New York City Mayor Eric Adams talks to the press outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City, on September 26, 2024, after he was indicted on federal criminal charges. | Source: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty
One group that’s been the model of consistency in its criticism of New York City Mayor Eric Adams has expressed a blend of both vindication and shame after federal law enforcement officials indicted the Big Apple’s chief executive for alleged corruption.
Without saying “we told you so,” BLM Greater New York didn’t parse words on Thursday in reacting to the news of the indictment. The group and others crashed Adams’ press conference that took place shortly before federal prosecutors unveiled the damning contents of a sweeping indictment accusing the mayor in part of accepting improper benefits (read: bribes) from a foreign country along with campaign finance violations.
MORE: Read The Full Federal Indictment Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
Led by social justice activist Hawk Newsome, BLM Greater New York and other protesters heckled Adams loudly and accused him of being a “disgrace to all Black people in this city” before he began speaking to profess his purported innocence.
BLM Greater New York and its sister group The Black Opts later followed up the demonstration with a statement calling on Adams to step down and recounting the various policies he’s championed as mayor that has compromised already vulnerable communities:
For the sake of Black New York City please resign. Eric Adams is an embarrassment to our people. The Mayor’s actions and managerial style has brought pain and suffering to many New Yorkers. Within the first year of his term he drew boo’s from liberal voters at rallies where he tried to give speeches. At the beginning of this year the Mayor’s approval rating was 28 percent. This rating is the worst for any NYC mayor in a Quinnipiac University poll since it began surveying the city 27 years ago.
Aside from the ongoing battles between our organization and the Mayor, he has proven to be the worst leader in a lifetime. Even if all of the items in the Mayor’s federal indictment aren’t true he should still resign. The fact that his appointees are fundamentally immoral and presumably criminals proves that the Mayor is unfit to run this city. How many different departments that are under his management are under federal investigation?
Our Black Mayor reinstated stop-and-frisk and vehemently defended the actions of a police commissioner that buried cases of NYPD officers who choked, beaten and tased Black and Brown New Yorkers. The Mayor wants to use his “Black Card” to say that he is being targeted for being Black and this is not true. Mayor Adams was not standing for Black People. When he says “I am being targeted because I took a stand for you.” He is referring to standing for the corrupt, the bribers, the rich, and cops who brutalize people.
Newsome has been an outspoken critic of Adams for years and was one of the leading voices warning about the prospects of electing him mayor. He has particularly been vocal about how the NYPD polices Black and brown communities.
Adams, 64, New York City’s second-ever Back mayor and its first in more than 30 years, also now has the distinction of being the first New York City mayor to be indicted while in office.
In case you missed it, the federal indictment against Adams includes five federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations that all centered on allegations that Adams for years knowingly accepted illegal luxury travel benefits from the Turkish government that exceeded $100,000.
Adams, who retired from the NYPD following a 22-year career in law enforcement, is accused in part of not publicly disclosing such gifts, something that U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the mayor knew was against the law while he secretly enriched himself.
While announcing the charges on Thursday morning, Williams described Adams’ alleged attempts to cover up his crimes as being “clumsy.”
But the devil is in the details of the indictment, as sleuthing social media users astutely pointed out.
One portion of the indictment accuses Adam — a former longtime NYPD officer who as mayor has cut social programs while increasing the police budget — of defrauding New York City of $10 million in public funds.
“Eric Adams stole TEN MILLION DOLLARS from New York City public funds while the cops he installed to harass subway riders shot four people over a $3 fare,” scholar Uju Anya posted on X, formerly Twitter, including a reference to a recent controversial police shooting at a New York City subway station.
Adams has been under a federal investigation for at least three years for possibly conspiring with Turkey to receive donations from the foreign nation, which would be a violation of U.S. campaign finance laws. Adams was also being investigated for allegedly receiving other improper benefits from Turkey, which stood to benefit from a state-of-the-art Turkish consulate building in New York City. Among those alleged benefits are what the New York Times described as “valuable flight upgrades they believe the mayor received from Turkish Airlines.”
The investigations have notably included the feds confiscating electronic devices from Adams and several of his staffers, two of whom had their homes raided. Multiple others in Adams’ administration have since resigned. However, it would appear that he is the only person in his administration who is facing an indictment after Adams was subpoenaed by the feds in August.
Adams has resisted growing calls to resign and vowed to “fight” the charges “with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
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NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Federal Indictment Is U.S. Attorney Damian Williams’ Latest High Profile Case
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