Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams speaks at a press convention in Metropolis Corridor Park on Tuesday, the place she acquired endorsements from elected officers and women-led organizations in her marketing campaign for mayor.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ marketing campaign for mayor picked up a wave of endorsements Tuesday, as a coalition of elected officers and women-led organizations rallied behind her candidacy.
At a press convention in Metropolis Corridor Park, Larger Heights PAC-NYS, the New Majority NYC, Downtown Girls for Change, Council Members Crystal Hudson, Mercedes Narcisse, and Nantasha Williams, in addition to former Council Member Helen Rosenthal, formally endorsed Adams.
“Adrienne Adams has spent her career fighting for the issues that matter most to Black women, our families, and our communities,” mentioned Glynda C. Carr, president of Larger Heights, a nationwide group centered on constructing Black ladies’s political energy. “She is built for this moment.”
Carr added that Larger Heights is worked up to amplify Adams’ management and to make historical past by serving to elect not solely the primary Metropolis Council speaker as mayor, but in addition the primary Black lady to steer New York Metropolis.
When requested about former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the present front-runner within the polls and a candidate some imagine could have sturdy assist from Black voters, Speaker Adams mentioned her marketing campaign has been profitable in “telling the truth” about Cuomo. Cuomo has been endorsed by a coalition of Black elected officers, and polling has proven that 79% of Black voters held a good opinion of him.
The speaker identified that the ballot, performed by the Honan Technique Group in January, was launched earlier than she entered the race in March.
“People seem to have a bit of amnesia when it comes to the former governor and the things that he did and did not do in support — or lack thereof — of our community,” Adams mentioned. “I have been out there telling the truth of what that history really is, and it has been very, very successful. It has been penetrating through our communities.”
Glynda C. Carr, president of Larger Heights inspired New Yorkers to rank Speaker Adams #1 on their ballotsPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell
Additionally backing Adams Tuesday was former Manhattan Borough President and Metropolis Council Member C. Virginia Fields, who was additionally the primary Black lady to run for Mayor. She mentioned Adams is the very best individual for the job, stressing that this election cycle was “very important” as NYC faces a disaster “in terms of policies, the economy, budget and also moral character, accountability, and transformational leadership.”
Adams has positioned herself as a gentle different to what she described because the “drama” of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, and as a bulwark in opposition to nationwide Republican threats, together with former President Donald Trump.
“New York needs a mayor who understands these problems because they are living these problems,” she mentioned. “New York needs a mayor who isn’t in it for personal redemption or political ambition. We need a mayor who is in it for us. And by the grace of God and the power of New Yorkers, I will be that mayor.”
As Speaker Adams held her press convention, Mayor Eric Adams was inside Metropolis Corridor saying the creation of the Mayor’s Workplace to Fight Antisemitism. The “first-of-its-kind” workplace will coordinate an interagency process drive to deal with antisemitic acts, together with by monitoring courtroom circumstances and outcomes.
Throughout the press occasion, a reporter requested Speaker Adams about an op-ed revealed within the New York Publish in February that accused her of antisemitism — an allegation she “absolutely rejects.”
“As the speaker, I have funded through this council over $18 million to stop anti-hate speech in the Jewish community,” Adams mentioned. “The Jewish community are my neighbors. So I don’t know where the moniker comes from — I’ve got a feeling I know the paper that it comes from, which is normal for that particular paper — but it is absolutely untrue. We work with the Jewish community on a daily basis, and we will continue to do so.”
Adams additionally addressed the killing of a 16-year-old lady within the Bronx on Monday, who was struck by a stray bullet. She known as the incident a part of a nationwide disaster of youth gun violence, “spiraling out of control.”
If elected, she mentioned, she would search to collaborate with different mayors throughout the nation to deal with the problem collectively, fairly than in isolation.
The council members who endorsed Adams praised her for delivering coverage victories as speaker, together with blocking proposed cuts to pre-Okay and public libraries, growing CUNY funding, and establishing a city-funded assured earnings program for low-income moms.
“Adrienne is not afraid to stand up to the threats of bullies like Trump, who dare to step on our Constitutional Rights,” mentioned Council Member Mercedes Narcisse. “Adrienne is fighting to make New York affordable so families like yours and mine can start and stay here. We need a mayor with no drama who brings knowledge and results to the job; that’s Adrienne Adams.”
Adams’ rising listing of supporters contains main unions resembling DC 37 and CWA Native 1180 and rankings from progressive organizations such because the Working Households Get together and Make the Highway Motion. Lawyer Normal Letitia James, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, and a number of other Metropolis Council members have additionally endorsed her.
