It’s not just residents of border towns who are furious with politicians for the migrant crisis that’s significantly affecting their neighborhoods; it’s even people all the way up in New York.
Last weekend, angry New York residents attacked New York City Mayor Eric Adams, saying that he’s working to “destroy” their city with how he’s handling the migrant crisis.
Following an Indian Parade event that was held on Sunday at a church in Bellerose, residents of Queens protested a “tent city” that’s been set up at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. Those who attended held signs and also chanted at Adams “One-Term Mayor” and “No Tent City.”
The New York Post obtained audio of the protests, in which Adams can be heard replying to the chanting residents:
“You have a right to decide who you want to vote on as mayor. That’s how you show your power.
“If you feel I’m not doing the job the last 18 months with the mess I inherited, the mess I inherited … you have a right to do what you want.”
Adams also got combative with another resident when pressed on the topic. Phil Orenstein, who serves as one of the leaders of the Queens Village Republican Club, told Adams that he should “tell your president” that migrants needed to not be sent to New York City.
The mayor responded:
“My president? There’s one president.”
Orenstein was heard on the audio recording expressing how angry the local community is about the encampment of migrants that has been set up at Creedmoor. He even said that Adams needed to “send them back” to Washington, D.C., and Mexico.
Orenstein said:
“What about Rikers Island? There are abandoned buildings there. They have 20,000 to 30,000 [migrants] there. But, not at Creedmoor. Not in our neighborhood. You’re going to destroy our community, destroy our property values. There’s going to be crime. There’s going to be drug taking.
“People are devastated. The idea of bringing 1,000 single, able-bodied migrants right into our neighborhood. There’s no curfew. They’re unvetted. What diseases do they have? Who are they?
“What I need for you to do as one of your constituents is send them back to Washington, D.C. Send them back to Mexico. Have some guts. Stand up for your people. We are your people!”
Adams didn’t back down from confronting Orenstein. He said that he couldn’t try to deport these asylum seekers, because the federal government could end up sanctioning him and taking funding away from New York City that it’s using to try to correct the problem.
In typical liberal fashion, Adams then tried to deflect blame and attention for the problem, telling his opponents that they should focus their ire on President Joe Biden to “fix the border” rather than attacking him and what he’s doing in New York City.
As Adams is recorded as saying:
“We should all be saying to this president, ‘This is not right.’ We should all be saying this. I have for one year been saying this. … This should not be happening to New York City.”
