Democrats.“I want this to be a working office.

I want this to be an office that is active on all levels of government, from the federal government all the way to the city government,” she said.“I want to continue to work with all my colleagues even on the Democratic side, and the speaker.It’s very important to have that relationship.“I was also once chair of the [Queens] Republican Party, and I really had no problem backing a conservative Democrat.”The longtime Queens civic leader won a Republican primary in June 2021 with more than 80% of the vote and in November the same year was elected to the City Council in a general election by a margin of more than 65%. She entered her sec...