During a press briefing on Monday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY) was asked about him smoking cigars with internet personality, Sneako, who has been accused of making antisemitic remarks.
00:00You promised that as a borough president it hasn't come to fruition.
00:02Obviously some residents of Canarsie would love to see it buried so they don't just have the L train.
00:07I wanted to see if there was an update.
00:08And I wanted to ask you, speaking of quality of life, Gracie Mansion is in a park.
00:12But on Saturday night you hosted a man named Nico, a live streamer, who has shared not only, he shares anti-Semitic views repeatedly.
00:19But I'm curious, you were smoking, that's a quality of life issue.
00:22Are you allowed to smoke, whatever you're allowed to smoke, in Gracie Mansion because it is a park?
00:25Yeah, okay, first, yeah, first let's deal with the ferry.
00:28The Andrew Kimball, an entire team, there are several locations, everything from Rockaways, which they, it's a transportation desert.
00:38We want to look at that route.
00:40We want to look at the Staten Island route to come into Brooklyn.
00:43We want to look at the Canarsie route.
00:45We are opening our waterways, and no one has done a better job in opening our waterways than this administration.
00:51We have renewed our ports, you know, the amazing, amazing initiative we're doing over in the Brooklyn Army terminal of what Andrew has done, who's in charge of EDC, of now utilizing our waterways in a manner that has never been used before.
01:10In Canarsie, as well as Rockaway, as well as Staten Island, all of these issues.
01:15Our ferry service has been extremely successful, and all of these issues are underway.
01:20We want to see a ferry out in this area, and I'm sure we're going to accomplish that task.
01:25I know we're going to accomplish this when this community re-elects me to be the mayor again to make sure it's done and get it finished.
01:32So we'd like to do that.
01:32Now, let's talk about the—because I saw a lot of reports on this.
01:38Gracie Mansion is my house.
01:40You know, I live there.
01:42And from time to time, I enjoy smoking a cigar.
01:46I like doing it with my son.
01:47It was a pre-Father's Day smoke on Saturday where people came over to see me.
01:54They came over and they sat down.
01:55They joined us on the back porch of my home, Gracie Mansion.
01:59And one of the people invited a streamer in.
02:03I don't know the young man.
02:06I'm not familiar with his streaming at all.
02:09And he says, I would like to interview you and talk about some of the issues of the day.
02:13And that's what we did.
02:15His stance on Jews and other issues, everyone knows my position.
02:21I've been extremely strong on hating the city of any kind, not only for Jewish residents.
02:26I fought against Islamophobia, anti-Sikhism, anti-LGBTQ plus criticism.
02:33And so I wish I would have known his stances because I would love to have engaged in a conversation with him on that.
02:40But I'm open to sit down and be interviewed by anyone because I'm clear on my message about fighting hate.
02:48We just signed the agreement, the IRA agreement.
02:52People know my position on what happened in Gaza.
02:56Those who are Jewish and other dissents in this city, they know where I stand.
03:02And so I wish I would have known his positions because I would love to have engaged in a conversation on those positions.
03:10But I didn't know.
03:11I didn't know him.
03:11He was one of the people that came and sat on my back porch and enjoyed the cigar with my son and I.
03:18And Amber Rose was there.
03:21Scott was there.
03:23A noted promoter.
03:24Another business person was there.
03:26Jordan was there.
03:27We was engaged in a conversation.
03:29And for anyone to take that in conversation and think that was anything more than that, there's not much I could do about that.
03:36But the Jewish residents of this city know where I am, they know where my voice is, and they know that there has not been a stronger voice in politics on fighting against anti-Semitism.
03:47No one has done what I've done as the mayor of the city.
03:51Given the heightened situation, do you think you should bet people better when you're coming to Grace?
04:06I mean, the stuff he said about both Jewish people, he's refused to denounce the Holocaust.
04:11He's been critical of Israel.
04:12It seems really to be counter to how you feel, and especially the standard you have for many other people, whether it's in your administration or even other people who cover you.
04:19So do you wish you would bet in him more?
04:21And I'm glad you said that.
04:23You said that he is counter to how I feel.
04:26So we're clear on that.
04:28And, yes, hindsight is 20-20.
04:31One of the downsides of my style of mayoralty, I engage with everyone.
04:38You know, one of the, you know, my team criticize me all the time.
04:41They criticize me when I give my phone number to high school students to text me where there's a problem.
04:46They criticize that I'm willing to sit in a room with anyone and everyone.
04:50One, you know, maybe I'm just too optimistic that I believe there's something good in everyone and we should try to find that.
04:58And so, yes, maybe I should have reached out to the team late at night and said, hey, can you vet this person?
05:05But it's a challenge for me because everyone comes to me and just about everyone I know puts a phone in my face, like you.
05:11And they don't vet you before you put that phone in my face.
05:14So we are in a universe now that everyone is a reporter, everyone is a streamer.
05:22You don't even know who comes up to you nowadays.
05:25People stop me on the street.
05:26They ask me a question and I answer it.
05:28And next thing you know, they were recording me and I'm hearing it later on social media.
05:33And so I just try to be authentic and true to who I am.
05:37So no matter where I'm recorded or who records me, they're going to see the authentic Eric.
05:43You look through that entire conversation I had with that young man.
05:46You didn't hear anything anti-Semitic.
05:48You didn't hear anything that I haven't said before about my life.
05:51I'm transparent.
05:53And I think that's the difference from others who want this job.
05:56They're trying to pretend there's something that they're not.
05:58I'm transparent.
05:59Who I've been all my life is who I am right now.
06:03And I'm not going to change.
06:04If someone like him comes up to me and want to ask me a series of questions and put a phone on my face, I'm going to answer it.
06:11I'm going to always answer it.
06:12And not everyone can go through the extensive vetting that we do.
06:16This was not a planned interview.
06:17I was on my back porch with Jordan smoking a cigar.
06:23Other people came and joined me.
06:25And they brought people with them.
06:27And they started engaging in the conversation.
06:29And he was one of the people that engaged in that conversation.
06:33I didn't know his history.
06:34I don't support anything that is criticizing any group in this city.
