NYC Public Advocate slams Mayor Adams as…

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NYC Public Advocate slams Mayor Adams as ‘angry, bratty child’ in debate
over policing bill

Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams speaking during a New York City Council meeting at City Hall in Manhattan, New York on Wednesday, Dec. 20,
2023. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)

By Michael Gartland | mgartland@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News

PUBLISHED: January 3, 2024 at 5:47 p.m. | UPDATED: January 3, 2024 at 6:09 p.m.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams described Mayor Adams as an “angry, bratty child” and “dishonest”
Wednesday after hizzoner attacked him and legislation over police stops he backed as out of touch.

The war of words kicked off during a press briefing convened by Adams and NYPD brass at Police
Headquarters when the mayor referenced a bill Williams sponsored that would require cops to report
demographic information after low-level encounters with civilians.

During the briefing, which focused on 2023 police statistics , Adams referred to the “same people” who
“introduce the same bills over and over again” — and then specifically named Williams.

“Like, I find it astonishing that, you know, we have a public advocate who pushed for this police bill. He
lives in a fort,” Adams said, making a reference to Williams’ home at the Fort Hamilton US Army
Garrison in Brooklyn “He lives in a fort. He doesn’t take the subway.”
.

Williams’ bill won veto-proof approval in the City Council last month — despite pushback from Adams
and the NYPD. Adams has been mum on whether he’d veto it, but Council Speaker Adrienne Adams
has said the chamber is prepared to override him if he does.

Williams shortly convened a press conference from his Fort Hamilton home and lit into the mayor —
and his claim that God put him in City Hall.

Barry Williams for New York Daily News

Mayor Eric Adams is pictured during a crime stats briefing at 1 Police Plaza Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024 in Manhattan. (Barry Williams
for New York Daily News)

“Eric Adams is not the messiah for New York City. He just is not,” Williams said over Zoom. “What I
heard today really sounded like a five-year old throwing a temper tantrum, grabbing at straws because
he didn’t get what he wanted. What I hope is that, instead of acting like an angry, bratty child, that he
would sit down and have conversations and try to regain the trust that he’s lost from New Yorkers.”

Asked to address Adams’ description of him being out of touch, Williams dinged Adams for questions
raised in 2021 about where Adams lived following a Politico story detailing time spent with his
girlfriend in Fort Lee, N.J.

“Ilive in Brooklyn with my wife and kids,” Williams said. “My understanding is the mayor lives in New
Jersey with his girlfriend, so it’s funny for him to try to say something like that to me.”

Williams went on to label Adams as “dishonest” and “desperate” and said the mayor was “lying” about
his policing legislation.

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2024 January 3

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