NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Mayor Eric Adams will no longer attend a forum for mayoral candidates Wednesday hosted by one of the most powerful labor unions in the city.
Adams had been scheduled to attend District Council 37's mayoral forum at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The forum is an event for the candidates to lay out their agenda for union members.
But a spokesperson for DC 37, Thea Setterbo, said in a statement that Adams would no longer be attending the forum hosted by one of the most powerful unions in the city.
"Mayor Adams informed us that he will no longer be able to participate in tonight's forum at the advice of his legal counsel," Setterbo said. "We look forward to hearing from the other candidates as they make their case to our members on why they would make the best choice for New York City's mayor."
An anonymous aide to Adams told Politico that the mayor's legal team had advised him against attending all political forums "out of an abundance of caution" until his corruption case is settled.
The candidates who are set to attend the forum include state Sen. Jessica Ramos; state Sen. Zellnor Myrie; city Comptroller Brad Lander; Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani; former Assembly Member Michael Blake; and former city Comptroller Scott Stringer.
The decision comes as Adams has faced a challenging few weeks after the Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the corruption case against him. The move set off a wave of resignations among prosecutors and led to calls for Adams to step down or be removed from office. Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to remove him but proposed new guardrails for City Hall. A federal judge also put off dismissing the case, instead bringing in an outside lawyer to review the DOJ's request.
Most recently, Adams on Wednesday separately asked the judge to dismiss the case, alleging there has been prosecutorial misconduct.
The legal drama comes as Adams faces a growing list of challengers in the Democratic primary, many of whom will be at Wednesday evening's forum. Reports this week indicate former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is close to announcing a mayoral run himself, and polls show he'd be a formidable challenger.
