Mayor Eric Adams tore into city Comptroller Brad Lander Thursday, criticizing the city’s chief bean counter for not traveling to Washington D.C. to push the feds to provide more migrant crisis support.
During the tirade, Hizzoner said Lander, who’s frequently criticized the mayor’s handling of the migrant crisis, should have already gone to the nation’s capital to advocate for the city to get more funding for the influx — especially since Lander oversees the city’s finances.
Adams’ comments came after amNewYork Metro asked him, during an unrelated event, for his reaction to a City Council delegation that traveled to D.C. earlier this week to push for more asylum seeker resources.
“By the way, did Brad go down?” the mayor said in response to a reporter’s question.
“Brad Lander, the loudest person in the city, has yet to go to Washington to deal with the number one issue that this city faces,” he continued. “Think about it, do I have to ask the comptroller that … determines our financial stability, ‘hey Brad, how about going to Washington and tell them, we should get our share?’”
The mayor has often pushed back against the comptroller and several council members following their criticisms. He has called some of them out for not venturing to D.C. to push the federal government for more assistance with the migrant crisis.
He says additional funds are desperately needed as the city has already shelled out $1.2 billion on sheltering and otherwise providing for asylum seekers, as of the end of last month, and projects spending at least $4.3 billion on the crisis by July of next year.
Over 46,000 newcomers are currently living in city homeless shelters and emergency housing, according to city officials, as more than 72,000 have passed through the five boroughs since last spring.
Making an impression
Amid his screed, Adams also performed a brief impression of Lander, in which he said: “I think Eric should…” in a mocking voice mimicking how the comptroller would sound admonishing him.
Eric Adams’ Brad Lander impression – and proof that the comptroller’s criticism kind of eats at him. pic.twitter.com/fiL1eASQhX
— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) June 8, 2023
“The loudest person who is in charge of our finances, he’s called Comptroller Brad Lander, he has not gone to Washington D.C. and fought on behalf of New Yorkers to get their fair share,” Adams said. “Stop trying to be the shadow mayor and be the comptroller and go to Washington D.C., Brad. And get us our fair share.”
Adams also appeared to take a shot at the council members who went to D.C., ticking off the months since the crisis started in earnest to show how long he thought it took them to go. But he said he was “glad” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams brought a delegation there this week.
“April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April. It’s a lot of months,” the mayor said. “Been seeing this for a long time. I’m happy that they did. I’m glad that the speaker brought a delegation down.”
Lander responds
Lander, in an emailed statement to amNewYork Metro, fired back — saying he’s been critical of the mayor for failing to provide adequate legal services to help migrants file for asylum and obtain work permits, measures that would ultimately allow them to move out of city shelters. He added that when those in oversight positions like himself leave the city to lobby the feds, it diverts attention from holding City Hall accountable and won’t ease the number of migrants overwhelming the shelter system.
“What I’ve consistently been loud about is the Mayor’s failure to focus on the most urgent thing that City Hall can do to help people move out of shelter: Legal services to help people file their asylum applications so they can get work authorization,” Lander said.
“In fact, it was my conversations with federal officials as I have been pushing for more resources over many months that highlighted the urgency of that work,” he added. “Encouraging those charged with oversight to leave the city or take their focus off City Hall will not help us take effective action to reduce the shelter population or enable asylum seekers to contribute to the long-term thriving of our city.”
Additionally, Lander’s spokesperson Chloe Chik, in her own statement, said the mayor’s impression of the comptroller shows a “hypersensitivity” to being criticized.
“The Mayor doing an impression of the Comptroller shows hypersensitivity to criticism rather than the Mayoral leadership needed to navigate an emergency,” Chik said.
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