Eric Adams Scandals Escalate + Election Day Tomorrow!
No. 347 | Monday, November 6, 2023
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
Eric Adams Scandal News
The Federal Bureau of Investigations raided the home of Mayor Eric Adams's fundraising chief, Brianna Suggs, on Thursday. Adams's reelection campaign has paid Suggs nearly $100,000 for consulting services over the past two years.
Adams’s campaign ignored repeated warnings about donations from KSK Construction Company, a Brooklyn business whose founders come from Turkey. Gothamist published an explainer about the firm.
In 2007 and 2009, government employees were busted for accepting bribes on public works projects contracted to Kiska Construction, an Eric Adams donor that shares a chief executive officer with KSK.
In 2021, the Eric Adams campaign received $10,000 in donations from people listed as employees of a small Turkish-owned institution based in Washington, DC, and now linked to the federal investigation.
The FBI probe has thrown a sizable wrench into Eric Adams’s mayoral reelection campaign. Progressives in the city see an opportunity.
Adams dismissed bus and bicycle lane mile requirements during a bizarre speech at a Department of Transportation (DOT) meeting before this week’s scandal broke. He also compared DOT employees to drowning rats.
Election News
Here’s to know about New York’s 2023 ballot proposals.
Southern Brooklyn Councilmember Inna Vernikov (District 48) appeared for her gun-charge arraignment as voting began in her district. Vernikov brandished a gun and called students “terrorist[s] without the bombs” at a pro-Palestinian rally at the City University of New York’s Brooklyn College. Her lawyer claims photos of the gun were computer-generated.
The race to represent New York’s 43rd City Council District, which includes Sunset Park, Bensonhurst and Borough Park and a high concentration of Asian-identified residents, has become one of the most interesting and difficult to predict in this year’s election. The New Yorker also published a profile of the race.
Bernard Chow, the Republican nominee for Council District 23 (eastern Queens), may not be eligible to run for the seat because he lives outside the district, as he himself has admitted.
Brooklyn Democratic Party chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn doubled down on criticism of Democratic City Councilmember Justin Brannan (District 43, Bay Ridge) over bullying accusations.
Local News
Hoping to combat wage theft and other egregious forms of exploitation, the New York City Council passed legislation creating an Immigrant Workers Bill of Rights.
One in nine New York City public school students experienced homelessness in the last year, according to a new report.
Pete Buttigieg signed off on a $3.4 billion grant for an extension of the chronically delayed Second Avenue subway, nearly a century after the project started.
Immigrant communities in Bay Ridge, often called Brooklyn's "Little Palestine," have experienced grief, fear, and a sense of solidarity in the face of the Israeli assault on Gaza and the West Bank.
Hellgate spoke to two New Yorkers about their experiences being doxxed for their pro-Palestinian views.
Attorney General Letitia James has opened an investigation into the New York Police Department killing of Jason Pass.
Governor Kathy Hochul refuses to allow billions of dollars in opioid settlement funds to support overdose prevention centers where people use drugs under staff supervision.
The city is operating "reticketing centers" for newly arrived immigrants, where officials give away free one-way tickets out of town. Migrants often don’t know where they’re headed.
According to a report, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has been failing its passengers with disabilities.
Revel is shutting down its moped business.
It’s getting cold! Here’s what to do if your building isn’t receiving proper heat.
The NYC Local
We're excited to say that last month, Alex Chan, David Kim, and David Turner revived our chapter's labor newsletter The Local. It arrives every other week with a focus on labor organizing, bargaining, and local legislation that impacts NYC's workers. Give them a follow and thoughts about what you'd like to see from a socialist labor newsletter.
Revolutions Per Minute
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