Janae Pierre: Brittany, remember this?

Speaker 3: Enabling Mayor Eric Adams to victory.

Janae Pierre: Yes, but that was four years ago. Of course, the political landscape has shifted a lot since then, right?

Brittany: Let's start with the basics. The mayor is now fighting federal corruption charges.

Mayor Eric Adams: That was good, but let's do this.

Brittany: [chuckles] Yes, that was us on Tuesday sitting in this same studio recording this episode.

Janae Pierre: Right. Which we then tossed in the trash can.

Brittany: Right, because Wednesday brought some pretty big news.

Reporter: Mayor Adams' criminal case is officially over. Judge Dale Ho issued an order this morning.

Janae Pierre: That news, well, a federal judge officially dismissed the corruption case against Mayor Adams with prejudice.

Mayor Eric Adams: I'm now happy that our city can finally close the book on this and focus solely on the future of our great city.

Janae Pierre: Now, Brittany, that means the charges cannot be revisited in the future. We scrambled our plans and sent you back to Southeast Queens where you've been doing some eating, but also a lot of reporting lately.

Brittany: Exactly. I always love going back for the taco and roti varieties out there.

Janae Pierre: Absolutely, girl. Stop teasing.

Brittany: [laughs] Yes, yes, yes. This was big news. When it broke, I headed back to those same streets and street corners where I've been talking to voters. Because not everyone knows Janae, but this part of Queens was key to Mayor Adams' victory in 2021.

Janae Pierre: Yes, absolutely. He won that area by a landslide.

Brittany: Right. He needs those voters to show up for him again if he's going to win re-election. I wanted to know, did the news change anyone's mind and potentially shift the political dynamic?

[music]

Janae Pierre: From WNYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Janae Pierre. We're continuing our deep dive into Mayor Eric Adams and the shifting political ground beneath him. For months, a federal indictment cast a long shadow over City Hall, with the mayor fighting various corruption charges. That cloud has now lifted. Looking ahead, Adams faces an uphill climb, including running as an independent.

Mayor Eric Adams: I firmly believe that this city is better served by truly independent leadership, not leaders pulled at by the extremists on the far left or the far right.

Janae Pierre: We turn to WNYC's Brittany Kriegstein, who's been speaking with voters. Brittany, what is it about Southeast Queens that makes it so important to the mayor?

Brittany: Well, it's one of the most diverse places in the city. Census data shows that people who identify as Black, Asian, and Latino make up a majority of residents. About half the population was born outside the US. Historically, it represents the heart of the city's middle and working-class Black community. Voters in neighborhoods like St. Albans, Hollis, and Jamaica, their families have been there for generations. As you know, Janae, Mayor Adams has long championed these groups.

Janae Pierre: Yes. This area, this community, it's made up of mostly Democrats, right?

Brittany: Yes, that's true. Although they tend to be a lot more conservative than voters in, say, the Upper West Side or Park Slope, and they are highly engaged. They're some of the most reliable voters in each election cycle. If a citywide candidate can't win in Southeast Queens, then they have a lot of work to make up the difference in other parts of town. I'm a reporter for WNYC

Janae Pierre: All right. You went back out there again. What did you hear from folks?

Brittany: Honestly, the responses were all over the map.

Janae Pierre: Really?

Brittany: Yes. People had very strong opinions.

Janae Pierre: Okay. Were there folks who said they're done with Adams?

Brittany: Definitely. Ian Ross and Justin DeLoach, I met them outside a seatown supermarket on Jamaica Avenue. They hadn't even heard yet that the case was dropped. How's it going, guys? I'm just out here asking people about Mayor Adams, if you heard that his corruption case got dropped today.

Justin DeLoach: Oh, it got dropped today. Wow. Didn't know that. Surprised.

Ian Ross: Say the case got dropped?

Justin DeLoach: Actually, am I surprised? I'm not. Wow.

Ian Ross: Oh, well, I guess we would say thank Trump, right?

Janae Pierre: Wow. You just broke the news to them right there. I'm wondering, Brittany, what is it about Ian and Justin, that interaction with them, what was it that stood out to you?

Brittany: Well, I think in many ways, their responses capture the frustration that a lot of people have that this is how it is, this is politics, and people in power can do what they want and get away with it. How does it make you guys feel?

Justin DeLoach: A little disappointed. He kind of got away with a lot, it seems. Another person getting away with crime.

Ian Ross: He's a Black man, I'm a Black man, but that doesn't make crime right just because he looks like me. Because actually, his crimes don't benefit me at all. You know what I mean? They benefit other people like him. He should have got charged for what he was hit with, but we know how it goes.

Justin DeLoach: Absolutely. Shows people of power get away with anything, man. Who you know matters.

Janae Pierre: I'm sensing that these guys are really disappointed. There's also some fatigue there, too, with this entire situation with Mayor Adams and his administration.

Brittany: Totally. I think both of these guys were just exhausted by all of the twists and turns of this saga. Either way, they both said they wouldn't vote for him. I also caught up with Cesar Escalante, who is also pretty skeptical. I don't know.

