Just how popular is New Jersey these days?
Even a top candidate for New York City mayor lives here.
At least that’s what some people are suggesting.
Yes, the Garden State, New York’s much-maligned (but very underrated) next-door neighbor, is playing a starring — and controversial — role in the city’s heated mayoral race.
Recently, questions have circulated over whether Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president and frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, actually lives just across the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee. (It’s the most press the Bergen County borough has received since it was time for some traffic problems there.)
Of course, this being New York, the story includes Jersey jokes.
“The only time I go to New Jersey is by accident,” city Comptroller Scott Stringer, one of Adams’ opponents, quipped in Thursday night’s Democratic mayoral debate.
It all started when political news website Politico published a story Tuesday examining questions over Adams’ residence.
The story noted that Adams owns not just a row house in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn and a co-op in the borough’s Prospect Heights section but a co-op in Fort Lee that he bought with his partner.
A campaign adviser told Politico that before the coronavirus pandemic, Adams sometimes stayed overnight in Fort Lee but stopped crossing state lines after he took up residence in Brooklyn Borough Hall in the early days of the city’s fight against COVID-19. The adviser said Adams stayed in New Jersey a few times after the virus began to wane but that he has not been there in months because of the campaign.
Under New York City requirements, you have to live in the city to be mayor.
The story led to questions over whether Adams is secretly a Jersey guy (well, at least part-time).
Adams unequivocally denied that, saying his residence is Brooklyn. He let reporters tour his home there Wednesday to clear things up.
But that just led to more questions.
Twitter users pointed out there were differences between a photo of his refrigerator taken Wednesday and one taken in 2017. Others noted that when Adams showed off his bedroom, there were sneakers that appeared to belong to his son.
Adams also released EZ-Pass records to prove that he isn’t really a Jersey commuter. The receipts showed fewer than a dozen trips to the state over the last year or so.
Not surprisingly, the issue became a talking point in Thursday’s debate.
“Eric, unfortunately, has not only been not straightforward, but he’s been hypocritical,” opponent Andrew Yang said. “He spent months attacking me for not being a New Yorker, meanwhile he was attacking me from New Jersey.”
Added opponent Maya Wiley: “I really believe that New Yorkers don’t care so much where Mr. Adams lays his head, but it is absolutely clear that New Yorkers want a mayor who is fully forthcoming and fully honest.”
Adams responded with a fervent defense.
“I live in Brooklyn. I live in Bedford-Stuyvesant,” he said. “I am happy to be there, it’s a beautiful community.”
New Jerseyans, of course, know all about residence concerns. The late U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg used to face questions about whether he lived at his condo in Cliffside Park or at his wife’s New York City apartment.
Twitter has had a field day with the Adams controversy, leading to videos like this one filled with references to Bruce and Snooki.
And Stringer’s snarky joke that he visited Jersey only by mistake sparked some anger among Garden Staters.
Maybe Stringer didn’t know New York’s best pizza is actually across the Hudson.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
"really" - Google News
June 12, 2021 at 02:13AM
https://ift.tt/3whIifo
Is this candidate for NYC mayor really a Jersey guy? - NJ.com
"really" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3b3YJ3H
https://ift.tt/35qAk7d
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Is this candidate for NYC mayor really a Jersey guy? - NJ.com"
Post a Comment