Adams blasts Hochul, Albany over ‘ill-advised’ new NYC class-size limits
Mayor Eric Adams took Gov. Kathy Hochul to task on Monday for signing a controversial new class-size law — calling it unfair to disadvantaged kids in Hizzoner’s harshest rebuke of his fellow Democrat to date.
“I understand and respect the class-size issue. But I believe the way this was done was ill-advised,” he said.
“And the governor made the decision to sign it.”
During an unrelated news conference in Manhattan, Adams said that taxpayer dollars should be used “to focus on equity.”
“Not equality — equity,” Adams said.
“There are certain school districts that need more and what we are doing now, we’re taking away the [schools] chancellor’s ability to focus on where the problem is.”
In his lengthy response to a question from The Post, Adams also called out Gotham’s delegation to the state Legislature for helping pass the measure, which he said “specifically singles out” the city.
“If it’s something that everyone felt, then it should be statewide,” he said.
“But it’s not. It’s zeroed in on New York.”
Adams added, “There was enough lawmakers who could have easily overrode her veto if she wanted to. I don’t know what her thoughts were in that area.”
“But, you know, the law is the law and we’re going to function and it is an unfunded — unfunded mandate,” he said.
“And I’m hoping that those lawmakers, when they go back to Albany, they will look at how do we fund this, this dollar amount.”
Adams later tempered his remarks against Hochul — a fellow Democrat who faces Republican challenger Lee Zeldin in the Nov. 8 gubernatorial election — calling her a “great partner” and an “ally” on other issues.
“And I’m really happy to have a partnership and it’s great to be in a city where the governor likes the mayor and the mayor likes the governor,” he added.
Adams and Hochul have been carrying on a virtual lovefest since he became the presumptive mayor after winning last year’s Democratic primary.
They raised each other’s hand in victory during his Election Night celebration at the Brooklyn Marriott, where he gave her the mic and she likened his win to “a new day dawning.”
That closeness contrasted with the hostility that their predecessors, former Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, repeatedly demonstrated toward each other.
Cuomo frequently ridiculed de Blasio as a lackluster leader and de Blasio openly delighted in the sexual harassment scandal that forced Cuomo to resign in disgrace last year.
Former city Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi even said their contempt for each other was a “significant problem” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the “toxicity of that relationship” harmed “public health policy for New Yorkers.”
The new law caps the size of kindergarten through third-grade classes at just 20 students each.
Fourth- through eighth-grade classes can have no more than 23 students each and high school classes will be limited to 25 students each.
The law was supported by the city’s teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers, which called its signing “something to celebrate” after decades of “fighting for lower class sizes.”
Adams has said it will cost the city $500 million a year just to comply with the mandate for elementary school kids.
In a signing statement, Hochul said she agreed to a request from lawmakers to slightly delay the timetable for full implementation of the law, from September 2027 to September 2028.
Under the deal, the Department of Education has to “commence the plan development process immediately” and meet the requirements in 20% of classrooms by the start of the 2023-24 school year.
At the time, Adams said, “We appreciate the governor’s collaboration on this legislation since its last-minute passage last year, particularly the elongated timeline.”
“We look forward to working with our partners in Albany to ensure that New York’s students have what they need to succeed,” he added.
