After years of struggling to get the bill passed, the mood was gleeful, full of prayers and hymns.

“By overriding Mayor Bloomberg’s veto, the City Council is siding with the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers who want this legislation to move forward!” said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, a leader of the movement.

There was one rather amusing moment at the end of the event. More than a half hour into the press conference and following a slew of other speakers – including Council Member/Public Advocate candidate Letitia James – a speaker named Kwasi Akyeampong from the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition came to the podium. He denounced Mayor Michael Bloomberg in some language that has recently become famous in New York politics.

“The Kingsbridge Armory is not of a pharaoh. It’s not a plantation. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act is a fair wage for all New Yorkers. This is not a plantation,” he said.

Bloomberg has also said he will use legal action to try and undo the living wage legislation.

“Our mayor promises to use the courts – just like the generals in Egypt,” Akyeampong added.

A different person named Carlos Pacheco famously yelled out the “Pharoah Bloomberg” line at a living wage press conference in late April, prompting New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to storm out in the mayor’s defense. No mayoral candidates were on hand to take offense at the rhetoric this time around, and many of the people in attendance were already milling around and chatting by the time the remarks were made.

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But Quinn’s actions are getting support from at least one Council member, who is also seeking higher office. Jessica Lappin, a fellow lawmaker from Manhattan who is running for Manhattan borough president, passed along this statement, which calls the heckler’s comments about “Pharaoh Bloomberg” an “inappropriate distraction.”

Lappin was one of several Council members who departed the press conference along with Quinn:

“The growing divide between rich and poor in our city threatens the very fabric of our society.  Today, I am proud to be voting on a living wage bill that will reduce that gap by providing New Yorkers with good paying jobs. This bill is about treating workers with respect and dignity.  That’s why disrespectful name calling at a press conference is an inappropriate distraction from our greater goal.”

Meanwhile, a statement from RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum did not directly address the controversy, and simply praised Quinn for supporting the living wage bill:

“As I said at the rally, we would not be here today if it weren’t for Chris Quinn. Make no mistake, there would be no living wage law bill without the Speaker,” Appelbaum said. “Even though Chris may have left the rally after declaring her support for the bill, the most important thing for us to remember is that thousands of new Yorkers will receive higher wages because she had the courage to stand up and pass the living wage law.”

To read more from City & State click here.