New York Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday called Rockland County Executive Ed Day ‘racist’ and ‘anti-Semitic’ after the official issued a restraining order preventing the Democratic mayor from sending buses full of asylum seekers.
Adams tried to distance himself from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, telling reporters that New York City was footing the bill and only taking volunteers. He pointed out that his office was in communication with officials in Rockland and Orange counties — a claim the counties disputed.
New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks to family members of fallen New York Police Department officers during the NYPD Memorial Day ceremony, May 3, 2023, in Manhattan, NY, where new names were added to the memorial wall located in the headquarters lobby. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
“When you look at the county executive [Ed] Day, I mean this guy has a history of anti-Semitism, you know, his racist comments,” Adams said, without giving examples. “You know, his thoughts and the way he responded to that, that shows a lack of leadership.”
Adams’ office pointed Fox News Digital to earlier reports that described Day’s remarks as pitting voters against a bloc of Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.
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Day fired back at Adams, telling Fox News Digital, “the mayor can call me every name in the book to distract reality from this obvious disregard for our laws. And maybe he can explain his own” comments. “documented” racists.
Day was referring to comments by Adams, a former police officer, made before he became mayor, in which he called white cops “crackers.” Adams later apologized for those remarks.
New York Mayor Eric Adams sends migrants to upstate New York. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Adams’ comments on Thursday came as his plans to move several hundred asylum seekers to hotels in Orange and Rockland counties in New York moved forward.
Orange and Rockland county leaders pushed back on Adams’ plan to send more than 300 migrants to Rockland County’s Armoni Inn & Suites hotel in Orangeburg and The Crossroads hotel in Orange County in Newburgh, the latter having seen migrants arriving on Thursday.
Rockland County successfully obtained a temporary restraining order from a state Supreme Court judge on Tuesday, after arguing the move violated local zoning regulations.
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Adams said Thursday the city would not be deterred by legal challenges.
“You can’t use the court to stop people from moving into New York State,” Adams said. “We’re going to challenge any legal hurdles that try to be put in our way, because it would set a bad precedent if someone in New York State said you’re not allowed to come here.”
Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed to this report.
