Adams’ claim to keep ‘list in my office’ of critics unfounded

A former City & State intern’s request, under the Freedom of Information Law, for a list of critics’ names that New York City Mayor Eric Adams claimed to have in his office late last year has finally yielded a response: Nope! No list here. 

On Oct. 3, Kyle Chouinard, then a student at Syracuse University, sent in the request to City Hall after Adams mentioned the purported list while responding to a question at his off-topic press conference that day about critics of his planned trip to Colombia. “I have a list in my office that no matter what we do, the same names pop up all the time,” he said, without naming who was on the list. 

Jeffrey Lowell, a records access officer, delivered the news in a June 11 letter to Chouinard, now a fellow at News21 at Arizona State University. “After conducting a diligent search, the Mayor’s Office has not found any records responsive to your request under FOIL.” 

Daily News City Hall Reporter Chris Sommerfeldt tweeted on X that he got the same form letter response. “So did Hell Gate! They copied and pasted and sent them all at once,” Chouinard texted City & State when asked for comment. 

“Sometimes a politician says something that just says, ‘FOIL request,’” he added. “A list of perceived frequent haters? That’s certainly one of them.” 

A City Hall spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.