As Mayor Eric Adams fights for his political life, some of his most ardent supporters preached their continued faith in him on Monday during a rally at a Brooklyn church.
Numerous community and clergy leaders came together on Feb. 17 at Rehoboth Cathedral in Ocean Hill to voice their unyielding support for the embattled mayor. Adams has faced a barrage of calls for his resignation or removal from office after the Trump Justice Department moved last week to dismiss the federal campaign fraud indictment against him.
The mayor himself showed up for his faithful flock on an afternoon in which his administration lost four deputy mayors who submitted their resignations over his cooperation with President Trump on immigration crackdowns and other policies as the criminal charges against him were dropped.
The crowd chanted “Four more years!” for Adams, who took a shot at Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — a frequent critic of his who would become acting mayor if Adams resigned or were removed from office.
“What has he put out to show that he is fighting for the people? Do an analysis,” Adams charged.
Supporters of Mayor Adams, such as 94-year-old Reverend Herbert Daughtry Sr., touted Hizzoner’s leadership as instrumental in leading to reductions in crime and guns on the streets. He also pointed to a reported 20% decrease in Black and Latino unemployment.
For Rev. Bruce Brown, a member of Rehoboth’s clergy team, the rally was a “a platform for community voices to highlight the significant accomplishments of the mayor and his administration to counteract the misinformation that has been circulated regarding the recent federal charges that the US Department of Justice has dropped.”
Rev. Kenneth Seabrooks, pastor of Rehoboth Cathedral and a long-time Adams ally, reminded the crowd that he has known the mayor for “more than 27 years” and that he is not a conventional politician.
“There are many, many folks out there who are career politicians. Eric Adams is not one of them,” Seabrooks said of the mayor, who was previously Brooklyn borough president and a state senator. “Please know, Mr. Mayor, that against the backdrop of the insidious negative noise and pressure around this city is a steady stream of prayers being lifted on your behalf.”
The faithful at Rehoboth, who prayed on and for the mayor, demonstrated that particular point. Seabrooks told him to “keep fighting because the bend in the road is not the end of the road.”
Mayor Adams, meanwhile, recalled the advice of his “spiritual father,” Bishop Johnny Seabrooks,” whom he recalled telling him, “Once you walk, he said, God has an unusual way of taking the ditch that your enemies have dug for you, put in water and teach you how to swim.”
“You’ll take every lie told and transform it into the best PR you could ever get,” Adams added, insisting once more that he has no plans to step down as mayor. He also spoke of holding similar rallies in the coming days around the city.
Mayor Adams repeatedly insisted that there was no “quid pro quo” in his criminal case and that he was not beholden to anyone but New York’s residents. Twice on Sunday, during appearances at Queens houses of worship, Adams rebuffed calls for his resignation, telling the congregants, “I am going nowhere.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul is under increasing pressure to exercise her City Charter authority and remove Adams from office—an unprecedented move in the city’s history. Amid the fallout from the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the Adams case, Hochul told MSNBC she was weighing her options regarding Adams’ future but did not dismiss the possibility of seeking the mayor’s removal.
