Latest news with #Adams
The Hill
14 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Adams on Cuomo independent bid chatter: ‘I don't focus on what other candidates are doing'
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Friday brushed off talks of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo launching an independent bid, saying he's only focused on 'what I am doing.' 'I don't focus on what other candidates are doing. I focus on what I am doing,' Adams said during an appearance on CNN's 'The Lead' with Jake Tapper. 'I came from behind when I ran in 2021, I was head of 13-point deficit from the leading opponent in the race,' he told Tapper. 'And as you see, we were successful. I know I did campaign, I know how to speak to voters.' The mayor added, 'I'm a working class mayor. I'm a blue collar mayor, and I would resonate in the residents of this city. They see I'm one of them.' His comments come days after New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani seemed to edge out Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary — though results in the city's ranked-choice voting system are not final. Cuomo conceded to Mamdani, 33, after Tuesday's ballots were counted. Adams launched his own independent bid following the election. When asked if he's considered following in the mayor's footsteps, Cuomo told CBS News on Wednesday that he is 'assessing that landscape.' Mamdani also dismissed the chatter, saying he's 'not at all' concerned about that possibility. Asked about the self-proclaimed democratic socialist's perceived victory and what it means for the general election, Adams slammed the state lawmaker — who has lobbied for Palestine to become its own U.S.-recognized state — for being a 'pro-Hamas' candidate. 'I'm not competing against him only for what he's done and praising Hamas,' he told Tapper, a after highlighting the ways he believes Mamdani has backed the U.S.-designated terrorist organization amid its war with Israel. 'I'm competing against him because this is not a socialist city, and that much of what he's promising to people, which I think is really deplorable, people that are struggling like my family did of living without the means that we needed.' Adams earlier in the week also accused his opponent of being disingenuous. 'He's a snake oil salesman,' Adams told 'Fox & Friends' on Wednesday. 'He would say and do anything to get elected.' Tapper questioned the incumbent mayor on reports that he made a deal with the Trump administration to ramp up immigration enforcement in the Big Apple, following the Justice Department's decision to drop federal corruption charges against him. 'I never met the president prior to him running for office, never met in my life. He talked about the unfairness of the charges while he was on the campaign trail. And the first time we met, he also articulated the unfairness and the Justice Department used the same system that determines if someone should be indicted,' Adams said. 'They use that system to determine that I should not have been indicted, and the charges were dropped with prejudice,' he added. The mayor has denied the allegations in the past, even after several DOJ officials resigned following the Trump administration's move to drop the corruption charges.
New York Post
14 minutes ago
- Business
- New York Post
FDNY's firehouses 'about to collapse,' need hundreds of millions of dollars in roof and other repairs: critics
The city is putting its own firefighters at risk unless it pours hundreds of millions of dollars into renovating the FDNY's century-old firehouses – including 23 with rotting roofs requiring immediate repairs, union bosses claim. As Mayor Adams and the City Council iron out a new budget, the Uniformed Firefighters Association recently compiled a list of 23 buildings in urgent need of a combined $81 million in roof-repair work alone. Many of the firehouses are plagued by cracked and moldy ceilings and walls and other foundation issues, the UFA says. 'We might be the greatest Fire Department in the world, but it's based on pure grit and determination because we are way, way behind the times,' said UFA Vice President Bobby Eustace. 'We've been fiscally abused for decades.' 8 FDNY Squad 288's building in Maspeth, Queens, is plagued by massive sewage backups, cracked walls and floors, mold and exposed asbestos. And the firefighters' union contends the garage where trucks are parked and equipment stored is in danger of collapse. J.C. Rice Failing to fix the FDNY's archaic buildings could lead to emergency response times continuing to rise because many firefighters and medics would have to continue working in unsafe conditions or relocate to other buildings, Eustace added. Adams and the City Council struck a tentative agreement Friday on a budget for the new fiscal year beginning Tuesday that includes $2.6 billion for the Fire Department, but it's still a $1 billion short of what council members had initially demanded for the agency – mostly for infrastructure repairs and replacing outdated equipment. 8 Many of the FDNY's predominately century-old firehouses and other buildings are so dilapidated that they need hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations to make them safe – including 23 with rotting roofs requiring immediate repairs that City Hall has long ignored, said Uniformed Firefighters Association Vice President Bobby Eustace. Bobby Eustace/ Instagram Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who chairs the fire and emergency management committee, said she visited many of the buildings on the list and was 'shocked by the deplorable condition they were in.' 