He’s the last bulwark against The People’s Republic of NYC.
Mayor Eric Adams has vetoed 14 City Council bills and various measures in under four years, a decision which supporters believe is essential to counter the Council’s far-left agenda. Unlike Adams, his predecessor, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, known for his Marxist inclinations and a cooperative relationship with the Council, did not veto any bills during his eight-year tenure, according to records.
“When the City Council puts forward unserious or dangerous legislation, it falls on the mayor to take a stand and push back,” stated Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Democrat from Queens who also praised the mayor for blocking a series of what he termed as “reckless bills.”
Adams’ critical vetoes include:
- Legislation that would have banned solitary confinement in city jails. Adams battled a Council override in federal court where in July 2024 a federal judge sided with the city and barred the law from being implemented.
- a police transparency bill requiring NYPD officers to record all street stops in reports. The Council issued a veto override.
- a bill to decriminalize illegal vending. The Council is expected to override the veto later this month, sources said.
- A package of four bills that reformed and expanded the Big Apple’s housing voucher program. The mayor said the bills would lead to longer shelter stays for New Yorkers and saddle taxpayers with billions of dollars in additional costs. The migrant-welcoming-Council majority issued overrides on each.
- Six measures that would have blocked a zoning charge critical to Bally’s $4 billion plan to open a Bronx casino on a former golf course owned by President Donald Trump, who Council Speaker Adrienne Adams has accused of being on a “cruel crusade against immigrant families” for tightening the nation’s borders. The measures — which lack enough support to override Adams’ veto — were pushed by the local councilmember, GOPer Kristy Marmorato.
Supporters of the mayor argue that he’s utilizing all available means to prevent progressive measures that impact public safety and other quality-of-life issues from being imposed on New Yorkers.
“The City Council is out of control,” said Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens).
“I’m pleased he has attempted to use his veto power to rein in the progressives, but Adrienne Adams remains inflexible, opposing any moderate measures and challenging even the most sensible proposals,” they contend.
The Council’s sparring with the mayor extends well beyond his vetoes.
Notable political disputes include legislation Adams resists, which would require the city to spend $3 billion to eliminate 300,000 parking spaces near intersections, the planning of a free trash bin distribution, and the lawmakers’ previous year’s rejection of the mayor’s nomination of former federal prosecutor Randy Mastro as corporation counsel.
The former top aide for ex-Mayor Rudy Giulaini was hired months later by Adams as first deputy mayor.
Adams’ strained relations with the Council have roots dating back to late 2021, when he was preparing to assume the mayoral office. This period was marked by his inability to secure sufficient support from council members for his preferred candidate, Councilman Francisco Moya (D-Queens), to become the next speaker.
And that meant opportunity to the left-dominated Council
“He showed he was an emperor with no clothes by losing his first high-profile fight, so council members realized they could beat him in a fight,” said a former top de Blasio aide.
De Blasio’s “smooth transition” into office in 2014 was partly due to his hand-picked candidate for speaker, Bronx Democrat Melissa Mark-Viverito, winning her speaker race, the source added.
Critics claim the centrist Democratic mayor’s vetoes and much of his other opposition to the Council majority’s far-left agenda is simply showmanship meant to score votes with voters.
Kayla Mamelak, a mayoral spokeswoman, defended the vetoes, saying the Council has “passed laws so extreme that they defy commonsense and undermine the goals they were elected to achieve.”
“As a result, Mayor Adams has been compelled to use his veto power to call out the Council’s excesses and stand up for working-class, law-abiding New Yorkers who know the difference between commonsense and extremism,” said Mamelak.
“And, now, for the first time in decades, a mayoral veto will not be overridden by the Council — a milestone moment where even many councilmembers realized the Council had gone too far in trying to block the Bally’s casino bid and deny the Bronx and the city as a whole the opportunity to compete for thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity.”
Speaker Adams did not return messages.
