NYC won’t ‘surrender’ to BLM, rioters, incoming mayor Eric Adams warns
Adams ran as a Democrat but his Thursday comments seemed well-received by some notable local Republicans in the audience
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York City’s mayor-elect issued a stern warning Thursday night to those expecting to continue the riots and looting the nation’s largest city has seen over the past two years.
"Not my city," Eric Adams, a former police captain who was elected in November to succeed termed-out Mayor Bill de Blasio, said at a Police Athletic League event at the Harvard Club, according to the New York Post.
"We’re not going to surrender to those who are saying ‘We’re going to burn down New York’," Adams said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We’re not going to surrender to those who are saying ‘We’re going to burn down New York.’"
New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams, left, a former police captain, issued a warning Thursday night to political activists such as local Black Lives Matter leader Hawk Newsome. (Getty Images)
The message seemed squarely aimed at Hawk Newsome, a local leader of the Black Lives Matter movement who last month threatened "riots," "fire" and "bloodshed" if Adams tried to revive past anti-crime practices that were discarded during the de Blasio years.
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Newsome later declined to walk back his remarks during a Nov. 13 interview with Fox News "Unfiltered" host Dan Bongino, saying he understood "why people lash out."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adams’ remarks also appeared to be aimed at those responsible for property damage in the city’s Queens borough in response to last month's acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in Wisconsin, the Post reported.
"We’re not going to have a city where anarchists come from outside our city and go into a community such as Queens and destroy the community for their own selfish needs and desires," Adams said.
"We’re not going to have a city where anarchists … go into a community such as Queens and destroy the community for their own selfish needs and desires."
Adams ran as a Democrat in the overwhelmingly blue city, but his Thursday comments seemed well-received by some notable local Republicans in the audience, including former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis and New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox, the report said.
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Adams acknowledged fellow cop Bratton, 74, who served two stints as NYPD commissioner (1994-1996 and 2014-2016) and also served in top posts in Boston and Los Angeles, and as a Homeland Security adviser to presidents Obama, Trump and Biden. Bratton is widely credited with helping reduce New York City crime during his time at the helm.
"Bill Bratton, your legend has not been completely closed," Adams said, adding he intends to borrow from Bratton’s crime-fighting playbook, according to the Post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adams also reminded listeners that he defeated a large field of Democratic candidates in the city’s mayoral primary, including one candidate who proposed taking away weapons from city police officers.
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"I burn candles and say prayers and Hail Marys that those other characters were not elected to be mayor right now," Adams said. "People who were talking about disarming police, running out business people from our city."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adams is scheduled to take the oath of office on New Year’s Day.