'There is a cruel irony to the fact that the brave men and women we ask to save New Yorkers from buildings that are about to collapse are being forced to work out of dilapidated and unsafe buildings that in some cases are about to collapse,' she said. 8 The roof of an 119-year-old building at Fort Totten Park in Queens that the FDNY uses as a training site needs $15 million in repairs, according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association. J.C. Rice 'The FDNY is facing a facilities crisis that is impacting everything they do, from fire prevention to inspections to training, and we need a significant capital infusion to fix it.' Ten of the 23 FDNY buildings with rickety roofs are in Queens – including the three with the most estimated damage: an FDNY training site at Fort Totten Park built in 1906 ($15 million), 63-year-old EMS Station 45 in Woodside ($8 million) and 112-year-old Engine Co. 264 in Far Rockaway ($5 million). 8 Here's 23 FDNY buildings flagged for a combined $81 million needed roof repairs. Jared Larson / NY Post Design Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Recent images from inside FDNY Squad 288's building in Maspeth, Queens, were startling. The site, built in 1913, is plagued by massive sewage backups, cracked walls and floors, mold and exposed asbestos. And the union contends the garage where the trucks are parked and equipment stored is in danger of collapse. The garage – or 'apparatus room' – until recently also had gaping holes leading to the basement, but firefighters dipped into their own pockets to put new cement flooring down because they feared someone would get hurt before the city responded, said Eustace. The FDNY said repairs at the Squad 288 are slated to begin in the fall. 8 The exterior of Fire Department buildings like the Queens site used by FDNY Squad 288 is filled with foundation cracks. J.C. Rice 8 Support beams in basement at Squad 288's station are so decayed that firefighters there fear the ceiling above it could soon collapse. Obtained by the New York Post The Post also reviewed recent videos and photos of Engine Co. 96 in The Bronx showing a huge sinkhole forming on the roof next to what the union says is a broken vent. Inside, the 59-year-old station is plagued by leaky windows and walls, mold and exposed asbestos, and the union estimates $2.2 million in repairs are needed. 8 Engine Co. 96 in The Bronx has a huge sinkhole on its roof. Obtained by the New York Post 8 Fire stations through New York are plagued by cracked ceilings. Obtained by the New York Post The union estimates the FDNY's 219 firehouses, 37 EMS stations and other buildings need hundreds of millions of dollars in work. FDNY spokesperson Amanda Farinacci Gonzalez said the agency is 'engaged with conversations across the Adams administration to make any needed repairs as soon as possible.' 'The safety of the brave men and women who serve New Yorkers every day is our No. 1 priority,' she said. 'We are working to make needed repairs at facilities throughout the department, and there is no threat to our members' safety. . . . Any emergency repairs are handled right away.' Zachary Nosanchuk, a spokesman for the mayor, insisted the proposed budget includes 'historic funding to support the brave men and women of the FDNY' – including $940 million for 'facility improvements and construction.'
New York Post
an hour ago
- Politics
- New York Post
George Santos: supporting ‘Eric Adams is the only viable path'
It's an endorsement no one wants. Convicted ex-Long Island Rep. George Santos is calling on fellow Republicans to cross party lines and back NYC Mayor Eric Adams' re-election bid. The disgraced ex-congressman fired off a slew of social media posts this week begging GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa to drop his campaign — and for fellow GOPers to coalesce behind Adams, saying he believes the mayor is best suited to beat socialist Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in November's general election. Advertisement 'New Yorkers are at a crossroads, and the stakes couldn't be higher,' Santos said on X shortly after ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded to Mamdani in the Democratic mayoral primary. 3 Convicted ex-Long Island Rep. George Santos is calling on fellow Republicans to cross party lines and back the re-election bid of Democratic NYC Mayor Eric Adams (pictured) Brian Zak/NY Post 'The choice is clear: Eric Adams is the only viable path forward. Republicans, conservatives, and common-sense voters must recognize reality—Curtis Sliwa cannot win this race,' added Santos, who is headed to federal prison for seven years on July 25 after copping to plea fraud and identity theft charges. Advertisement 'Clinging to fantasy only helps the opposition.' Santos on Wednesday suggested Adams and the Guardian Angels founder iron out a similar 'coalition' to one Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. cut before dropping out of last year's president race to back future victor Donald Trump. 3 Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa told The Post there's no way he's dropping out of the race. 3 Santos is set to begin a seven-year prison sentence next month Brigitte Stelzer Advertisement 'Hey @NYCMayor,' Santos posted on X. 'Call Curtis Sliwa and appoint him Deputy Mayor of public safety today and get a coalition going to save NYC!' Adams, a Democrat, is running as an independent. Despite losing the primary, Cuomo is still on the November ballot as an independent. Sliwa insisted he's staying in the race, adding Santos is a fraudster with 'no credibility.' Advertisement Adams campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro dismissed Santos' support, saying Adams is 'focused on building a broad, credible coalition rooted in integrity and results — not circus sideshows.'
