By Lora Kallenberg
If you know me, or if you’ve read the first article that I wrote for the Tartan, you know that I have particular disdain for the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams. To put it bluntly, I think he is the second-biggest egotistical fraudulent idiot to ever hold some form of power in the city (first place going to Donald Trump).
Back in 2021, I was horrified as I watched the people of NYC put this man at the forefront of the numerous Democratic candidates running for mayor. When I was gearing up to vote in my first election, I stupidly believed that New Yorkers knew better than to hire an ex-cop to run. Now, here we are with slashed public works budgets and an inflated NYPD budget.
On Monday, Pix11 News hosted a new NYPD dance group on their news segment, which shocked internet users and inspired an uproar. Many, myself included, struggled to believe government funding went towards the formation of this group. Replying to the clip, Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “How many school music programs got defunded for this.” In light of the tremendous negative feedback from many across the internet, the NYPD made it clear that this group is made up of volunteers and is not provided funds for resources and materials. While this news made me less angry about the ordeal, I still felt uneasy about it.
In the last few months, news has trickled in about how the city’s budget has made a turn for the worse. The NYCDOE has always had budget issues that I have been plenty aware of, having bounced around public schools in the Bronx, Harlem, and Lower Manhattan, so it was not very surprising to learn of education budget cuts. I was surprised, however, when in November I received an email from the New York Public Library that budget cuts would force several locations around the city to be closed on Sundays. I am aware that I’m biased, as someone with librarian parents, but the libraries are a staple of the city and are integral to education and recreation and it is abhorrent that their budget has been cut.
The center of all of this chaos is the man himself, Eric Adams. Repeated budget cuts, approving over-policing of subway stations, and other unnecessary police initiatives (i.e. NYPD’s new robocop) are just some of the many things that have made my hatred for the mayor grow. Since his election, I have not been able to ignore the changes happening to my beloved city that have made it more unsafe, expensive, and overall less enjoyable. There is much to say about how questionable this man’s career in office has been, including the all-too-real open cases into his possible election tampering. For now, I’ll keep my thoughts concise. I truly believe New Yorkers could do so much better.
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