Cesar Escalante: I mean, it's an opinion, but yes, I don't trust him.

Brittany: It doesn't change your mind?

Cesar Escalante: No, I still don't trust him. Anybody who says they got swagger when they get elected, I don't trust.

Brittany: I met you the other day, right?

Cesar Escalante: Yes, over by the glass one.

Brittany: Tell me, did you vote for him back in 2021?

Cesar Escalante: No, I didn't. Democrat, but didn't vote for him. I haven't liked him since the beginning when he was a police-- Some people I just don't trust.

Brittany: Do you know who else you might vote for this election?

Cesar Escalante: The Comptroller sounded pretty good.

Brittany: You mean Brad Lander?

Cesar Escalante: Yes. I was thinking that. I'll try to make the decision before I tank him.

Janae Pierre: Another one not voting for Eric Adams. He mentions Comptroller Brad Lander. Have you heard, Brittany, any other names come up? I know Cuomo is a big name. He's the frontrunner right now.

Brittany: Right. Those really are the only two names I've heard from people in all my reporting in these areas. A lot of folks say they just aren't familiar with the other candidates just yet and say they have a lot more research to do. Take Derek Jenkins, for example. Did you hear that his corruption charges were just dropped?

Derek Jenkins: Yes, I did.

Brittany: Derek is one of the voters who supported the mayor back in 2021, but now he's unsure.

Derek Jenkins: As far as the best candidate, not sure.

Brittany: Does it change your mind about him at all, that the case got dropped?

Derek Jenkins: No, no. I mean, I haven't seen him-- As far as everything that he's doing with so many people resigning, that's what get to me. There must be something going on for him to leave like that.

Janae Pierre: Sure. Did you vote for him the first time?

Derek Jenkins: Yes, I did.

Brittany: You're saying not again?

Derek Jenkins: I'm not saying anything. I'm just seeing what happens as far as the other candidates go.

Janae Pierre: Brittany, I think it's interesting to hear that Derek's response to the question of whether or not he'd vote for the mayor again is more about what's happening around the mayor. He was referring there to the various top aides under Adams who have come under investigation and many of whom have resigned. It just shows that people really take note of those things.

Brittany: Totally.

Janae Pierre: Now couple that with the fact that many people that endorsed or campaigned for the mayor have also jumped ship. I'm thinking about the head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party. That's Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn. She endorsed Adams back in 2021 but is now throwing her support behind former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Brittany: I think it can be seen as a vulnerability for the mayor. It also highlights why some view the mayor as untrustworthy. Imagine you're not following the race super closely, like some of these people, and they're sitting at home and they see these different headlines coming up on TV or online, and they're just not really sure what to make of all of this. They're not following the linear trajectory of all of this news the way that you and I do.

Janae Pierre: Right. What did you hear from the folks who are still backing the mayor?

Brittany: Well, the mayor does still have supporters, like Rachel Hughes. Did you hear that his case got dismissed?

Rachel Hughes: It got dismissed? Well, that's what politics do. I guess if you've got money and power, it goes your way.

Brittany: Does it change your opinion of him?

Rachel Hughes: I guess it's what you can prove in the court of law. If they say you didn't do it, you didn't do it.

Brittany: Does it change whether or not you'd vote for him?

Rachel Hughes: No. As long as he's still doing a good job for the people, that's all that matters. A lot of people have problems and make mistakes. It is what it is.

Brittany: You voted for him last time?

Rachel Hughes: Yes.

Brittany: You would vote again?

Rachel Hughes: Yes.

Janae Pierre: Wow. Brittany, she says a lot of people make mistakes there. It seems she's conveying a sense of forgiveness for Adams.

Brittany: Yes, I think it's a real New York thing. We're very protective of people's reputations. It's a real show me the facts. Obviously, if your case gets dismissed, then there's no reason to have beef anymore.

Janae Pierre: Yes. Brittany, at this point, you've made several trips to Southeast Queens and spoken to dozens of people. What sticks out to you, and how, if at all, have opinions about Mayor Adams shifted?

Brittany: I think, as we said earlier, people in this part of the city helped deliver Adams a victory back in 2021. If we picture a strong support beam, now there are still supporters. Obviously, some people I spoke to said that they still support the mayor, but I think many others are just trying to digest this avalanche of news we've been hearing about Mayor Adams in the past few months. I think it's given them some pause as they try to see what's the best way forward. Honestly, I think we're starting to see some cracks in that support beam. Just hard to say how deep they go and how far they run.

Janae Pierre: That's WNYC reporter Brittany Kriegstein. All right, let's take a beat. When we come back, we'll zoom out and explain the broader stakes of this moment with politics editor Maia Hibbett.

[music]

Janae Pierre: Let's pivot now to discuss the other big political headline this week and try to put it in a broader context. Maia Hibbett is WNYC's politics editor. Maia, before we start, I think we should have some slow breathing exercise or something because you and your team have had a week.

