Mayoral race frontrunner Eric Adams affirmed, “I live in Brooklyn,” as he became the target of an opening pile-on over his primary home address by four other candidates participating in a debate Wednesday night.
“Eric, unfortunately, has not only been not straightforward, but he’s been hypocritical. He spent months attacking me for not being a New Yorker, meanwhile he was attacking me from New Jersey,” said top-tier candidate Andrew Yang, who has faced criticism for fleeing to his second home in New Paltz for months during the pandemic, during the CBS mayoral debate, which featured just the top five candidates.
“I’m glad you’re here to answer some of these questions, Eric, but unfortunately, his tour of the basement, raised more questions than it answered for many New Yorkers, including me,” Yang added, referring to Adams’ tour for select reporters Wednesday of his apartment.
Far-left candidate Maya Wiley, who surged in a recent poll after an endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said Big Apple residents don’t care where Adams sleeps — but that they do care that he’s transparent about the topic.
“I really believe that New Yorkers don’t care so much where Mr. Adams lays his head, but it is absolutely clear that New Yorkers want a mayor who is fully forthcoming and fully honest,” said Wiley, former Mayor Bill de Blasio counsel, claiming Adams has flip-flopped on policing matters like stop-and-frisk.
Comptroller Scott Stringer went with a playful one-liner, saying, “The only time I go to New Jersey is by accident.”
“And I want to invite everybody to my two-bedroom apartment to meet my wife and kids, but you can look in the refrigerator, because you don’t want to go there,” Stringer quipped, adding that he doesn’t think the topic of discussion Thursday evening should be about where Adams spends his nights.
Adams then was allowed to make a full-throated defense of his Brooklyn residency, and pivoted to his stump speech and bio.
“I live in Brooklyn. I live in Bedford-Stuyvesant. I am happy to be there, it’s a beautiful community. That’s where I live, is the humble place, but it’s a blue-collar place. I’m a blue collar candidate,” he said.
“I live in Brooklyn, New York. I’m proud of that,” he added. “We can play these silly conversations, but we can do exactly what Scott Stringer stated. I know what people are concerned about on the ground, because I’m on the ground.”