Wiley attacks Adams, Yang
Civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley sought Thursday to portray Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams as ethically challenged in the latest in a series of attacks ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary for mayor.
“It is critically important that any and all of us hold the public trust,” Wiley said at an Upper West Side press conference. “I am shocked to hear Eric Adams, once again, failed to take responsibility.”
She was referring to recent findings that Adams failed to disclose his co-ownership of a Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, coop apartment to the appropriate authorities. Adams’ purported lapse was first reported by news site The City.
Adams, who frequently describes himself as a small landlord, says he gave away the co-op as a gift — but apparently ignored requirements for elected officials to disclose he’d owned the place. When asked whether or not he paid a tax on the gift, Adams’s campaign did not respond.
Adams has also claimed zero taxes on rental income without doing the proper IRS documentation, according to Politico New York.
“I saw the story today, and this is on top of story after story after story where Eric Adams either doesn’t remember facts it is surprising to not remember, or can’t account and prove something he has said in terms of his personal business,” Wiley said.
Adams’s campaign rejected the criticism and promised he would amend his tax returns to reflect why he didn’t pay some taxes.
“Eric is a blue-collar New Yorker who earns his income mainly from a police pension and his job,” campaign spokesman Evan Thies said in a statement.
“He recently discovered that he could save money on his taxes by reporting a loss on the brownstone he owns, and he is in the process of amending his filings,” he added.
Earlier Thursday, former Gov. David Paterson endorsed Adams for mayor, saying the candidate could unify the city’s diverse communities.
“He has sought support from communities that sometimes have been antagonistic to each other, but they both trust him,” Paterson said. “That’s the kind of leadership we need; that’s kind of leadership we’re going to get when Eric Adams puts his hand on the Bible and takes the oath of office.”
Recent weeks have seen Adams leading in the polls, though rivals Kathryn Garcia, a former sanitation commissioner, and Wiley, an ex-top legal aide to Mayor de Blasio, have been catching up.
Wiley has sought to champion the homeless, saying she’d enforce a strong eviction moratorium and boost supportive housing.
She attacked businessman Andrew Yang for his comments on homelessness during Wednesday night’s mayoral debate. Yang said that “mentally ill people have rights, but you know who else have rights? We do. The people and families of the city.”
“I am so deeply sad and disappointed about the way Andrew Yang talked about homelessness and mental health,” Wiley said Thursday.
Asked at a news conference in the Bronx whether he regretted his Wednesday night comments, Yang appeared to nod no.
Actor John Leguizamo was on hand to voice his support of Yang as the candidate signed a gigantic fake check to 500,000 New Yorkers — a symbol of his plan to bring a pared-down version of universal basic income to the city.