Mayor Adams under fire for silent response to dangerous weather event
NEW YORK CITY - Less than four months ago Mayor Eric Adams faced fierce criticism for not warning New Yorkers when smoke covered the city and the air quality dipped to dangerous levels.
He had a chance to take a different approach for this emergency - so where was Adams on Thursday night? Hosting a fundraiser.
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Mayor Eric Adams defended why he chose not to make any public comments or hold any press conferences at least a day in advance of this dangerous weather emergency.
Instead, Adams was at a fundraiser event for his re-election Thursday night according to a flyer posted to social media.
Adams argued however that his team posted flood watch alerts to social media and sent out alerts on the app Notify NYC.
But It took until past 11 pm on Thursday night for the city to issue an advisory - warning New Yorkers about the storm – less than three hours before the torrential rain started.
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Heavy rains resulted in flooding across many parts of the New York City region on Friday, prompting a state of emergency and strict warning from NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
In contrast, Governor Kathy Hochul spent Thursday afternoon warning New Yorkers about the rain and sent out an advisory at around 5 pm telling New Yorkers to stay off the roads.
However, many New Yorkers were still caught unprepared.
"This is feels like a broken record because I've lived through Sandy. We just need action at this point. And those alert systems need to certainly be more charged. We need the administration, especially the municipal government to step up to really sound the alarm when we see these sort of events coming," Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said.
Council member Carlina Rivera who represents neighborhoods including the East Village, Flatiron and Kips Bay says that many of her constituents are asking why parents were not given more of a heads up about the storm, so they could make appropriate plans for school.
"Many parents asking with the alert that came yesterday, you know, why are their children's still in school? Why wasn't there a remote option? Transportation is at a standstill," Council member Carlina Rivera said.
State Senator Jessica Ramos also criticized the administration for not doing a better job at warning ethnic and immigrant communities about the storm.
She says she feels Queens has been forgotten when it comes to important infrastructure investments – pointing to the devastation of Hurricane Ida.
"Queens needs a break. We've been grieving for a long time, and now it just seems like we drown in our own tears. And it's disheartening to see the callous disregard for upgrading our infrastructure for ensuring that we are doing everything we can to support New Yorkers and keep our family safe," State Senator Jessica Ramos said.