Eric Adams Tries to Pay to Suppress Police Accountability Measure

It is pretty clear that New York Mayor Eric Adams is mindlessly and relentlessly opposed to any measure that would create any sort of accountability for police misconduct, but this report that he tried to trade budget cuts to kill accountability legislation in the City Council is pretty fucking extreme.

Mayor Eric Adams told at least one member of the City Council he would restore cuts to their favorite programs if they agreed to vote against a police transparency bill the mayor and NYPD officials vigorously opposed, according to four people familiar with conversations in the Council.

Adams’ attempts to horse-trade using the budget, which he has unique leverage over as mayor, come while the city is battling a fiscal crisis. But his efforts had limited impact on the outcome: The Council overwhelmingly passed the legislation Wednesday in a 35-9 vote — a veto-proof majority.

The bill, authored by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and introduced with a majority of councilmembers as cosponsors, requires police officers to report all their investigative interactions with civilians, including low-level encounters not previously required to be tracked.

One councilmember said, before the vote, Adams and other administration officials floated restoring cuts in an area important to the lawmaker in exchange for a no vote on the legislation. The councilmember spoke to Gothamist on the condition their name and details of the mayor’s offer not be disclosed because it was a private conversation.

Fuck the whole, "Private conversation," thing. This is a matter of public interest.  At the very least, the public has a right to know who is making these offers to City Council members.

………

Administration officials estimate the city faces a $7 billion budget deficit, but a recent report by the Independent Budget Office, the city’s fiscal watchdog, found a much smaller gap of $1.8 billion next year.

Adams faces heavy criticism over the cuts from lawmakers and residents alike, with a Quinnipiac poll earlier this month finding the spending reductions were a factor in his abysmal approval ratings — the lowest of any NYC mayor in the history of the poll.

Well, now we know why Adams is far gloomier than the professional green eyeshade types, he wants to use budget cuts as leverage to get what he wants.

He has a 28% approval rating, and this, and immigrant bashing, are his only hope to win the next election.  (For the love of God, don't let Andrew "Rat Faced Andy" Cuomo win.)