This is gonna be a real Adams Apple.
Queens Councilwoman Adrienne Adams will be the next speaker of the New York City Counci, besting a fellow Queens candidate supported by Mayor-elect Eric Adams.
More than 30 lawmakers in the 51-member body signed on to a statement backing the second-term lawmaker, including almost the entirety of the Brooklyn delegation, representing Adams’ home borough.
“I am honored to have earned the support and the trust of my colleagues to be their Speaker,” said Adams (D-Queens) — no relation to the incoming mayor — in a statement Friday declaring victory.
“Our coalition reflects the best of our city,” she continued. “We are ready to come together to solve the enormous challenges we face in order to not just recover from COVID but to build a better, fairer City that works for everyone.”
The selection is a blow for the mayor-elect — who, sources say, was working hard behind the scenes in recent weeks to support Councilman Francisco Moya (D-Queens), who was backed by the politically powerful Hotel Trades Council.
“Let me be the first to congratulate my good friend Adrienne Adams on securing the votes to become the City Council’s speaker and making history. I look forward to working with her in partnership,” tweeted the mayor-elect after the Queens lawmaker declared victory.
Sources said that Eric Adams was making phone calls to council members as recently as Thursday night on Moya’s behalf, which his spokesman later denied.
“I have worked alongside Councilmember @AdrienneEAdams1 for many years,” Moya said in a concession tweet Friday. “She is a dedicated and thoughtful leader who I know will work closely with all councilmembers.”
He added: “I will fully support her leadership as we continue to fight the devastation of the pandemic.”
Adams’ attempt to intervene on behalf of a speaker candidate is not unusual — most recently, Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed hard in 2013 for Melissa Mark-Viverito, the eventual winner.
But Adams’ intervention frustrated many lawmakers, who typically prize their independence from the Big Apple’s powerful mayoralty.
“The mayor’s team picked a terrible horse that no one liked and it was just too heavy of a lift,” said a Brooklyn insider. “So, it ended up galvanizing all this support for someone else, who might not have otherwise been one of the finalists.”
The Queens councilwoman also carried the bulk of her own delegation — including high-profile lefty lawmakers, like Councilwoman Tiffany Caban. That support, however, may have come as a result of a controversial move by a local congressman.
Queens Democratic Party chairman Gregory Meeks cozied up to Cabán and other members aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America — which, locally, backs efforts to slash funding for the NYPD; and internationally, supports boycotts of Israel over its settlement policies.
The alliance drew swift condemnation from Jewish leaders and other supporters of Israel.
Meeks’ DSA-empowering move on behalf of Adrienne Adams, meanwhile, may have driven a further wedge between the two Adamses as the incoming mayor has been fiercely critical of anti-police activists.
Allies of Adrienne Adams insisted Friday that DSA members won’t be calling the shots in the new council.
The Queens lawmaker campaigned hard in recent days to close the deal as she slowly built a lead and her supporters began took their endorsements public in recent days.
Her victory came just hours after she claimed the support of most of the nine members of the Bronx delegations.
She was seen mingling in The Bronx Thursday for the inauguration of Bronx Councilman Rafael Salamanca Jr., a fellow second term lawmaker, by Post sources.
“There are a number of us who are going to come out publicly for Adrienne Adams,” said one Bronx source before the announcement.
A coalition of labor unions that include District Council 37 and Local 32 BJ, as well as Brooklyn Councilman Justin Brannan, a one-time candidate for speaker, were whipping votes for Adrienne Adams over the past 48 hours, sources said.
Adams’ victory declaration also came after the third candidate left in the race, Manhattan’s Carlina Rivera, dropped out and endorsed her.
“Many of our struggles come from the under-representation of New Yorkers suffering most from decades of inequity. The foundation of my candidacy was to center those communities. Today that candidacy ends, but we persist to make sure City Hall is effective and held to account,” Rivera said in a tweet.
“With that, I’m backing@AdrienneEAdams1 to be Speaker of our historic women majority City Council. She will lead our work in 2022 + beyond w/ honor,” Rivera added.
Adrienne Adams would succeed term-limited Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who vacates his Manhattan council seat on Jan. 1.
