Democrats in the state Assembly are set to block Republican Assemblyman-elect Lester Chang from being seated this week after leadership’s investigative report concluded he was only a “visitor” to the Brooklyn district from which he was elected.

Democrats control the Assembly and will discuss the politically explosive issue of whether not to seat the election-winning Chang during a private noon conference on Tuesday, sources said.

“It’s moving in the direction of him not being seated,” an Assembly Democratic source said.

“I don’t think [Assembly Speaker] Carl Heastie would bring the issue to the full Democratic conference if it wasn’t moving in that direction.”

The residency snafu hinges on Chang allegedly failing to meet the 12-month residency requirement during a redistricting year.

“It is significant that Lester Chang voted in New York County in the General Election on
November 2, 2021 and there is not a single attendant surrounding circumstance (voter
registration, financial payments, Department of Motor Vehicle records, military call up documents, credit card statements, independent bank account records, political contribution records) that reflects Mr. Chang’s designated residence in Kings County for the period commencing on November 7 [2021],” wrote Stanley Schlein, a Bronx-based lawyer and close pal of Heastie, in his Dec. 29 report as special counsel to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

“At most, it can be stated that Mr. Chang’s nexus to the Kings County address during the applicable time period was one of a visitor,” added Schlein.

The Assembly’s first day for the 2023 legislative session is Wednesday, and Chang’s fate could be formally taken up then.

Chang is the first Asian-American elected to office in Brooklyn and Democrats could face a backlash if they refuse to seat him. There is a growing Asian population in the 49th Assembly district that includes Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Borough Park and Dyker Heights.

During a redistricting year, a candidate for legislative office must live in the county for the office he or she is seeking for at least a year. During a normal election year, a candidate must reside within the Assembly district for a year.

The controversy centers on Chang — who defeated entrenched veteran Democratic Assemblyman Peter Abbate in the 49th AD in southern Brooklyn — while maintaining a Manhattan residence and having virtually all his bills and official documentation listing that address.

He also voted in 2021 from his Manhattan address.

The full Schlein report also included dissenting or counter legal opinions from Chang’s lawyers Hugh Mo and John Ciampoli and the ranking Republicans on the Assembly Judiciary Committee, who say Chang has shown evidence via affidavits from family members and others that he was residing in Midwood, Brooklyn, his childhood family home, for at least a year.

Chang’s lawyers also said the burden was on Chang’s accusers to prove that he did not live in Brooklyn, and that they failed to do so.

“The Committee’s evidence fails to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Chang’s electoral residency was not Brooklyn during the `relevant period.’ All of the evidence presented bearing Chang’s Manhattan address shows nothing more than what is permissible for a candidate, or anyone else, who has multiple addresses and residences but only one electoral residency. That person is Assemblyman-Elect Chang – he is from Brooklyn, New York.

“Chang is a Brooklynite,” Mo and Ciampoli said.

Retired naval reservist Chang testified before the Assembly Judiciary Committee last month, saying he moved back to Midwood to care for his ailing mother after his wife died of cancer in 2019 while they resided in Manhattan.

“Our American rule of law and fundamental precepts of fairness dictate that this Committee close its proceedings and make no adverse findings as to Chang’s Brooklyn residence. Chang must be seated on January 4, 2023 to represent the 49th Assembly District and the people who voted for and elected him.,” Chang’s lawyers said.

If Chang is not seated, Gov. Kathy Hochul will call for a special election for the 49th AD, likely in mid-February, which was done to fill two vacant Assembly vacancies last year.

Then there could be another legal fight on whether Chang now meets the residency requirement to run again in a special election.

“The goal posts are moving on wheels,” said Chang’s lawyer Ciampoli.

Ciampoli said it was unclear whether the special election would be held based on extending the residency rules for a redistricting year where one just has to live in the country, or based on living in the Assembly district for one year using redrawn Assembly district lines.

Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine (D-Nassau) said Monday the panel’s investigative work on Chang was completed but declined comment as to when the Democrats or the full chamber would act on whether to seat or block Chang.