On Wednesday, Jamaican-American New York City Mayoral Candidate, the Rev. Michael Blake, condemned a federal judge’s dismissal of corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
On Wednesday, Manhattan Federal Judge Dale Ho dismissed “with prejudice” the sweeping public corruption charges against Adams, ruling that “There may or may not be good reasons to drop this prosecution. But the reasons articulated by DOJ (President Donal J. Trump’s Department of Justice), if taken at face value, are inconsistent with a decision to leave the charges in the Indictment hanging like the proverbial Sword of Damocles over the mayor.”
But Rev. Blake, the son of Jamaican immigrants, told Caribbean Life, “The dropping of the charges against Eric Adams doesn’t change the obvious: Eric Adams likely broke the law with an illegal campaign donation pay-to-play scheme.
“He is just being saved by a Trump Justice Department that expects him to be their lackey,” said Blake, one of prospective nine candidates vying to oppose the mayor in the June Democratic Primary.
“Judge Ho bowing to King Trump by dropping charges is the latest attack on our belief in government,” he added. “We need judges who will demand accountability—not turn a blind eye to blatant corruption.
“The timing is not a surprise, given that it’s the day before MAGA Eric needs to decide if he is still running as a Democrat,” Rev. Blake continued. “Once again, Trump and Elon (Musk) are trying to save Eric.
“Trump continues creating legal chaos and fear — not hope or order,” he said. “Today is the latest reminder that we desperately need a new generation of Black leadership.”
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who has no relations with the mayor, said Judge Ho’s decision “does not absolve Mayor Adams of his actions.
“It also does not end the chaos and shame this has brought on our city with other ongoing criminal cases and investigations of the mayor’s office,” said Speaker Adams, who is expected to be among the mayor’s challengers in the June Primary. “As Judge Ho stated in his ruling, ‘Everything here smacks of a bargain: Dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions.’
“Our city’s mayor should never be in the position of bargaining away New Yorkers and their rights,“ she said. “The extraordinary decision was only caused by the quid pro quo attempted between the Trump administration and Eric Adams.
“It sends a terrible message and is a glaring example of double standards in our justice system, where the powerful evade accountability that is often faced by the average person,“ Speaker Adams added. “This undermines equal justice under the law that should be a pillar of our justice system.
“New Yorkers deserve strong, independent, and focused leadership that won’t bend or cower to Trump and Elon Musk,“ she continued. “Protecting our city and working families from their attacks must be our top priority, without the distractions and instability that have compromised this administration.”
On Wednesday, Judge Ho dismissed the charges against Adams “with prejudice,” meaning they cannot be refiled in the future.
In early February, Trump’s DOJ instructed the Southern District Court of New York to drop the case against the mayor, saying it affected his ability to cooperate with Trump’s sweeping deportation policies and seek reelection.
But, in his ruling on Wednesday, Judge Ho said that “the record does not show that this case has impaired Mayor Adams in his immigration enforcement efforts.”
Last month, Caribbean immigration advocates strongly condemned Adams’s appearance before the US Congressional Committee on Oversight amid heightened calls for his resignation over reported collusion with Trump over mass deportations.
Adams and three other mayors of “sanctuary cities“—Chicago, Boston, and Denver—testified before the Committee.
“In today’s Congressional hearing on sanctuary cities, we saw further evidence that Eric Adams is unfit to lead New York City,“ Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella organization that represents over 200 immigrant advocacy groups in New York, told Caribbean Life at the time.
“Even in this sham hearing – which was mostly an opportunity for extremist MAGA Republicans to spew hate and distortions about immigration – the mayor’s ability to lead the city was repeatedly questioned,“ he added. “We did not expect to learn much from this spectacle, but as Congress members questioned Eric Adams, we rarely got past the debate of if he entered a quid pro quo agreement with the Trump administration.
“Instead of going to bat for all New Yorkers, Adams once again stood up for himself and himself alone,“ Awawdeh continued. “We commend the Mayors of Boston, Chicago, and Denver for standing up for their city’s residents and for promoting sanctuary policies that ensure public safety for all.“
Natalia Aristizabal of Make the Road Action, another immigrant advocacy group in New York, said: “Time and again, Mayor Adams has shown that he is more interested in cozying up to the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda than protecting everyone in New York City.
“Instead of showing leadership and standing up for our immigrant communities, the mayor is selling out immigrant families in an effort to salvage his own political career,“ she said.
