New York City Mayor Eric Adams has hit back at New York Times journalists who secretly followed him for a month to report that he is a regular at an upscale Midtown Manhattan restaurant.
The Times accused him in the article, published on the front page of the national newspaper Monday, of skirting ethics rules, suggesting he may not be paying for his meals as he parties at a members-only club without paying the membership fee.
But at a news conference Monday afternoon, the mayor dismissed these claims.
‘What’s going on with the New York Times?’ he asked rhetorically. ‘The front page of the New York Times: “Breaking News: Eric Adams likes to go to restaurants,” come on.’
He went on to say that the Times should be reporting on other issues, telling reporters at the news conference: ‘You have to say to yourself, with monkey pox, COVID, crime, the economy, all of the issues going on in this city, they are writing a story that Eric goes to a restaurant that they stood out in front of?’
‘I mean, I have to ask myself: “Is something going on with the New York Times right now?” the mayor said, referring to the story multiple times as ‘silly’ and claiming that he has paid for every meal.
‘The stories that they’re writing about me — I know people write stories, you get a lot of clicks when Eric Adams’ name is in it — but the front page of the New York Times talked about me going to restaurants?’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams hit back at New York Times journalists who followed him around for a month to report that he is a regular at an upscale restaurant
The article was written by New York Times journalists Sarah Maslin Nir, left, and Jazmine Hughes, right, and appeared on the front page of the New York Times on Monday
At that point, the mayor defended himself against the claims that he was eating at Osteria La Baia for free.
‘I paid every bill, not the city, and so you say, “Why don’t you get receipts?” What mayor have you asked to get receipts for his private dinners?’
‘You can’t have a rule for Eric and then a rule for everyone else,’ Adams said, adding: ‘Some people allow that, I don’t.
‘I owe no one a receipt of a private dinner I had with people in this city, and I’m not going to start being treated differently, and I won’t accept that,’ Adams continued, noting: ‘That was a silly story, you know it was a silly story.
‘Front page of the New York Times? Come on,’ he said.
The mayor also claimed his time at Osteria La Baia is his ‘private time,’ but he may still field questions about his opinion on issues as he meets with former Mayor Bill de Blasio and ousted New York Gov Andrew Cuomo.
‘I mean, who doesn’t have a favorite restaurant?’ Adams asked. ‘You’re telling me you don’t have a favorite restaurant? You don’t have a favorite restaurant that you go to? Everyone in here has a favorite restaurant; I have a favorite restaurant.’
Adams then went on to slam the reporters for not mentioning that after his meals, he would go to the subway to meet with conductors ‘and ride throughout the night to make sure we’re doing the job we deserve.
‘They didn’t report how I go to the areas of the city to make sure what happens is during the midnight hours,’ he said, ‘because if I’m going to hang out with the boys, I’m going to get up with the men.
‘I’m up every morning doing my job and I have a favorite restaurant,’ Adams asserted, claiming he has a favorite restaurant in all five boroughs and the reason the reporters did not find him at his favorite restaurant in the South Bronx is ‘because they were afraid to stand outside the South Bronx and stand outside those restaurants.’
‘I mean this is so silly,’ he continued. ‘They’re saying that Eric Adams goes out to restaurants. Breaking News: Duh, of course I do.’
The front page news story accused the mayor of skirting ethics rules, suggesting he may not be paying for his meals as he parties at a members-only club without paying the membership fee
Adams, right, is a regular at Osteria La Baia in midtown Manhattan, where he spent most of his nights in June
The mayor was then asked about his excursions at Zero Bond, a members-only club in Manhattan, to which he said that while he is not a member himself, he enters the club with a member as their guest.
‘I’m just so blown away with how people are so attracted by my life,’ Adams said. ‘Y’all write these stories about me, that you look at them and you just have to laugh.
‘I engage with New Yorkers and the difference between Eric and others who held this position is that every New Yorker matters to me — the person that drives the limousine and the person that sits in the back of the limousine.
‘And when you get one of the most powerful papers in the country, if not the globe [to] have a front page story of me going to restaurants, you have to laugh about this stuff.
‘Breaking News: I like restaurants.’
