Mayor Eric Adams went on the warpath Thursday as questions continue to linger over the future and viability of his reelection bid.
Adams said that he will “forge ahead,” while lashing out at his rivals and claiming his campaign has been “undermined” by a “coordinated effort” to cripple its fundraising ability.
Hizzoner, during an unrelated Sept. 25 press conference, launched attacks at both Democratic nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. However, he appeared to spare former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is polling in second place.
Adams charged that Mamdani, a democratic socialist running on an affordability-focussed platform, has been knowingly selling voters a bill of goods in order to win the November general election.
In particular, Adams accused Mamdani of misleading New Yorkers with his proposal to freeze rents for the city’s nearly one million stabilized tenants. He claimed there are many people, including one unnamed New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) resident he spoke with, who do not live in stabilized housing, but are under the false impression that the rent freeze would apply to them.
“Zohran is smart and if he was unknowledgable about the powers of the mayor, then you could say ‘well, he’s just not knowledgable,'” Adams said. “But when you are smart and you understand the powers of the mayor and you’re going out and having NYCHA residents feeling as though you’re going to freeze their rent…then you’re no longer doing it on the point of ignorance, you’re doing it on being diabolical. And that’s hurtful.”
Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to Adams’ broadsides.
Adams also took aim at Sliwa, who is ahead of him in the polls.
Asked about Sliwa on Wednesday accusing Cuomo’s allies of offering him jobs and cash to drop out of the mayor’s race, Adams surprisingly declined to go after the former governor — who has been the target of his ire in recent weeks.
Instead, he responded: “The only fact about Curtis Sliwa, is that Curtis Sliwa is a liar.”
“It’s almost laughable whenever we quote anything from Curtis Sliwa,” he added.
Sliwa’s did not immediately respond to Adams’ remarks. His campaign instead shared a social media post from Sliwa saying: “I cannot be bought. I will not stand by while my supporters are silenced. Any attempt to intimidate our campaign or voters will be reported.”
Cuomo’s campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi denied Sliwa’s accusations to NY1 and labeled him “liar and a fraudster.”
When it comes to the future of Adams flagging camapaign, he alleged there is a shadowy effort by unnamed inidivuals to deprive his bid of much-needed funds.
The mayor pointed to the city Campaign Finance Board’s (CFB) decision to withhold millions of dollars in matching funds from his campaign in the wake of his now dismissed federal indictment.
The board has renewed its decision nearly a dozen times, shifting its reasoning from Adams’ scuttled bribery case to accusations that his campaign has not provided requested information and may have violated the law.
Adams has sued the CFB in an effort to reverse its decisions and unlock the funds, so far to no avail.
“This campaign, going into the race, I lost $4 million,” Adams said. “We’re in court right now fighting with the Campaign Finance Board to get our $4 million.”
Furthermore, Adams said, his ability to fundraise is being stymied by persistent reported rumors that he is looking to exit the race and take a job in either President Trump’s administration, as a possible Saudi Arabia ambassador, or in the private sector. He has repeatedly denied those reports publicly, even as they have continued to come out.
“Each week, people are saying, ‘Eric is leaving tomorrow,'” Adams said of the rumors. “When I go to my funders, they say ‘Eric we thought you were in Saudi Arabia.’ My campaign has been decimated.”
The mayor said his lack of campaign funds has led prevented him from getting his message out to voters.
“We have been just undermined with a very coordinated effort,” he said. “‘Let’s shut off his oxygen, the money, and then he won’t be able to breath.'”
