On Thursday, Mayor Adams went on a passionate diatribe against the city’s comptroller, Brad Lander. Adams criticized Lander for his lack of action on the city’s migrant crisis.
He mocked Lander with a high-pitched imitation of his voice and accused him of being the loudest person in the city. Adams urged Lander to visit Washington to deal with the issue that he believes is the city’s top priority.
Adams emphasized that Lander’s role is in financial stability and he should not be trying to overshadow the mayor. The mayor insisted that it is the comptroller’s job to help the city gain its fair share of resources.
Adams believes that Lander is not doing enough to get the much-needed resources for the city. Adams went on to respond to a question about a delegation of City Council members who went to Washington to meet with White House officials and members of the city’s Congressional delegation to discuss the migrant issue and several other priorities.
Regarding Adams’ comments about transparency surrounding the city’s spending on migrants, Lander has consistently been critical of Adams. He has called for more money to be spent on legal services for migrants.
Lander argues that these services will help migrants gain work authorization. He insisted that this is the most critical thing that City Hall can do to help people move out of shelter. Lander maintains that he is not being critical for the sake of criticism, but rather to help the city get what it needs.
Lander pushed back against Adams’ remarks, owning Adams’ description of him as loud and doubling down on his push for the city to spend more on legal services.
He argued that encouraging those charged with oversight to leave the city or take their focus off City Hall will not help reduce the shelter population or enable asylum seekers to contribute to the long-term thriving of our city. Lander’s spokeswoman criticized Adams’ mocking of her boss as hypersensitivity to criticism.
After the remarks made by the mayor, Lander announced his decision to decline to register a Medicare Advantage contract, which is a crucial component of the mayor’s plan to revamp the way health insurance is provided to retired city workers.
Adams is currently reviewing the comptroller’s office letter. Recently, the mayor has been highlighting whether or not city elected officials have traveled to Washington to pressure lawmakers for more migrant help.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was praised by Adams in April for making the trip. In Thursday’s press conference, Adams was happy that a City Council delegation, which included Speaker Adrienne Adams, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, and Finance Chairman Justin Brannan, made the trip to D.C. to lobby on the city’s behalf for more migrant assistance.
Mayor Adams was rightfully passionate in his angry rant about City Comptroller Brad Lander and how he’s helped with the city’s migrant crisis.
Adams made several strong points in his criticism of Lander. He’s done nothing to deal with the city’s top issue, and he’s trying to overshadown the mayor by being the loudest person in the city.
It’s important for comptroller Brad Lander to help the city gain its fair share of resources by visiting Washington. Lander needs to understand that his job is in financial stability and focus on that, rather than trying to overshadow the mayor.
Transparency surrounding the city’s spending on migrants is vital, and Lander has consistently been critical of Adams.
Lander has been vocal about allocating more money towards legal assistance for migrants, which will benefit those seeking asylum. Adams should consider this a top priority and provide the funding to help these individuals.
During his tirade, Mayor Adams made some valid points. Lander did not accompany a delegation of City Council members to Washington earlier this week to meet with White House officials and members of the city’s Congressional delegation to discuss the migrant issue and several other priorities.
The comptroller should be doing more to help obtain the much-needed resources for the city. The city’s migrant crisis is paramount, and while Adams is requesting more aid so the migrants can legally work, funding needs to be utilized for legal services in order to achieve that goal.
Adams was spot on when he accused Lander of being the loudest person in the city. The comptroller needs to be focused on financial stability, not grandstanding. Lander should concentrate on his job and leave the duties of mayor to Adams.
Adams was right to encourage Lander to head to Washington, D.C., and get the city its fair share of resources.
The mayor’s passionate response demonstrates his commitment to reducing the city’s migrant population. It is time for Lander to help the mayor accomplish this goal by focusing on his financial responsibilities and securing the needed resources.
Declarations of hypersensitivity to criticism were made on both sides of the issue. When it comes to tackling an emergency like the current migrant crisis, the mayor and comptroller should be able to work together and communicate effectively.
Hopefully, both sides can put caring for migrants first and focus on gaining the necessary resources from Washington.
The city’s future depends on the success and thriving of everyone, including migrants. Elected officials should be working to make the path to citizenship a smoother and less restrictive process. Providing legal services to help care for migrants is an important component of achieving this goal.
In conclusion, Mayor Adams’ rant about City Comptroller Brad Lander was a passionate plea for the city’s migrant population. Adams made several valid points and was right to call out Lander.
However, the comptroller could do more to help obtain the resources the city desperately needs. Both sides need to turn away from grandstanding and hypersensitivity to criticism and focus on what needs to be done to care for the city’s migrant population.