Adams was previously seen partying it up with British supermodel Cara Delevingne and rapper A$Ap Rocky at a swanky event held inside the One Vanderbilt skyscraper
Adams also appeared at the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday night wearing a tuxedo calling for an end to gun violence
Adams has become renowned for his love of partying, appearing at all of the city’s major events, including the Met Gala, at which he wore a tuxedo emblazoned with the words ‘End gun violence’ along with a drawing of a handgun encircled in a ‘no’ symbol.
In fact, since he took office in December, the mayor has taken a jaunt to California, where he hobnobbed with billionaires and comedians at billionaire philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen gala at his Hearst Estate in Beverly Hills and watched Dave Chapelle’s stand-up performance.
He has also been pictured dancing next to supermodel Cara Delevingne while he partied with rapper A$AP Rocky at a swanky event inside the One Vanderbilt skyscraper, and appeared on the red carpet for the opening night for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s Neil Simon Broadway play, Plaza Suite.
Now, the New York Times reports, Adams spent most nights in June with a select group of friends at a restaurant owned by two convicted felons.
In a Twitter thread, one of the reporters, Sarah Maslin Nir explained: ‘I spent almost every night in June out with the mayor of NYC — though he didn’t know it.
‘A team of reporters following him for 30 straight days in his unusual evening exploits to find out what this secretive public official does in the dark.
‘The picture that emerged was of [a] man surrounded by a tightknit group of friends with dubious backgrounds. Evenings seemed steered by those relationships, that end up night after night at the same place — 14 nights of 30.
‘The mayor’s team said he’s entitled to private time with his pals,’ she continued, but noted: ‘They would not provide receipts for his meal.
‘They said he visits the whole city at night. They would not provide his itinerary. Ethics experts raised eyebrows.
‘As one said to us: Why would the people of NYC want the members of Zero Bond and its ilk to have more access to their mayor than anyone else.
“It could undermine the public’s confidence that the person in power is using his office fairly and impartially to help everybody.”
Sarah Maslin Nir promoted the article on Twitter, saying Adams ‘surrounded by a tightknit group of friends with dubious backgrounds’
According to the New York Times article, Adams is a regular at Osteria La Baia in Midtown Manhattan.
He was seen there 14 nights out of 30 in June, during which time, the Times reports, journalists never observed the mayor paying for his meal.
But a spokesman for the mayor said he personally pays the bill to the restaurant monthly, though he refused to show receipts to back up his claim.
Instead of paying, the Times reporters seem to suggest, Adams has been promoting the restaurant, boosting its reputation since it opened last year and providing it with more business.
As Richard Briffault, a former chair of the Conflicts of Interest Board, said: ‘It doesn’t matter what his intentions are, whether he is giving them free advertising because he’s getting free meals, the fact that he is boosting them is a benefit to them, and it arguably hurts their competitors.
‘It could undermine the public’s confidence that the person in power is using his office fairly and impartially to help everybody.’
The Times also reports that the restaurant is run by two brothers, Robert and Zhan Petrosyants, who have past felony convictions for money laundering, outstanding tax debts and ongoing legal troubles.
According to an indictment filed by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, Robert owned and managed medical billing companies that received money through false insurance claims.
Zhan, who goes by Johnny, then cashed checks written to shell companies at a check-cashing business in Queens to conceal the source and ownership of he money and avoid detection by feds.
They both pleaded guilty in 2014 to lesser charges, and Robert was sentenced to six months in federal prison, while Zhan received five years probation. Each were also required to forfeit about $667,000.
At around the same time, the Times reports, Adams was serving as the Brooklyn borough president, and would often hold fundraisers and parties at their old restaurant in Brooklyn.
And when neighbors started complaining about the noise issues from the restaurant, Brooklynites claim Adams defended the restaurant.
The mayor is said to be a regular at Osteria La Baia, which he has promoted over the years
The brothers and entities connected to them have since been sued by landlords, investors and others for hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Times reports, and the brothers and some of their corporations have failed to pay state and federal taxes.
But they have also been occasional campaign donors to Adams, with Robert giving his Brooklyn campaign $1,000 in 2013, and Zhan giving his mayoral campaign $1,000 in 2020.
Robert’s wife also gave the now-mayor’s campaign $5,000 in April 2018, of which $3,000 was refunded in accordance with campaign finance laws.
Meanwhile, the mayor has also been seen at Zero Bond, a private members club in NoHo, where he once met the mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens, in a VIP room.
The owner of Zero Bond, Scott Sartiano, has since been appointed by Adams to serve on the board of the Metropolitan Museum.