When I was younger and hung out with peers that I knew weren’t good people, my parents would tell me, “You are who you know.”
This carried into adulthood when I would ask myself if I would want to be associated with the people I spend most of my time with.
It seems like Eric Adams failed to take this advice.
Every day, new information comes out about New York City’s mayor and his administration. Earlier this month, former NYPD commissioner Edward Caban stepped down after federal agents seized his phone. Records showed that he was getting paid in exchange for favors for nightclubs in the city.
That’s not all.
His chief legal advisor Lisa Zornberg also resigned. Federal agents have raided the homes of others in his administration such as the city’s deputy mayor for criminal justice Philip Banks III, schools Chancellor David Banks and First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. This was done in the ongoing investigation on charges brought against Adams for bribery and fraud when given gifts in exchange for the mayor to use his political influence to help Turkey.
Adams has a long history of making friends with questionable characters. For example, he gave his former police boss Tim Pearson unchecked authority over a municipality that resulted in four sexual harassment lawsuits against him. Pearson’s phone has also been seized amidst the investigation. He even made an anti-gay preacher his faith advisor and made Jeffrey Maddrey, a cop accused of punching a coworker who accused him of sexual assault, chief of the NYPD.
As we watch the first indictment of a NYC mayor in history, it’s important to remember who exactly Eric Adams is. He’s a man who does not see homophobia and violence against women as a reason to break longstanding ties. His reasoning amidst the investigation is that he is willing to “give second chances.” According to Politico, Adams said in 2022: “Yes, I’m going to talk with people who have stumbled and fell.”
But he has done this his whole professional career. A pastor who described the mayor as a mentor was recently sentenced to jail for theft of a parishioner’s mother’s retirement savings. His associations include Anti-Semites such as Louis Farrakhan, dating back to 1994.
What this tells Americans who are watching this case unfold is that Adams does not care about the crimes these people have committed, because he is just as bad. Rape, sexual harassment, antisemitism and homophobia are not dealbreakers for Adams because his corruption knows no bounds.
The people that he has built his career with have abused NYC’s government and have built their own careers on the backs of marginalized groups. They mock the very systems that they claim to fight to uphold and thus mock New Yorkers everywhere.
Adams needs to go back to kindergarten and remember one of the first things we were taught as kids when starting to make friends. Do not associate with people that you do not want to emulate.
His friendships, his behavior and his own list of indictments make this concept more true than ever. Do not be surprised if over the next few months, more information comes out about Adams himself and his administration, and remember that as a politician he failed the LGBTQ+ community and women everywhere. No amount of apologies or pleas for New Yorkers to allow him to defend himself will cover up or make right over 30 years of political scandal.
Enough is enough for Adams and his criminal friends.
