Adams ends his reelection campaign
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams announced that he is ending his reelection bid in a video posted to X on Sunday, further polarizing the tense mayoral race.
In the nearly nine-minute video, Adams cited “constant media speculation” and the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s decision to withhold millions of dollars by denying him public matching funds as reasons for his departure. He also boasted his efforts to lower crime and diversify the New York Police Department during his four years as mayor.
“Extremism is growing in our politics, children are being radicalized to hate our city and our country,” Adams said in the video. “That’s not change. That’s chaos.”
Adams also briefly addressed his September 2024 bribery charges — which were dismissed in April at the directive of the Trump administration — calling them “unfortunate events” that caused New Yorkers to be “unsure” of his leadership.
“I was wrongfully charged because I fought for this city,” Adams said. “If I had to do it again, I would fight for New York, again.”
The announcement comes a few weeks after Adams insisted that he will remain in the race after rejecting an alleged job offer from President Trump. Adams will still remain on the November ballot — a fate similar to former mayoral candidate Jim Walden, who dropped his longshot bid earlier this month.
Adams’ move turns the mayoral race to a three-way between Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, with Mamdani comfortably leading the polls.
“I will keep fighting for the city, no matter what,” Adams said. “Although this is the end of my reelection campaign, it is not the end of my public service.”
NYC informant violates sanctuary laws
The New York City Department of Investigation said in a recent report that a city investigator unlawfully shared sensitive information about two immigrants in custody with the Department of Homeland Security, violating sanctuary laws that restrict shared information between city and federal officials.
The Thursday report revealed that the Department of Correction investigator shared real-time updates about Cristian Concepcion with federal agents, and toward the end of last year, leaked Pedro Mujica Villa Nueva’s correction report containing his photo and court dates. Concepcion was arrested and sent to an immigration detention center after being released from Rikers Island in February, where he served time for committing a third-degree assault, which is a misdemeanor. The report did not mention whether Mujica Villa Nueva was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
To receive assistance from city officials, federal authorities must formally request for a detainee to be transferred only when they have been convicted of “violent or serious crimes,” which did not apply to the two men. Sanctuary laws were expanded by former Mayor Bill de Blasio to allow undocumented immigrants to interact with city services, such as schools, hospitals and the New York City Police Department, without fear of deportation.
The 68-page report blamed Mayor Eric Adams for inadequately training jail officials on the kinds of information about noncitizens that they can share with federal immigration authorities. It also recommended the department implement more robust guides and training sessions to prevent any future breaches in law.
“We were disappointed to learn that a Department of Correction employee — acting independently and without direction or consultation from a supervisor — unknowingly failed to follow city law and DOC. policy related to immigration enforcement,” Kayla Mamelak Altus, a spokeswoman for Adams, said.
A week of chaos at the UN General Assembly
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations Friday morning, more than 100 delegates representing over 50 countries walked out while thousands marched the streets of Manhattan in protest of the war in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian protesters commenced in Times Square and marched to Dag Hammarskjod Plaza, a park across from the Secretariat Building, holding signs that read “ARREST NETANYAHU” and chanting “Netanyahu you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” Around a dozen counterprotesters waved Israeli and American flags, and police stood between the two groups as they shouted profanities at each other.
Heightened vigilance at the U.N. General Assembly was not limited to demonstrations. Three days prior, the Secret Service found and took down over 100,000 SIM cards on 300 SIM servers at more than five locations within 35 miles of the headquarters, which could have dismantled the entire city’s cell towers by overflowing cellular services and 911 call centers.
“It can take down cell towers, so then no longer can people communicate,” Matt McCool, the special agent who leads the Secret Service’s New York field office, said.“You can’t text message, you can’t use your cell phone. And if you coupled that with some sort of other event associated with UNGA — it could be catastrophic to the city.”
McCool said that a forensic investigation is underway.
Contact Natalie Deoragh at [email protected].
