‘Won’t be able to serve’: Adams attempts to go back to business as usual in Queens – but residents aren’t so convinced
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York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed his legacy at one of his first public appearances since his indictment while speaking in Queens on Monday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
Speaking publicly in Queens for the first time since being indicted on federal bribery and corruption charges, Mayor Eric Adams announced from the World’s Borough that the city was patching up its water supply – he also appeared to be trying to patch up his relationship with New Yorkers.
Adams – who pleaded not guilty on Friday to a slew of charges alleging he took money from foreign entities in exchange for favors, including illegal campaign donations – announced that the city had made progress on a $2 billion drinking water project from the Queens Museum, seemingly attempting to communicate that it was business as usual for the mayor of the nation’s largest city.
Adams appeared twice in Queens on Monday, surrounded by allies and in communities that have historically supported him. However, political observers and Queens residents not far from where he spoke Monday afternoon, feel as though Adam’s legal troubles may be too much of a distraction.
The first of his two appearances was a relatively apolitical announcement at the Queens Museum. Adams carried the area surrounding the museum in 2021, securing more than 70 percent of the vote in some nearby precincts.
At the museum, Adams highlighted the beginning of the final phase of massive repairs on the Delaware Aqueduct, the largest of the tunnels that brings drinking water from the Hudson Valley into the five boroughs.
“This is a great achievement we should all be proud of,” Adams said.
Adams spoke alongside Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala and Queens Councilmember Jim Gennaro, one of only a handful of local lawmakers from Queens who have yet to publicly comment on the mayor’s indictment. He refused to answer questions related to Adams’ legal troubles again on Monday when asked by the Eagle.
But Queens residents inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park, not far from where the mayor was speaking, were less inclined to keep their thoughts about the mayor to themselves.
Walter Wong, who works at a food stand in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, wondered if the indictments are a distraction for the mayor. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
Local Corona resident Luis Ancures was hanging out near the Unisphere when he told the Eagle that he believed that the mayor was in real “trouble.”
“He looked [like he was] doing a good job, until in the last year, something happened,” Ancures said, citing the first time Adams had his devices seized by federal law enforcement in the investigation into Turkish influence that ultimately led to his indictment.
According to the Corona resident, New Yorkers have lost some trust in the mayor since the indictment came down, and some feel less hopeful that city government could help them resolve an issue in their own lives given the scandal.
“They don’t want to request anything,” he said.
A bit further away in the park, Walter Wong slinged coffees at the Flushing Meadows Food Kiosk at the David Dinkins Plaza – named for the city’s first Black mayor.
“I think everybody is accountable for what they do, and if they're guilty, they should be held accountable,” he said. “If they are hired for a position in a higher office, they should step down, because they wouldn't be able to serve the people or the city in a situation like that, not effectively, at least.”
About an hour before Wong spoke with the Eagle, Adams had repeated one of his administration’s catch phrases: “Stay focused, no distractions and grind.” However, Wong said the platitude now has begun to ring a little hollow.
“He says [the indictment is] not going to bother him…he's not paying attention to that but there's no way that can happen. Come on, you're a human being that’s definitely got to affect you,” Wong said. “He's probably planning his next step if this happens or if that happens.”
For the time being, Adams appears to be appealing to members of his base. In addition to appearing in Queens on Monday afternoon, he took a trip to a church in Corona Monday evening. He also spoke at churches in neighborhoods he has seen electoral success in over the weekend.
Hank Sheinkopf, a political strategist, belives that Adams’ current strategy is one that may allow him to potentially move past the indictment.
“I think it will work for him, for the time being,” he said. “The problem is how many more investigations or indictments are coming.”
Adams spoke at the Aliento de Vida Church on Roosevelt Avenue on Monday night, continuing his strategy of looking to the city’s spiritual leaders for support – as he did during a chaotic press conference immediately following the release of the indictment against him on Thursday.
“It shows that he is not an immoral person – the religious community is standing with him, which is very significant,” Sheinkopf said. “He has no choice, if he has to stay in power, he has to protect his base.”
As his attorney filed a motion in federal court in an attempt to get the charges against the mayor dropped, Adams addressed the questions about his image in Queens on Monday..
When asked about the indictment, his legacy, and the calls for his resignation, Adams reiterated several of his favorite catchphrases.
“You said there are people who are calling for me to [resign], but are you going to acknowledge there are people that are saying, ‘Eric, hang in there?’ This is New York….8.3 million people, 35 million opinions,” Adams said.
“That legacy is going to be intact,” he added later.
While Queens voters and voters across the city may eventually get their own chance to weigh in on Adams’ legacy at the ballot box next summer, the mayor’s future could be in the hands of Governor Kathy Hochul.
The governor, who holds the legal right to oust the mayor, said on Monday that Adams needs to convince New Yorkers he can maintain the role of governing New York City, something she said would be “difficult,” City & State reported.
“I'm giving the mayor an opportunity now to demonstrate to New Yorkers – and to me – that we are righting the ship, that we have the opportunity to instill the confidence that I think is wavering right now, and to power forward with an effective government,” Hochul said.
