In addition to urging Governor Hochul on September 28, 2024, not to dismiss Hizzoner based only on the indictment, Rev. Al Sharpton is planning a meeting where political leaders and elected officials may talk about the implications of the federal corruption accusations hanging over Mayor Adams.
The longstanding ally and leader of the civil rights movement said, “I have called an emergency meeting of New York City and state leaders in the next few days to discuss how we collectively address this situation.”
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“The mayor deserves his due process and his day in court, and the focus of our discussion will be whether or how a city that’s two-thirds Black and Brown is governed to meet their needs.”
Sharpton continued, addressing Adams’ assertion that he is under persecution from the federal government for disclosing the city’s immigration situation, “but we also need to avoid claims that the Biden administration or a Black U.S. Attorney [Damian Williams] are targeting an elected official over policy disagreements.”
Speaking at the weekly National Action Network event in Harlem on Saturday, Sharpton expressed his wish to have a conference with state and local leaders the following week to arrive at a “united point of view.”
Additionally, he asked New Yorkers to wait for the outcome before passing judgment on Adams.
He remarked, pointing out that embittered Democratic senator from New Jersey, Bob Menendez, only quit his job after being found guilty of corruption, “I have known Eric Adams for 35 years. I’ve never known him to have any leanings towards criminality. He [deserves] due process.”
Sharpton also urged Governor Hochul to withstand growing pressure to use her authority to dismiss the current mayor.
“Where is the precedent for an indictment making you have to step aside? No, if the mayor decides he cannot run the city well and defend himself then he will have to make that decision,” Sharpton stated.
“We want the city to work, we want the city to run, but we do not want to set a precedent that will come back on anybody else.”
Sharpton’s views were mirrored by other steadfast friends, such as Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Queens), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn), and Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
Rajkumar stated, “Every American is presumed innocent until proven guilty. And every American deserves due process and equal protection under the law, including the Mayor of New York City.”
Nonetheless, a bipartisan coalition comprising over forty elected officials has since demanded that Adams step down in the wake of escalating federal probes into his administration, the departure of senior aides, and current federal accusations against him for allegedly accepting $123,000 in bribes and illicit contributions to his mayoral bid for 2021 in exchange for favorable treatment.
The progressive caucus of the City Council, consisting of 19 members, has been joined by longtime Adams ally Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Queens Democrat, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Comptroller Brad Lander, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx/Queens), Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan), Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn), and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik.
