Although from pre-election appearances it seemed like Eric Adams was going to be a different kind of Democrat, the kind who would restore some semblance of sanity to the Big Apple, he’s turned out to be exactly the type of problematic, self-serving Democratic city “leader” we’ve come to expect.
An incident that happened last week during a community meeting in Washington Heights only further proves the point. An agitated Adams, who was upset over being sharply criticized over rent increases that were recently approved by the Adams-appointed Rent Guidelines Board, lashed out at an elderly white critic, inexplicably calling the woman a “plantation owner”:
“Don’t stand in front like you treated someone that’s on the plantation that you own,” Adams told [Jeanie] Dubnau Wednesday at a town hall meeting in Washington Heights.[…]The exchange between the mayor and Dubnau began when she stood up at the meeting, pointed at Adams and asked, “Why in New York City, where the real estate is controlling you, Mr. Mayor, why are we having these horrible rent increases last year and this year?” She was referring to rent increases in rent-stabilized housing recently approved by the city’s Rent Guidelines Board. The board is appointed by the mayor.“OK, first, if you’re going to ask a question, don’t point at me and don’t be disrespectful to me. I’m the mayor of this city, and treat me with the respect that I deserve to be treated. I’m speaking to you as an adult,” Adams said, then added the “plantation” comment.“Give me the respect I deserve, and engage in the conversation,” he added. “Up here in Washington Heights, treat me with the same level of respect I treat you. So don’t be pointing at me, don’t be disrespectful to me, speak with me as an adult, because I’m a grown man. I walked into this room as a grown man, and I’m gonna walk out of this room as a grown man. I answered your question.”
Watch:
The woman whom Mayor Adams likened to a slave owner was 84-year-old Jeanie Dubnau, an assistant professor of microbiology at Rutgers and a longtime resident of the city who has long advocated for low-income community members from all backgrounds:
Not only that, but Dubnau and her family are also Holocaust survivors, fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s:
Dubnau was born in Belgium shortly after her parents fled the terrors of the Nazi regime in Germany.After hiding out in Belgium and France throughout World War II, she and her parents emigrated to New York City when she was 8 years old and she has resided in the Big Apple ever since.
Not surprisingly, when Adams was asked about his remarks during a Friday interview, he doubled down and defended essentially demanding Dubnau kiss his ring because of course kings never apologize:
“My mom made it clear, never allow someone to be disrespectful to you. That woman disrupted a meeting where all the participants were acting respectfully and cordially to get their issues heard,” Adams said during the interview. “She disrupted that, and then she was degrading on how she communicated with me. I’m not going to allow civil service to be disrespected, and I’m not going to be disrespected as the mayor of this city.”
Though Republicans and Democrats in this country can’t find much to agree on, Adams’ treatment of Dubnau managed to unite both the left and right against him, with woke MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hassan likening him to former President Donald Trump and conservative commentator Derek Hunter correctly pointing out that Adams should apologize:
No matter who you are, public officeholder or not, respect has to be earned. It is not by any means owed to anyone.
If anything, it was Adams, who is in a position of power, treating Dubnau like she was subhuman, beneath him, with an uncalled-for reaction that was based purely on her race. His response was the very definition of racism in my opinion, and he has only himself to blame for the fallout that continues.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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