Mayor Eric Adams, known as a stickler for details, has made his weekly press conference a performance ritual.
Every Tuesday, his staff has ushered reporters into City Hall’s ceremonial Blue Room. His signature walk-on music – Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” – has cued a procession of top aides. The mayor has taken a slow, pronounced walk to his seat at the table, front and center before the cameras.
But on Tuesday, at his first press conference at City Hall since he was indicted on corruption charges, Adams stood alone. He held his conference on the steps of the rotunda, where there were no aides, only posters announcing his policy accomplishments.
And when the time came, the mayor walked out with no music.
“All this is going in my book,” he joked before a phalanx of cameras. “This is going to be one of the chapters that you’re all going to reflect on.”
He later added, “Now you have a front-row seat to my resiliency.”
Less than a week after pleading not guilty in court, Adams was at times funny and reflective, but mostly defiant. As the first mayor in modern New York City history to face criminal charges, he is digging in for the biggest fight of his political life.
“Stuff has always gone on in my life,” he said.
He reminded New Yorkers of his impoverished upbringing in Queens as the child of a single mother, and that he was serving as Brooklyn borough president when doctors told him he was at risk of becoming blind because of severe diabetes.
Federal prosecutors have accused Adams of accepting more than $100,000 in bribes in the form of travel perks, in addition to illegal donations. In exchange, they said he expedited the opening of a Turkish consulate building in Manhattan.
Speaking to the camera, the mayor said he had done nothing wrong and assured New Yorkers that he can fight the charges while running the city.
“I can do this job and I will continue to do this job,” he said.
He faces an uphill battle: members of his administration are embroiled in multiple ongoing federal investigations, a wave of officials have left their jobs in city hall, some of his own top officials are reluctant to support him – and he faced low approval ratings before the indictment.
Concerns have been growing about further upheaval in the administration amid intensifying federal scrutiny. On Friday, the mayor’s chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, became the latest official to have her phones seized. She was also served a subpoena to appear before a grand jury.
And on Monday night, Timothy Pearson, a close friend and senior aide to the mayor – who has been sued multiple times for misconduct including sexual harassment – announced he would resign.
On Tuesday, Adams said his team was bouncing back. He announced a nominee for corporation counsel, or the city’s top lawyer, and a new chief counsel to replace Lisa Zornberg, who abruptly resigned last month.
He lamented in the press conference that reporters were more interested in his current criminal case and that was why he excused his deputy mayors from joining him. Pressed on the details of the charges, Adams mostly deferred to his lawyers while asserting that he had done nothing wrong.
He refused to elaborate on claims he made last week that he had been targeted by prosecutors because of his outspoken criticism of President Joe Biden’s handling of the migrant crisis.
“There’s some pieces that we’re knowledgeable of,” Adams said, “But I’m not gonna do anything that’s gonna interfere with the case. My attorneys will handle that.”
The mayor was asked at one point whether he would welcome the support of former President Donald Trump, who has supported the idea that Adams is being persecuted. Some Democrats – including Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the mayor’s allies — have expressed concerns that Adams’ rhetoric in the wake of the indictment could be used by Trump and other Republicans to hurt the chances of his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other Democrats in the November election.
“I welcome support from every American, no matter where they are and who they are,” he said.
At times, a tragic aura hung over the mayor. Asked why he liked to travel, Adams said that his parents had never left the country and that, as a child growing up in southeast Queens, having a passport was a “distant thought.”
“Some people look at that and say there’s something suspicious,” he said. “Why does he want to go to these different countries? Because too many children that look like me believe the globe is in one square mile of their home.”
The hour-long press conference ended as it began — with the mayor applying humor to the situation.
A reporter asked the mayor how he would assess Turkish Airlines, the airline on which prosecutors said the mayor took advantage of business upgrades and free flights around the globe.
“I love that question,” Adams replied. “Great service, great service.”
