Politico obtained audio from a Zoom call of NYC Mayor Eric Adams telling his staff he has to approve all communications from every city agency to counter the “gotcha” press corps.
From Politico:
“The first few months we’ve noticed that press advisories have gone out or press releases have gone out and number one, we knew nothing about it or it was something that we were still contemplating here — and that’s just not how I operate,” Adams said during a Zoom call Thursday with about 50 officials from city agencies.“I’m a big believer in discipline, discipline of message and discipline of action,” continued Adams, a former cop who is known for his commitment to early mornings, daily meditations and a healthy diet.It’s unclear what wayward messaging the mayor was referring to, but several high-ranking officials have recently made statements contrary to his positions.
“Discipline of message.” Alrighty then.
Adams wanted parents to decide if their toddlers should wear a mask. His health commissioner Ashwin Vasan said the city should keep the mask mandate for toddlers.
A Fire Department official testified at a hearing against using propane heaters for outdoor dining. Adams responded, “I like outdoor heaters.” He added, “The FDNY? They work for me. And the final say-so of how we execute my agencies will be determined by me.”
John Miller, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence, said the police didn’t put surveillance on Muslims after 9/11. Adams admitted it happened: What we did was wrong. We did some things that were wrong, and they will never happen under my administration.”
It’s normal for a mayor to review some press releases and have some agencies “flag at least some media advisories.”
Adams’ new intiative seems to be going too far:
But Adams’ new “city agency press release tracker” where communication officials from dozens of departments must submit press releases, plans for press conferences or other public statements for approval is beyond the level of message control demanded under previous administrations, according to four officials who have worked for multiple mayors.“You check with City Hall on things, but not at this level,” one agency official said in an interview.“What I found strange is people were talking about very innocuous things like planting trees and he said, ‘I want to know about it.’ It seems pretty micro-managey,” the official said. The official also questioned Adams’ apparent lack of trust in the commissioners he appointed.“What is imperative to know is, you are assigned to an agency under a commissioner but you work for me,” Adams said during the Zoom.“The commissioner leads an agency, but I lead the city. I’m the mayor of the city and all communications that come through this city government is coming through my message.”
Adams told a parks department employee they have to alert him about advisories concerning “a tree planting volunteer event or ‘fun things like last week’s cherry blossoms.”
Adams said:
“The answer is yes because sometimes I’m at an event and the team prepares me with notes and the worst thing that could happen is if you did an event or one of the other teams did an event and I’m questioned and have no idea what it is,” Adams responded.“It’s amazing where you and I see some things as simplistic, but we’re dealing with a very aggressive press corps where there’s an ‘I gotcha’ moment instead of ‘I got you’ and we need to be on top of that.”
A staffer said Adams has an open-door policy, but warned them what would happen if anyone betrayed him: “I do not accept people sabotaging this administration. If I ever find out that happens, someone intentionally does something that is inappropriate, you will not work for me as the mayor.”
The whole “discipline of message” remark sounds authoritative and is bad enough, but Adams sounds like a control freak. That cannot be a positive trait for America’s largest city, especially with horrific crimes happening every day.
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