Mayor Eric Adams promoted new laws to remove sidewalk sheds and scaffolding, and stressed the importance of union jobs at a Sunset Park wind hub, but his message was overshadowed by confusion over a T-shirt reading “In God We Trust” in Italian, meant to honor lives lost in the Dominican Republic.
Adams, who was in the Dominican Republic on Monday to pay his respects to the over 200 lives lost last week when a rooftop collapsed at a nightclub, inexplicably wore a T-shirt to his weekly press conference Thursday that said "in Dio confidiamo."
“We're lifting you up in our prayers and we are here for you,” said Adams, who said his heart was in the right place despite wearing a statement T-shirt in the wrong language. (Dominicans speak Spanish.)
The casual look somewhat overshadowed the signing of the “Bring Sheds Down” laws, which included new penalties to compel property owners to complete building repairs and remove sheds more quickly; reduced sidewalk shed permit durations; increased façade inspection frequency; expanded sidewalk shed color options; and improved shed lighting requirements
“Some of these sheds have been up so long they probably have the ability to vote,” said Adams.
Although the scaffolding and street sheds have been an integral part of New York City as developers construct new buildings and fix old structures, the mayor stated that the sheds crowded sidewalks and darkened streets.
“It has become just a magnet for criminal behavior and that's why we knew this was a public safety issue as well as an economic issue,” said Adams.
The administration hopes to reduce the time that the sheds stay up, invoking penalties if landlords don't abide by them.
“The sheds are not the end," said Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo. "The maintenance of the buildings is the end. And what this legislation does is give our agency the tools to better hold property owners in compliance."
Meanwhile, the mayor said he'll ask union representatives to speak out against the termination of Empire Wind 1, an offshore wind project off the coast of Long Island, and the build-out of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park. The $2 billion project, which was halted by the Trump administration on Thursday, was set to power about 500,000 homes and was responsible for multiple union jobs.
“It's a huge project, and we're going to advocate hard for it,” said Adams, who has been a big proponent of the project since its start. "We're going to ask our unions to step up, because it's the jobs that are available. We're going to do everything possible to make it happen."
The mayor did not directly address a city council lawsuit against him regarding the issuance of an executive order that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to open an office on Rikers Island. “I have been consistent that we must do everything to make our city safe and to collaborate,” said Adams.
The suit argues that Adams cut a deal with the Trump Administration so federal corruption charges against him would be dropped. The mayor stated that First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro would be handling the questions about ICE, but did not make him available during the press conference.
As the mayoral election campaign season heats up, Adams criticized his opponents' policies, including the recently-released housing proposal from former Governor Andrew Cuomo, allegedly written by ChatGPT by his staff.
“We should be focused on the stuff that EA did and not the false AI stuff. I'm doing the work. And I think he has to answer, why would they use AI to do a policy,” said Adams.
The mayor, who is now running for reelection as an Independent, has often criticized his competition, claiming that many of their policies copy his.
“All you got to do is go Google, what is the greatest housing plan, who did the greatest level of reform in housing in the city, who broke the records for the most housing built in one year,” said Adams. “Eric-like action speak louder than AI. It's E-A, not A-I."
