Adams not yet a statesman

It seems that every weekend is another occasion for shootings, stabbings, a person pushed down a flight of steps, another onto subway tracks. Mayor Eric Adams wants us to believe that statistics show that he is making progress on crime. But however you cook the statistics, it's clear that crime has become more random. You have more incidents occurring  where you previously would never expect them. Add this to the fact that making the city safer was retired cop Adams' number one campaign issue.

But what is Adams concentrating on? Because of the turtle-like pace of a Democratic governor's rollout of licensing marijuana shops, unlicensed pot shops have sprung up throughout the city. Naturally, when I can walk into a business in my neighborhood and quickly purchase a potent product that will last a while because it only requires small amounts to get me high, I am not going to travel to lower Manhattan just to get it from a licensed business.

But Adams now threatens these unlicensed businesses with eviction. He's being backed by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who's been criticized for being soft on actual criminals.

Last December, the city's sheriff's office raided some unlicensed marijuana stores and seized their product. At a time when the city is besieged by violent criminals, an arm of city law enforcement engaged in legal thievery.

Then there's Adams’ continued disregard for workers. The New York State Nurses Association is calling for closing the $19,000 a year pay gap between those who work for city hospitals and those who work for private ones. The mayor is also still trying to stick city retirees and those workers who in the future will be retirees with his Medicare Advantage scam.

Then there's his plan to shift fire inspections from the FDNY, which actually specializes in fighting and preventing fires, to the Department of Buildings. And, in yet another example of a disregard for safety, Plumbers Local 1 union has a suit against the city alleging that the Department of Buildings is using unlicensed plumbers to install gas lines.

Not only is it morally indefensible to use less skilled workers for such safety sensitive work, but it is also penny wise and pound foolish. If numerous people are killed because of a gas explosion that is the result of shoddy work, whatever savings the city got from paying lower salaries would be more than offset from what they could have to pay out from a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Adams appears on the talk radio program of Donald Trump supporter Sid Rosenberg. Once Trump tried to go from president to dictator, all support, even from Republicans, should have ended. The fact that a mayor who claims to be a Democrat would be devoting time to a program by a Trump supporter is inexcusable.

Adams has adopted Republican language as well, criticizing "woke" Democrats. The mayor claims to support kitchen table issues such as jobs, public safety, educating our children and good health care. Meanwhile, the City Council's Progressive Caucus has lost 15 of its 35 members by insisting that everyone sign on to "reduce the size and the scope of the NYPD." Are they hoping for the votes of criminals?

The alleged progressives' priorities are reported as "affordable housing, education and social services." The stated goals of Adams and the progressives, minus the cuts to the police, are all worthy. But one thing is missing. It seems that both the woke and the asleep agree that raising workers' salaries to a decent level is not a priority.

This reiterates what the president of the Transport Workers Union, John Samuelsen, wrote recently. Not only Republicans, but many Democrats have shown little support for labor. Samuelsen reiterates TWU founder Michael Quill's proposal to form an American Labor Party.

Adams complains that his accomplishments are being overlooked. Perhaps he should remember the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson. He took office in 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He ran for and won a full term in 1964.

In his campaign, Johnson stated that he would withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam, declaring "American boys should not fight an Asian boys war." But under the pretext of an attack on American troops in the Gulf of Tonkin that never happened, Johnson escalated U.S. involvement in the war. If it weren't for that, Johnson's accomplishments would have merited him a national holiday. Adams' accomplishments don't compare to Johnson's and he has already made many major mistakes.

Richard Warren worked 32 years for New York City Transit (MaBSTOA).