Mayor Eric Adams spoke at two Black churches in Queens and pushed back at those who “are dancing on my grave.”
Mayor Eric Adams spoke at two Black churches in Queens and pushed back at those who “are dancing on my grave.”
Mayor Eric Adams spoke at two Black churches in Queens and pushed back at those who “are dancing on my grave.”
Whenever Mayor Eric Adams has faced adversity, he has sought refuge in the pulpit of Black churches, and he returned there on Sunday as he confronted fresh calls to resign.
Mr. Adams, a New York City Democrat who is running for re-election, made clear that he would not leave office on his own after the Justice Department’s push last week to drop the corruption case against him, which raised concerns that he is now beholden to President Trump.
“People are dancing on my grave,” the mayor said on Sunday, but he predicted that he would rise from the dead like the biblical figure Lazarus.
“I’ve got a mission to finish,” he said at Maranatha Baptist Church in Queens, adding: “I am going nowhere.”
Mr. Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, showed flashes of anger as he talked about the wave of criticism he has faced since the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Danielle R. Sassoon, resigned on Thursday. She wrote in her resignation letter that the mayor’s lawyers had negotiated a dismissal in exchange for the mayor’s help with Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown in a clear “quid pro quo.”
Mr. Adams had hoped that having the federal corruption charges dropped would save his political career. But his coordination with the Trump administration and questions over whether he can run the city independently have cast new doubts over his ability to remain in office.