Carmencita Pile faced criticism for saying on her Facebook Live video, "All you need is an ICE truck and they'll be running," regarding the tenants of the condemned building at 501 West 7th St., who were protesting. Many families in Plainfield remain without a home after their apartment building was condemned earlier this month.
News 12 New Jersey spoke exclusively with Pile, the planning board member who made these comments over the weekend, and
she apologized on Monday. But a Change.org petition with over 1,000 signatures called for Pile to be removed, not just from her planning board role, but also from the city Democratic Committee and the nonprofit grant program she works at.
Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp issued a statement Tuesday night following the outrage about the comments.
“I want to assure the residents of Plainfield that appropriate action has been taken regarding this regrettable behavior. The employee has been removed as an appointment from the Planning Board, and disciplinary actions regarding her employment are underway,” Mapp wrote.
The statement continued, “As is the long-standing policy of the City of Plainfield, specifics cannot be shared. Still, I can confirm that the actions taken reflect how seriously we feel about the incident and the sentiments expressed.”