NYC Mayor Eric Adams is standing by his forceful criticism of an 84-year-old tenant activist, justifying his likening of her to a plantation owner due to her “disrespectful” behavior.
“[S]he acted in a disrespectful manner,” he stated during a Friday morning interview on 1010 WINS radio.
“I come from a family where my mother made it clear: Never allow anyone to disrespect you.”
Adams was the main speaker at a town hall event in Hamilton Heights on Wednesday evening when he was interrupted by Jeanie Dubnau, an advocate for housing rights and an assistant professor of biology at Rutgers University.
She confronted him for supporting a recent decision that would result in rent increases for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments across all five boroughs.
“Do not stand there as if you own someone on a plantation,” the mayor scolded her during the panel.
Adams argued that it was Dubnau’s tone of voice and finger-pointing that provoked his response.
“She disrupted [the meeting], and then she degraded me in her communication. I will not tolerate disrespect towards public service, and as the mayor of this city, I will not tolerate disrespect towards myself,” Adams reiterated in the radio interview.
He also claimed that her outburst was part of a broader national trend of disrespect towards police officers, religious groups, and other government employees.
“I represent this city, and we must initiate a more constructive dialogue on how we communicate with each other, both locally and nationally,” he added.
Dubnau was born in Belgium shortly after her parents escaped the horrors of the Nazi regime in Germany.
After hiding in Belgium and France throughout World War II, Dubnau and her parents immigrated to New York City, where she has lived since the age of 8.
The volunteer organizer for tenants acknowledged that she doesn’t expect an apology from Adams, who himself rents out a brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
“Oh, he won’t apologize,” she remarked to The NY Post. “I mean, you know the mayor. He believes he’s the best and doesn’t want to face criticism.”
{Matzav.com}