New York City Mayor Eric Adams took shots at former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration in a press conference on Wednesday, calling out actors who want to see his administration fail.
Speaking from the New York City Department of Sanitation Enforcement Headquarters in Brooklyn, Adams said he was tired of the previous administration criticizing his own.
‘Listen, I am so tired of the previous administration and their antics,’ he told reporters, noting that he had called de Blasio directly to ask, ‘What’s going on?’
He blasted de Blasio’s ‘comms guy,’ saying that he had attacked Adams’ administration for everything.
‘Let us do our job. They had eight years to do their job – eight years to fix Rikers, eight years to deal with crime, eight years to deal with education, eight years to deal with early childhood education for children with disabilities, eight years to fix NYCHA [New York City Housing Authority]. They had all the time to do their job,’ Adams said.
‘But now, once they’re gone, they’re experts on everything,’ he added.
The mayor said interference by those individuals was ‘just not acceptable,’ noting that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration and others had been nothing but helpful.
‘But we have the previous administration that just left the house! They just left! They left the house in total disarray! And then, they come and say, ‘Look at the mess… that you created, Eric,” he said. ‘No! It’s the mess we inherited.’
‘All I’m saying: let us do our job the way you had an eight-year opportunity to do your job,’ Adams added.
He later noted that de Blasio, specifically had been ‘extremely helpful.’
‘He has called. He said, ‘How could I help? Here’s what I went through. Here’s what I think as advice.’ When I reached out to him, he has been there,’ Adams said.
In a series of afternoon tweets, de Blasio said Wednesday that he had spoken with Adams.
‘I certainly understand how difficult it is to govern this city, which is why I have offered him help in many forms over the last year and a half. We all need him to succeed and should help in any way we can,’ he said.
‘I sympathize with his frustration with certain critics but want to emphasize this: no one speaks for me but me,’ de Blasio continued. ‘Finally, for all the members of my team who served this city with tremendous devotion, especially during the pandemic, I want to thank you. You made this city better.’
Speaking to The New York Times, Bill Neidhardt, a press secretary to De Blasio during his second term, said it was fair to criticize the mayor’s record.
‘Every New Yorker has a right to speak out when Mayor Adams slashes school budgets, raises rents and echoes right-wing talking points,’ he said in a statement. ‘Instead of whining and attacking his constituents, the mayor should tackle the crises working people face every day in our city. Grow up.’