Mayor Adams rips ‘woke’ NYC Council Dems behind Progressive Caucus purge: ‘That is not who we are’
Anti-police progressives have “hijacked” the Democratic Party — and their ranks include City Council members who are trying to push the chamber further to the left on public safety issues, Mayor Adams claimed Thursday.
Adams leveled the blistering charge at his fellow New York Democrats in an early morning appearance on CNN after being asked who he was referencing when he said a day earlier that “woke” activists have taken control of the party.
“Right here in this city, we have a group that is calling for removing members of their own caucus if they don’t sign a pledge to defund the police,” Adams replied. “That is not who we are as Democrats, and I’m going to continue to stand and state that we are pro-public safety, and we’re pro-proper policing.”
The moderate mayor was referring to the Council’s Progressive Caucus, which is undergoing a contentious reorganization effort.
The caucus’ leadership recently asked its 35 members sign a “Statement of Principles” if they want to stay in the caucus. In addition to commitments to seek more funding for affordable housing, education and social services, the document says members must “do everything we can to reduce the size and scope of the NYPD.”
The police reduction pledge has unnerved some members, and is likely to result in as many as 10 of them resigning from the caucus, as first reported by the Daily News earlier this week.
Adams, a former NYPD captain who has feuded with members of his own party on a bevy of issues lately, especially public safety, suggested in his morning TV appearance that left-wing Democrats like the Council members behind the caucus ultimatum aren’t actually progressive.
“What has happened in this country, the numerical minority, they have hijacked the term progressive,” he said. “I have been progressive all my life. You look at the issues I’ve fought for — from police reform, housing, education — but we’ve allowed a small number that are the loudest and they’ve hijacked the true meaning of the Democratic Party. We are not for defunding the police, we’re not for attacking businesses. We’re for jobs, we’re for growth.”
The four top members of the Progressive Caucus pushed back against Adams’ critique of their platform.
“Unlike Mayor Adams, we do not believe the NYPD should be conducting homeless sweeps and involuntarily hospitalizing those experiencing mental health crises,” Council members Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn, Lincoln Restler of Brooklyn, Carmen De La Rosa of Manhattan and Jennifer Gutierrez of Brooklyn said in a joint statement to The News.
We believe in actually investing in the services that keep New Yorkers safe and address the root causes of poverty.”
Queens Councilwoman Tiffany Caban, a democratic socialist who’s also part of the Progressive Caucus, said it’s actually Adams’ agenda that poses a threat to public safety.
“Nothing says being ‘pro public-safety’ like defunding our schools, libraries, and social services,” Caban wrote on Twitter, referencing Adams’ preliminary budget, which proposes cuts to some social services while keeping NYPD spending effectively flat.
The Progressive Caucus beef has caused ripple effects beyond Adams and the Council.
Democratic socialist Brooklyn state Sen. Julia Salazar jumped into the fray after South Bronx Councilman Rafael Salamanca, a moderate Democrat, demanded over Twitter late Wednesday that Hanif and Restler, the caucus’ co-chairs, come to his district and explain “how defunding [the NYPD] is a positive thing” for his constituents.
“They objectively do not represent the wealthiest communities in NYC,” Salazar tweeted at Salamanca, whose post also claimed the co-chairs’ districts are “the wealthiest communities” in the city. “Maybe that wasn’t your point, but perhaps leave the communities they represent — including a lot of working class families, communities of color and many living in abject poverty — out of it.”
The statewide New York Working Families Party, which backs many Progressive Caucus members, also chimed in on the Council caucus clash Thursday afternoon.
“We know that true safety begins with making sure our communities are fully resourced. That’s what the Progressive Caucus is fighting for,” the party tweeted. “The mayor’s cuts to mental health care, schools, and homeless services take us further away from the safety and stability we all deserve.”
