When New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson took the reins from his predecessor, Melissa Mark-Viverito, we knew change was certainly inevitable.

We just didn’t think this was going to happen.

Within two weeks from the time Mr. Johnson was sworn in, out went several members of the Speaker’s Public Technology Unit, whose job was to work with the city’s diverse community and ethnic media. This move, which the office addressed as benign, spoke volumes. Four staffers were let go; all of them Latina women.

The four employees worked well in sending out a message to New York’s community and ethnic media, a niche group of publications that was largely ignored before Mark-Viverito’s team came on board. The idea, under Ms. Mark-Viverito, was to create a civic engagement spark in a populace that’s generally wary of government.

It’s unclear whether Mr. Johnson is aware that New York City is home to some 300 publications across the city that gear towards a certain community or immigrant population. These papers tap into the unique needs and concerns of their readers while also bringing news of changes in New York City policy that have a direct impact on them. These include the city’s response to the federal government’s aggressive stance on so-called Dreamers, its unwillingness to assist federal authorities from detaining immigrants, and offering undocumented immigrants an official New York City identification card. Daily papers cover these issues, sure, but community papers offer granular coverage not seen in dailies.

It shouldn’t be news that these immigrant communities typically rely more on these niche publications than their mainstream counterparts. And Mr. Johnson should have thought his decision through before pulling the plug. It’s been suggested that this was a politically motivated move by Mr. Johsnon, who sought to reward supporters by offering them plum posts. Monies that paid the salaries of four staffers under Ms. Mark-Viverito were thus shuffled elsewhere. The sacrificial lamb for those pledging loyalty to Mr. Johnson was the dismissal of these four employees.

It appears Mr. Johnson’s move also throws salt in the wounds of opponents who say the Council has regressed in its effort to diversify the upper echelons of the Chamber. It’s hard to say whether that’s really the case. Among the winners to benefit for their loyalty is Brooklyn Councilman Rafael Espinal Jr., now doubling as Deputy leader for digital communications. The job was created solely for Mr. Espinal.

Not a good start, Mr. Speaker. The message tells this publication that you don’t seem to care too much about a city where at least 35 percent of it is comprised of foreign-born citizens.

It’s been a month since Mr. Johnson was voted in. In that last month, the Norwood News hasn’t received any news releases that could be shared with our readership. This “top-to-bottom review” to “better streamline” services, as Council spokesperson Robin Levine put it in several publications regarding these changes, is taking a long time. And it’s readers in largely quiet communities like Norwood who suffer for it.

Under Ms. Mark-Viverito, a door had opened to these overburdened publications. Now it appears as though it’s closed.

This article was updated to reflect that it was four employees, not the entire Community Engagement Unit, that were let go from their jobs.