Eric Adams stands nearly alone against the far left
Turning New York Metropolis into San Francisco — a fetid sink of dysfunction and dysfunction — can be no small process.
However by no means doubt that it’s doable.
Nor that Gotham’s lunatic left is working laborious to make it occur.
So spare a form thought for Mayor Adams. He’s not precisely that little Dutch lad along with his finger within the dike, holding again the deluge — however, adjusting for circumstances, shut sufficient.
He actually stands aside from fellow Democrats who advocate for crime and cultural dysfunction within the identify of social progress.
And whereas he typically doesn’t go far sufficient, Adams is a lion in contrast with, say, Kathy Hochul and Chuck Schumer — cowed by the progs though they know higher.
Right here’s what it has come to: Aside from Adams, the one New York Democrats speaking widespread sense on public coverage lately are two former governors whose futures are — presumably — far behind them.
An more and more vocal Andrew Cuomo over the weekend ripped into Biden administration immigration coverage, and his predecessor in Albany, David Paterson, criticized the arrest Friday of subway samaritan Daniel Penny.
Their remarks have been tempered and affordable — that’s, just about reflective of what Adams has been saying.
So how is that this for a state of affairs: Two has-beens and one lonely incumbent, standing towards a radicalized Democratic institution in protection of a bruised and progressively — if not accidently — susceptible metropolis?
It’s not simply the politicians, after all.
Additionally Friday, when Adams instructed the graduating class of CUNY regulation faculty that when upon a time he had been a cop, he was jeered.
No shock there, after all — CUNY Regulation has been a hard-left rats’ nest because it was established in 1983 — however the demonstration was instructive.
For a way tough is it to think about the brand new grads, clutching their closely taxpayer-subsidized diplomas, dashing off to assist Alvin Bragg not prosecute crime?
Much less clear is the eagerness of municipalities to finance self-subversion.
CUNY Regulation is Exhibit A right here, however there are many people who assume far more of that’s so as — and that Adams isn’t doing practically sufficient to speed up the method.
Each New York journal and The New York Occasions simply took pains to level out that Hizzoner is considerably out of step along with his occasion’s mainstream.
Or, because the Occasions put it: “Left-leaning New Yorkers say the mayor is shifting the town in a extra conservative route on points like policing, hire and offering shelter to these in want.”
New York lefties absolutely are saying simply that — which displays their elementary foolishness — but it surely’s additionally ludicrous criticism of a fellow who’s about to transform an iconic lodge smack in the midst of Manhattan’s midtown enterprise district right into a migrant mecca.
Actually.
Turning the Roosevelt Lodge right into a hospitality suite for border-jumpers is exactly what post-pandemic Manhattan doesn’t want — not with its vacancy-wracked workplace towers and slowly recovering tourism commerce. Nevertheless it’s simply what this “extra conservative” mayor is delivering.
But Adams appears to haven’t any selection — Joe Biden has seen to that, and the mayor is on the outs with the White Home for saying so out loud.
Adams can also be in hassle for supporting affordable regulation enforcement; for standing as much as anarchical demonstrations; for opposing confiscatory taxation and ruinous residential hire guidelines — and for appointing a faculties chancellor who respects fundamentals. Amongst different good issues.
The lefties hate him for it.
However they need San Francisco, and Adams doesn’t.
For that alone, strike the person a medal.
bob@bobmcmanus.nyc
