A teacher at a Bedford-Stuyvesant middle school was seen inside his classroom with his sweatpants pulled down and his hand inside his pants, and separately exposed himself during a recorded virtual parent-teacher meeting, according to findings from the city's public schools watchdog. The watchdog agency substantiated the allegations against Zhengxian “Remy” Li, a teacher formerly assigned to Restoration Academy, and recommended he be fired and permanently barred from working in city schools again.
The Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation, known as SCI, launched its probe after receiving an online complaint about Li exposing himself during a recorded virtual parent-teacher meeting, as reported by amNewYork. Investigators say Li completed a language department presentation before standing up from his desk during that virtual meeting, then exposed his buttocks and genital area while another person was speaking. About three weeks after that first complaint, SCI received a second one, according to the outlet's reporting.
That second complaint led investigators to a separate incident: Li was seen inside his classroom engaged in conduct consistent with masturbation, per the SCI report cited by amNewYork. Investigators described the behavior as movement consistent with masturbation while on school property. Restoration Academy, also known as M.S. 301, sits at 31 New York Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant and serves roughly 91 students in grades six through eight, sharing its campus with P.S. 93 The Magnet School of STEAM, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The school is designated a federal Title I site, with state data showing more than 90% of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, per DonorsChoose.
Watchdog Calls the Conduct Disturbing
Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman said the substantiated conduct was disturbing and incompatible with an educator's responsibilities. She added that sexually inappropriate behavior in school buildings and during parent meetings is unacceptable, per the same account. SCI recommended that Li's Department of Education employment be terminated and that the problem code already placed in his personnel file remain in place.
That problem code is intended to prevent Li's future employment with the Department of Education or its vendors. It flags fingerprint records with the Office of Personnel Investigations, permanently barring an employee from future work with the department or its contracted vendors, according to New York City Public Schools administrative guidelines. Li has been removed from students, per the DOE, and is no longer employed by NYC Public Schools.
A DOE spokesperson said the department remains committed to school safety and to entrusting education only to people who uphold its values. amNewYork contacted the Department of Education about Li's employment status, but as of publication the department had not yet responded to that inquiry.
State Review and Possible Criminal Charges Loom
SCI recommended forwarding its findings to the New York State Education Department, which may take any action it deems appropriate. Under state regulations known as 8 NYCRR Part 83, when an educator's conduct raises a substantial question of moral character, the state can initiate an administrative review leading to a formal due process hearing and full revocation of teaching credentials statewide, according to the New York State Education Department. That statewide mechanism matters because a DOE problem code alone only bars Li from city employment — it takes a Part 83 proceeding to stop him from teaching anywhere else in New York.
Criminal exposure also remains an open question. amNewYork contacted the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office about possible criminal charges, and as of publication that office had not yet responded to the inquiry. Under New York Penal Law § 245.00, public lewdness — intentionally exposing private body parts in a lewd manner in a public place or in a private setting visible to others — is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, according to the New York State Senate.
Part of a Pattern SCI Says It Will Keep Chasing
SCI pointed to a similar case involving a former Queens public school teacher who engaged in sexual misconduct and inappropriate communications with a student between 2014 and 2016, a case Hoodline covered in July after SCI substantiated the misconduct and referred it to the state for certificate review. In April, an SCI report branded a Maspeth High School library media specialist a “predator” after finding boundary violations with at least 13 current and former students, and that same month a Bronx dean was arrested on sexual abuse and forcible touching charges, triggering an immediate unpaid DOE suspension.
SCI's 2025 annual report, released in March, recorded 11,775 total misconduct complaints across the school system, with 471 formal investigations opened and 157 probes into sexual or inappropriate conduct — of which 62 were substantiated, according to the Special Commissioner of Investigation. The agency operates independently of the Department of Education under Coleman and holds subpoena power to investigate corruption, crimes and conflicts of interest across city schools. SCI said it will continue aggressively investigating allegations involving people entrusted with student care.