As calls intensified for the mayor to step down, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed new actions to restore public trust in the New York City government.
Hochul announced sweeping expansion of state oversight and new guardrails to ensure what she described as “accountability“ and the protection of New Yorkers.
However, the governor noted that these actions would require legislative action and that they would take effect immediately upon passage.
“To move this city forward, I am undertaking the implementation of certain guardrails that I believe are a first start toward re-establishing trust for New York City residents,“ Hochul said. “These proposed guardrails will help ensure that all decisions out of City Hall are in the clear interests of the people of New York City and not at the behest of the president.”
She announced the establishment of a new Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs and Protection of City Commissioner of Investigation.
The governor said the new Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs will be established within the New York State Inspector General Office.
She said the Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs will receive updates and information directly from the New York City Department of Investigations (NYCDOI) about corruption investigations. She will also be able to direct NYCDOI to commence investigations across city government.
Hochul said the New York City Charter will be revised to ensure her continued independence. The Mayor cannot terminate the New York City Commissioner of Investigation without approval by the State Inspector General.
Under the governor’s plan, the City Comptroller, Council, and Public Advocate will be given “explicit authority“ to bring litigation against the federal government, using outside counsel if the city’s law department declines to do so promptly after a request.
Hochul said such litigation could be filed against any federal government agency or entity.
“This action will ensure that New Yorkers have multiple avenues to initiate legal action in cases where the rights or freedoms of New York City residents are under attack by the federal government,“ she said.
Given the unprecedented breadth and number of executive orders, other policy documents, and notices issued by the Trump administration, the governor proposed additional funds for the Office of the State Comptroller of the City to support the state’s existing ability to continue to monitor the city and its finances “in this complex environment.“
She said the state will expand the Office of the Deputy State Comptroller for City Oversight and that the new funding will be paid using New York City tax receipts.
“These new resources will enable state officials to more closely monitor New York City’s fiscal operations and to take any actions needed based on such review,“ Hochul said.
In response, Adams said in a brief statement that he “was elected by the people of New York City and its working-class communities to uphold their values — and that is what our administration has done.
“While there is no legal basis for limiting New Yorkers’ power by limiting the authority of my office, I have told the governor, as we have done in the past, that I am willing to work with her to ensure faith in our government is strong,“ he said. “I look forward to continuing those conversations.”
However, Awawdeh said that “New York City, under Mayor Eric Adams, is beholden to Donald Trump’s demands.
“No new checks that New York State could impose on New York City will fix that issue,“ he told Caribbean Life. “Eric Adams sold out New Yorkers to avoid prosecution for corruption charges in a quid pro quo deal with the Trump administration, plain and simple.
“Now, he is working with the Trump administration to separate families in New York City in direct violation of our local sanctuary policies,“ Awawdeh added. “All New Yorkers will face real and dire consequences from Gov. Hochul’s refusal to hold the mayor accountable for his actions.
“The people will not remain silent in the face of the threat posed by Eric Adams to immigrant New Yorkers,“ he continued.
Amid Adams’s collusion with Trump, Caribbean and other immigrant advocates in New York have urged the city workforce not to collude with ICE agents.
“At a time when New Yorkers cannot rely on their mayor to follow the law, others in the Adams administration must step up,“ Awawdeh urged. “Mayor Adams may view his own participation in Trump’s mass deportation agenda as a get out of jail free card, but the actions he will be directing his subordinates to take to collude with ICE are both legally dubious and morally corrupt.
“We are calling on all remaining deputy mayors, city agency commissioners, and city workers within the Adams administration to not comply with any orders to collaborate with ICE from this mayor, who remains compromised in his ability to put the needs and the safety of New Yorkers ahead of his own,“ he added.
Mayor Adams said in a Wednesday video message to New Yorkers: “Let me be clear. As I’ve said all along, this case should have never been brought. And I did nothing wrong.
“I’m now happy that our city can finally close the book on this and focus solely on the future of our great city,“ he said. “I want to thank New Yorkers who stood by my side, prayed for me, supported me from day one, and stuck with me while we focused on the work at hand.
“I also want to apologize to New Yorkers for having to go through this with me, a baseless case that should have never been brought in the first place,“ the mayor added. “The lies spread through false leaks and splashed across sensational headlines and all of the distractions.
“But what I want you to know is that I never stop working for you, not for one day, not for one hour, not for one minute, because you are who I think about every morning. You are my north star,“ he continued.
