NYC councilman Yusef Salaam — one of the exonerated Central Park 5 — to chair committee overseeing NYPD

New York City’s newly sworn-in Councilmember Yusef Salaam — one of the exonerated Central Park Five — is set to take over as chair of the council committee overseeing the NYPD, according to City Hall sources.

Salaam’s appointment to the Committee on Public Safety is expected to be confirmed Tuesday afternoon as Council Speaker Adrienne Adams reshuffles the council committee ranks in the new session. 

Committee appointments typically reward those who have been loyal team players for party leadership and stick it to those who have proven difficult.

The former public safety chair, Kamillah Hanks (D-Staten Island), will become the chair for the landmark committee  — a clear demotion in the party, Post sources said.

“That’s a total f—king slap in the face,” one council source told The Post, adding that she took a “big hit” with the controversial “How Many Stops Acts” bill.

Last month, the council passed the bill, which forces NYPD officers to file a detailed report on every street stop they make — even for low-level ones like speaking with potential witnesses to a crime. 

Hanks faced blowback from the police union for supporting the bill after Speaker Adams pressured her during the vote.

Mayor Eric Adams and council Republicans had pushed for Hanks to kill the bill in committee before going to the floor for a vote, where it ultimately passed 35-9.

Hanks was hesitant about including the lowest form of police stops in the bill, “Level 1” stops, but sided with the speaker’s office. Cops were previously only required to submit reports for “Level 3” investigative stops, which is when an officer has “reasonable suspicion” to detain someone, or stops involving arrests.

Hanks’ demotion was her being “punished for the crime of having an independent thought on policing,” another council source said.

Party leadership sources said Hanks will be involved in many of the land use decisions in the city and will remain on the public safety committee — just not as chair.

“It’s more about playing to strengths,” the source said, noting Salaam’s unique history with the criminal justice system.

Salaam, who was exonerated in the notorious 1989 Central Park jogger rape case, said after his insurgent primary victory last year that he was ready to work with the NYPD to keep the streets of Harlem safer.

“Most people would think that I would be pro-defund [the police], but the truth of the matter is we need police,” Salaam, 50, told The Post after the stunning win.

Salaam emphasized at the time he wanted “smarter” policing instead of “over-enforcement.”

Several other Democrats were pulled from their committee positions in the shake-up.

Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn) was yanked from his post as the chair of the Standards and Ethics chair. 

Progressive dems Chi Ossé (D-Brooklyn), the former chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, and Tiffany Cabán (D-Queens), once chair of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity, were also given the boot.

Keith Powers (D-Manhattan), who was ousted from leadership in a surprise move earlier this year,  turned down the Standards and Ethics chair seat to head the Committee on Rules.