De Blasio approves of Adams, but not on Rikers & differs a bit on COVID-19

As former Mayor Bill de Blasio embarks on his transformation into congressional candidate Bill de Blasio, he’ll have ample opportunity to agree or disagree with his successor’s policies.

On Monday, he dipped his toes into those waters — not through bombast or an outright difference of opinion — but by creating some distance between himself and the current mayor, Eric Adams, on two key issues.

The first was Rikers Island. Adams has said he is not open to a federal receiver assuming control over Rikers. Last week, he suggested doing so would be an abdication of his responsibility as mayor.

De Blasio, who also struggled to address the problems at Rikers, said he’s more open to the idea.

“I want to say this with sympathy for the mayor and everyone involved: that it’s a situation that was broken long before they got there. And in the hands of the right receiver, with the right checks and balances, there may be a solution,” de Blasio said in a sitdown with the Daily News. “But it all depends on who that is and how it’s structured. ... I have mixed feelings. What I know is the status quo there can’t continue.”

De Blasio noted that, as a general rule, he does not support federal or state government assuming control of the city’s day-to-day workings, but he described Rikers as unique in that regard.

“I generally think local control is the best solution, but I have to say I’m not militant on the receivership point because it does come with some tools that are valuable.”

On coronavirus, while he praised Adams, de Blasio also seemed to suggest more could be done.

“I think he’s done well, but I think he has to keep those tools ready very urgently,” he said, referring presumably to booster shots and mandates. “I think he has to talk about it.

“I often failed to express what the next steps were at various points along the way in my eight years,” he continued. “During COVID, I think I learned some important lessons, and I’m very humble about the fact that a lot of things I didn’t understand or a lot of things I made mistakes on I had to learn from, but I did learn.”

De Blasio said that Adams must keep the messaging on booster shots “front and center.”

“We still have a long way to go on boosters,” he said. “I think that would help a lot.”