Maia Hibbett: Well, I don't know if our listeners want to hear me just breathing straight into the microphone, but it really has been crazy. Where do you want to start?

Janae Pierre: Geez. Well, we've just heard from voters in Southeast Queens. As you know, that's a stronghold of the mayor, but there's been another big development in the Adams saga. He announced on Thursday that he's not going to run in the Democratic primary. What's going on here?

Maia Hibbett: Well, he's running as an independent. He's skipping the Democratic primary entirely. Even though he has said in the past that the Democratic Party abandoned him, he's not abandoning it. He's still a Democrat.

Janae Pierre: Wait, he's still a Democrat? How can he even do that?

Maia Hibbett: Well, he just needs to collect enough petitions to run as an independent. That's 3,750 people. Doesn't sound like that many, but they all have to be registered voters in New York City, and they can't have signed anyone else's petitions. This gives him more time, though, to file the petitions, because if he wanted to be in the primary, he would have had to submit them already. Now he has until late May. It also gives him time to fundraise to recover his momentum, because he's not running in June. He's running in November.

Janae Pierre: Right. Now, the conventional wisdom is that mayoral elections in New York City are won and lost in the primary, making the general election almost a formality, right? Is that not the case anymore?

Maia Hibbett: It could be very different this time. The thinking for the general and the primary are really different, because, in the primary, you have ranked-choice voting. You can have people make a coalition and say, "Back me, and then back these other people, too." You can vote for multiple choices, but the general is everyone for themselves. Depending on how many people are on the ballot, the vote is just going to get split more and more ways.

In most elections in the United States, it's two major parties. Democrat, Republican. Maybe there's like a spoiler candidate on there taking a few votes away, but they're often not a serious factor. In this case, if you have your incumbent running as an independent, you're splitting the vote in more ways than just 50-50.

Janae Pierre: Yes. Adams as an incumbent coming in is really shaking things up. In this case, the election would be split three ways. You've got Adams, the Republican, and the Democrat.

Maia Hibbett: At least. There's also the attorney, Jim Walden. He said he's going to run as an independent, too. There could be other third-party candidates. There's the Working Families Party, which is this progressive party that generally backs the Democratic candidate and their name just appears twice. In this case, if the Democratic candidate is Cuomo, they really hate him. [laughs]

Janae Pierre: Simply put, right?

Maia Hibbett: Yes. So much so they've been pushing a slogan called DREAM: Don't Rank Eric or Andrew for Mayor.

Janae Pierre: Oh, wow. You can't rank Eric anymore, right?

Maia Hibbett: No, you can't. They changed it and now it's Don't Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor.

Janae Pierre: Oh, wow. [laughs] If we step back and look at this week's flurry of developments, what's your read on the mayor's standing right now? Is he in a better position than he was just a week ago?

Maia Hibbett: Well, he's no longer under indictment.

Janae Pierre: Facts.

Maia Hibbett: He's kind of got to be.

Janae Pierre: Looking up.

Maia Hibbett: [laughs] Electorally, we don't know who's to say. The way his case got dismissed was really messy for Eric Adams. He only got these charges dropped because the Trump Department of Justice requested that they get dropped in February. Now, the judge did not dismiss them in the exact way the Trump administration had asked for the charges to get dropped without prejudice, meaning they could bring him back, they could hold them over Eric Adams' head. They said, "We want this effectively for political reasons. We want him to be able to help us with our immigration enforcement." The judge said, "That seems kind of sketchy." That's not verbatim.

The judge did not like that, and so he ended up dropping it with prejudice, meaning they can never come back. Adams still looks pretty beholden to Trump in a lot of people's minds. If people listened to that first episode of this series where you and Liz Kim talked about Adams' relationship with Trump, it was all about how now it looks like he's beholden to the president. He did this appearance with Tom Homan. The borders are where Homan really made an example out of Eric Adams on Fox &Friends and said, "You have to do what we're saying."

You could argue that now he's free of that. Right after he got his charges dropped, he appeared and showed a book by Kash Patel, the FBI director who's a major Trump loyalist. The book is called Government Gangsters, and it's all about the deep state, as he calls it, and these people who Patel and Trump believe have unfairly targeted the president. As we pointed out, even when Adams was first indicted, he sounded a lot like Trump. Do you remember where he was saying, "This is a witch hunt."

Janae Pierre: It's a witch hunt and the Biden administration was out to get him.

Maia Hibbett: Exactly. Even though there's no evidence for that, he's really stuck to that as his narrative. Now it remains to be seen whether voters believe him and are ready to look past the indictment.

Janae Pierre: That's WNYC's Maia Hibbett. This is NYC Now from WNYC. I'm Janae Pierre. Next week, we look at a major source of Mayor Adams' struggles; campaign finances. Special thanks to Sean Bowditch, Audrey Cooper, Stephanie Clary, Andrew Giambrone, David Giambusso, Brittany Kriegstein, Liora Noam-Kravitz, Jared Marcelle, and Wayne Schulmeister.

 

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