Council Speaker Adrienne Adams on Thursday claimed the mayor was trying to crown himself “king” by proposing new mandates that would make it tougher for lawmakers to pass bills.
The speaker, no relation to Mayor Eric Adams, blasted the proposed November ballot measures from Hizzoner’s Charter Review Commission — which could tie council members up in red tape — as a “dangerous” power grab by City Hall.
“It is a dangerous attempt to shift power away from the people represented by the city council to one single individual,” Speaker Adams said at a rally outside the Brooklyn Public Library, where the commission was set to approve its final report.
“Do you want a king?”
Under the controversial proposals first revealed Tuesday, lawmakers would be required to get a fiscal impact report on any bills from the mayor’s budget office before even holding an initial hearing on the proposed legislation.
Council members would also have to go through a lengthy notification process in order to propose any bills affecting public safety, possibly causing the process to drag on for several months.
The commission’s report approved Thursday, however, was revised to scale back the public safety legislation process to just a single 30-day notification before a final vote on the bills.
Commissioner Chair Carlo Scissura said that the change came after “many comments from the public and others regarding this specific proposal,” but didn’t specify if it was in response to the objections from the council.
Since its inception, city lawmakers have been skeptical of the 13-person commission, which was formed just days after the council proposed an expansion of their approval powers over mayoral appointments.
That council measure is set to go to the ballot in November, but will be bumped by the commission’s five proposals if the Adams administration meets its Aug. 5 filing deadline.
The mayor’s office has denied any connection between the commission and the council’s ballot measure to expand its confirmation powers.
“The mayor’s commission hopes to hide their political motivation and confuse New Yorkers with some of these proposals,” Speaker Adams said Thursday.
“The people of New York City elected one mayor and 51 council members to represent them. They did not vote for a mayor to be both mayor and city council.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Adams refused to answer questions about the last-minute revisions and council criticism.
“On behalf of 8.3 million New Yorkers, I want to thank the distinguished members of this Charter Revision Commission for volunteering their service to our city,” Adams said in a statement.
“This commission carefully examined our city’s charter, heard from residents across all five boroughs, and approved thoughtful ballot proposals regarding cleaner streets, fiscal responsibility, public safety, capital planning, and minority- and women-owned business enterprises that their fellow New Yorkers will have the opportunity to vote on when they flip their ballots this November,” he said.
