Heard Around Town
Adams slams Cuomo, Mamdani
The mayor was unfiltered in his criticism of his two opponents on Tuesday.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Though his own campaign status is in doubt, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was highly critical of two of his opponents during his weekly press conference Tuesday. His comments followed recent polls showing that Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo are the strongest contenders to deny Adams a second term.
Adams first took aim at the Assembly member, who he called “Defund the Police Mamdani.” Adams said Mamdani’s new public safety plan to create a Department of Community Safety resembles aspects of his own public safety strategy which he said has led to decreased crime across the board. In actuality, total crime for felony, misdemeanor and violation offenses have all been up since Adams took office in 2022 according to NYPD crime data.
Adams wondered aloud how one would pay for Mamdani’s plan, asking, “where are you going to get the money from?” The funding for Mamdani’s public safety vision is a part of his broader plan to reallocate current city funds alongside increasing taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations, the latter of which Adams scoffed at.
“You want to continue hemorrhaging the high-income earners that pay into our tax base…For him to say that he wants a billion-dollar tax on New Yorkers, that hurts the economy,” Adams said. “Where he gets the money from, that’s a good question.”
Adams also reserved ire for the former governor. In Cuomo’s subway safety plan, he emphasized implementing existing laws in regards to forcibly hospitalizing homeless people with mental illness, rather than passing new laws. The mayor was not a fan.
“Ask him, ‘How would you take that person inside,’ if that person says I’m going nowhere. What would he do? He’ll manage it away?” said Adams. “He’ll do a powerpoint?” (Cuomo’s spokesperson said the mayor was going on another “unhinged rant.”)
Questions have only mounted regarding the mayor’s campaign as the petitioning process to run on the Democratic primary ballot reaches its end on Thursday. Adams' cryptic non-answer to a direct question on whether he would be filing petitions to run in the Democratic primary in June only fueled the suspicions of a possible independent run for office. His fiery attack toward the two mayoral front-runners was the most aggressive posture he’s taken thus far in the race and a possible signal of more to come, either as a Democratic or third-party candidate.