New York Post
an hour ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Mayor Adams: I helped rolled out free NYC bus pilot program but Mamdani's lousy negotiating skills killed it
Socialists apparently don't understand the art of the deal. Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is a terrible negotiator unfit to lead NYC, according to Mayor Adams, who told The Post this week he witnessed his rival's political deal-making ineptitude firsthand. Mamdani – whose Marxist pledge to provide free bus service citywide is a centerpiece of his mayoral campaign — asked Hizzoner for help bringing a pilot program for free buses during an April 2023 dinner at Gracie Mansion with the mayor, Adams recalled days after Mamdani shockingly won the Democratic mayoral primary. Adams — a Dem seeking re-election as an independent — agreed to help convince Gov. Hochul to add funding for the five-borough pilot in the upcoming budget, and even let Mamdani post a video of him on social media gushing how much he loved the concept. 5 Mayor Eric Adams says he once played a huge role helping Zohran Mamdani score Albany support to bring a pilot program providing fare-free buses to the Big Apple – only to have it crash and burn the following year because the socialist Queens assemblyman and mayoral hopeful is a horrific negotiator unfit to lead the city. 'I have always told my team to work with anyone — regardless of their politics — if it meant improving the lives of New Yorkers,' Adams said. 'So when Zohran Mamdani came to me in 2023 asking for help pushing for free bus service in the state budget, it was my team that went to Albany and got it done.' Days after the one-year, $15 million program expired Aug. 31, 2024, state Assemblyman Mamdani and state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) gushed it was a 'resounding success' in an op-ed they penned for The Nation. 5 The fare-free bus pilot programs on the Bx18A/B (Bronx)), B60 (Brooklyn), M116 (Manhattan), Q4 (Queens), and S46/96 (Staten Island) routes ended on August 31, 2024. MTA However, during 2024 budget negotiations, Mamdani ruined any chances of extending the pilot by butting heads with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and voting against the state budget in protest over a landlord-friendly measure that allowed home-repair costs to be passed on to rent-stabilized tenants, sources told The Post. An irate Heastie reportedly threatened to pull the bus pilot if Mamdani voted against the budget, and it was ultimately excluded. 5 Mamdani has made bringing free bus service citywide a centerpiece of his NYC mayoral campaign. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Mamdani and Heastie have since denied the confrontation happened. Adams – who has made 'Get Stuff Done' a motto of his three-plus years in office – said the 33-year-old socialist pol's failure to complete a layup and get the pilot program extended shows just how unprepared Mamdani is to run the city. 'Here's what Zohran doesn't want you to know: the only reason those free buses weren't renewed is because he failed to negotiate it back into the budget the following year,' said Adams. 'There is something so cruel about promising New Yorkers things you cannot — and have not — delivered on, which is precisely what Zohran Mamdani's entire platform rests on,' added the mayor, who has repeatedly ripped the millennial pol as a 'snake oil salesman' making progressive promises he can't keep. 5 Adams said it was him — not Mamdani — who convinced Gov. Kathy Hochul (pictured) in 2023 to fund a fare-free bus pilot program. Robert Miller Besides subsiding free buses citywide, Mamdani's Soviet-style proposals include freezing rents for regulated apartments, free child care and opening city-run grocery stores. 5 Mayor Adams holds Wednesday's New York Post with headline 'NYC SOS' following Mamdani's win in Democratic primary. Brian Zak/NY Post The long lefty laundry list — estimated to cost $10 billion— would be paid for by taxing the Big Apple's ultra-wealthy under Mamdani's plan, but critics say it's severely flawed because such action must be taken by state pols and not the sitting mayor. Mamdani's campaign did not return messages.
New York Post
15 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
NYC's massive $116B budget will boost e-bike crackdown, launch $10M universal childcare pilot program — and includes millions for immigrant services
Mayor Eric Adams struck a handshake deal with the City Council Friday on a massive around $116 billion budget — that'll include a new crackdown on e-bikes, according to sources. The tentative agreement counts $6.1 million to create a 'Division of Sustainable Delivery,' with 60 new positions dedicated to e-bike regulation and enforcement following a recent push by the Adams administration to reign in the vehicles. City Hall agreed to give the council a major boost in funding for immigration services to the tune of $54.5 million, a source familiar with the deal said. 3 Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council reached a handshake deal that'll lead to a crackdown on e-bikes across the Big Apple. Andrew Schwartz / The spending plan will also include $10 million for a universal childcare pilot program — after the issue became a hot topic in the Democratic mayoral primary race. The initiative will dole out free child care for children ages 2 and under for hundreds of low income families, sources said. The handshake deal comes after Adams — who is running for re-election as an independent in the November general election — unveiled a $115 billion spending proposal in May that he dubbed 'the best budget ever.' The 2026 city budget, which is due July 1, appears to add another close to a billion on top of that, for a topline number of around $115.8 billion, according to a City Hall rep. The deal would also provide $41.9 million in free legal assistance for migrants facing deportation and who need help with benefits – a sticking point for city Democrats looking to fight back against President Trump's strict immigration enforcement. 3 A $116 billion budget agreement will generate $6.1 million to establish the 'Division of Sustainable Delivery,' creating 60 new jobs to crack down and enforce regulations on e-bikes across the city. Matthew McDermott 3 Immigration services will also receive a $54.5 million budget with an additional $10 million being used for a universal childcare pilot program. Getty Images Another 12.5 million would go toward pro bono lawyers that would help unaccompanied minor immigrants in removal hearing, sources said. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who made a late bid for the Democratic mayoral primary, and Councilman Justin Brannan, the finance chair, were adamant about securing the immigration and child care funding as top priorities, sources said. They had also fought Mayor Adams, no relation to the speaker, over proposed cuts to libraries during the budget negotiations. The budget set to be announced later Friday includes an agreement to spend $2 million to expand service to seven days a week for 10 libraries citywide.
