NYC’s Eric Adams gives Zohran Mamdani reality check on plan to stop clearing homeless tent cities
Mayor Eric Adams criticized the new mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to shut down police sweeps of homeless encampments, labeling the proposal “idealism colliding with realism.” In a Sunday interview at Gracie Mansion, Adams said the younger official’s “idealistic view” is a good quality for a mayor, but it must be tempered by practical realities. He illustrated his point by saying, “Imagine if we said that you are allowed to sleep on the streets of our city in tents and encampments with 230,000 people coming to our city. You know what that would look like? All you have to do is go look at other cities that are having that take place.” His remarks come just weeks after Mamdani announced he would end all police sweeps across New York City, a reversal of a key move by the Adams administration. Mamdani’s plan would only hold up if stable housing was secured for those displaced from their tents; otherwise, people would be driven back onto the streets—an outcome that a 2023 audit found occurred for 95 % of those removed during Adams’ tenure. Despite this, Adams reaffirmed that allowing people to “live on the streets” is “inhumane,” citing issues like human waste, drug paraphernalia, and individuals with mental illness who end up on subways and in other unsafe locations. He warned that if Mamdani abandons a “smart policy,” New Yorkers will face the consequences, pointing to how sprawling encampments in other cities, such as Los Angeles, have turned into dangerous hubs of illicit activity.
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