New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has found himself in hot water over the last couple of weeks due to circumstances that were totally within his control, namely, how he chooses to interact with critics including those on the left who make the mistake of hitting a little too close to the mark.
Adams was attending a Washington Heights community meeting last Wednesday when Jeanie Dubbnau confronted him about the Rent Guidelines Board recently approving an increase in rent for the second time consecutively during his tenure. Adams, the person responsible for selecting members of the board, said that he agreed with the decision.
After Dubnau, who is 84 and white, pointed fingers at Adams at about 100 or so feet away from him, Adams inexplicably pulled the race and power cards, calling her a “plantation owner” and demanding she respect the mayor’s office.
Dubnau and her family are Holocaust survivors. Adams, who was told that she has advocated for low-income housing to people of all backgrounds and ages for over 40 years, refused to apologize.
Adams is not immune from the attacks. The New York Times has recently attacked him for telling a story repeatedly about a fallen officer. The New York Times found out that the main story of Adams carrying a photo of the fallen officer in his wallet was not true.
The photo that had deteriorated in the mayor’s wallet over the years was not real. It was made by employees in the mayor’s office a few days later after Mr. Adams claimed to have it in his wallet.
The employees were instructed to create a photo of Officer Venable, according to a person familiar with the request. A picture of the officer was found on Google; it was printed in black-and-white and made to look worn as if the mayor had been carrying it for some time, including by splashing some coffee on it, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Two former City Hall employees, who asked to remain anonymous, claim that they were notified of the photo manipulation shortly after it took place last year.
Watch Adams talk about Officer Venable, who was killed in the line of duty in 1987.
When asked about the story he has often shared with voters, Adams told the Times that the photo was “always in my wallet until my wallet got too bulky.” So he lost the photo he had supposedly held so dear all that time and as a result his staff had to find another one via a Google search and make it appear old? Right.
The Times interviewed Venable’s relatives, as well as Venable’s colleagues and they confirmed their story. They did note that Adams has a tendency similar to Joe Biden to embellish or make up stories out of thin air. This is problematic because he told New Yorkers they could trust him not only to do his job but also to be honest.
Mr. Adams is a mayor who often shares his memories. This helps him connect with the working-class constituents. Adams also claimed that he was telling the truth when he said a story about intimidating a neighbor at a commencement address in 2019. This happened to him, but a friend of his did.
According to recent financial disclosure forms, Mr. Adams owns his apartment.
Eric Adams has been called the “Lying king” by New York Communities for Change. They tweeted a modified Playbill for Eric Adams.
— New York Communities for Change (@nychange) July 6, 2023
The Times article confirmed what I already said: Adams was elected New York City Mayor in 2021 partly because he portrayed himself as a sane, commonsense Democrat. He has only done one thing since then: prove this is an extremely rare thing.
