Rosy ads brag NYC is doing great since Eric Adams became mayor, but critics aren't buying it
The adverts come as Adams seeks re-election, with super optimistic messages at LinkNYC wifi kiosks across the five boroughs that the mayor's office said are offered 'free' for city messages.
'The Adams administration is using city resources to promote his reelection bid,' said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
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3 An ad titled 'Peace of Mind' about the NYPD at a LinkNYC kiosk in Kew Gardens, Queens.
NY Post
'The ads list a subjective, selective set of accomplishments in the areas most important to voters — crime and education,' Gelinas added.
One ad called 'Peace of Mind' shows the NYPD logo and says 'major crimes down overall in 2024' along with a logo for the mayor's Public Engagement Unit.
'$30 Billion back into the pockets of New Yorkers in the last three years,' the ad declares — the same timeframe Adams has been mayor.
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Another 'deliveringforyou.nyc' ad called 'Potential' boasts about city agencies 'delivering for you.'
'New York is dedicated to being the best place to raise a family through record enrollment in subsidized early education programs, investments in student internships, and new programs to help our kids read and learn math, all thanks to the over 300,000 of our neighbors in public service,' the ad says.
The 'deliveringforyou.nyc' website links to a city government home page that features a video of Adams. Specific links on the home page take viewers to a 'Get Stuff Done' site that touts 'New York City's Accomplishments Under Mayor Adams.'
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3 An ad called 'Potential' about city agencies.
Nicole Gelinas
The Post found the Peace of Mind ad along Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills and Kew Gardens Road in Kew Gardens. The ads are mixed in with other ads touting local restaurants, historical facts and concerts.
Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa called the ads shady.
'Eric Adams is blowing taxpayer money on government ads claiming he's `giving New Yorkers peace of mind,' while people still fear for their safety, rents are out of control, and the crisis of homelessness and mental illness is growing in our streets, subways, and parks,' said Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder.
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3 Critics claimed that the Adams administration is using taxpayer funds to create campaign ads for the mayor.
Stephen Yang
'He says he put $30 billion back in your pocket—yet most New Yorkers are just trying to afford a MetroCard. If this is peace of mind, what does chaos look like? The only real comfort is knowing his time is almost up.'
is running for re-election as an independent candidate in the general election after dropping out of a June Democratic Party primary.
His administration has been roiled by corruption probes and turnover, including his own federal criminal indictment that was dismissed.
The mayor's team defended the ads as informational and not campaign-related, noting neither his name nor image appear in them, and don't even say City Hall.
'New Yorkers are the hardest-working people on the globe, and they deserve to know their hard-earned tax dollars are going toward driving down crime, building affordable housing, and making New York City the best place to raise a family,' said mayoral spokeswoman Liz Garcia.
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'We have run LinkNYC ads to promote city resources for years, and they have been an effective tool to meet New Yorkers where they are and spread the word about how their government can serve them.'
The mayor's camp had claimed the City Council engaged in electioneering last fall, by sending out mailers to constituents trashing recommendations from an Adams-appointed charter revision commission, as a clearer case of city resources being used for political purposes.
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