New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the Democrats' 'far-left agenda' alienated too many city voters during the November presidential election, while reiterating the need for the incoming administration in Washington to fix the current immigration system.
The mayor, during his weekly press conference, said he wasn't surprised that more city voters cast their ballots for Republicans.
"This far-left agenda that I've been talking about for a long time, where we're not focusing on working class people, and I've said this right here in the same room, some of the things that you talk about, it's not what working class people are talking about. These working class people are concerned about the future for their families," he said.
When asked about future immigration policies likely coming from Donald Trump, the mayor said he was not a supporter of mass deportation.
"I am a supporter of making sure our borders are secure," and that immigrants who come into the county have a quicker pathway to work.
"Think about how ridiculous this is, paroling people into the country, then telling them, you cannot work from anywhere from six months to two years. I don't know why, why does this seem illogical to folks?" he said, calling the current immigration system broken and inhumane.
The mayor also said that undocumented residents of the city should be treated in a humane way.
“I don't wanna go to the days where people are going to hide in the shadows,” said Adams.
The mayor also continued to stress the importance of conserving water while the city is in the midst of a drought watch following two different fires in Prospect Park over the weekend.
The first fire in the park began on Friday in the central woodland area between Dog Beach and the Nethermead with the blaze covering two acres of land. The second fire occurred the next day near the Lefrak Center at Lakeside ice skating rink.
“Never thought we'd be in the city talking about brush fires,” said Adams. “The environmental crisis that we're facing now is real.”
The city is on pace to experience the driest fall season in recorded history if significant rainfall does not return to the area throughout November. This is a stark contrast to last fall which saw major rainfall.
The mayor also said he did not support a recent bill sponsored by Brooklyn Council Member Chi Osse, which would require the landlord to pay the broker fee instead of the renter.
He said landlords will simply pass the cost on to renters through increased rent.
“Don't hurt small property owners and try to give some relief to those who are trying to live in the city,” said Adams. “The bill has the right intention but sometimes good intentions do not get the results you're looking for.”
Housing advocates have praised the bill for its focus on affordability in the midst of a housing crisis where the net rental vacancy rate for all housing accommodations was at 1.4%. A typical broker fee payment for a rental property priced at $2,000 a month would cost around $3,600. New Yorkers who paid a broker fee for their rental spent 42.9% more in upfront expenses on average than those who secured a no-fee rental in 2023, according to a Streeteasy analysis.
New York City is one of the few remaining cities in the country that allows landlords to charge tenants for broker fees regardless of whether they hired the broker or not.
