Mayor Eric Adams responds to sex assault lawsuit, says he's conducted himself with dignity for 40 years in public life
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams defended himself Tuesday against claims of sexual assault made in a lawsuit.
The mayor said he has always conducted himself with dignity in his 40 years in public life.
Adams adopted a historical perspective in responding to the bombshell lawsuit brought by a woman who claims she worked with him when he was a transit cop 30 years ago. While he said he was sorry his family, his girlfriend and son had to go through this, he noted that other mayors had told him they endured tough times, too.
"Stuff happens, you know? You better be ready to have a motto that you can live by like, 'No distractions, stay focused and grind.' There's a reason I say that over and over again. The team will tell you that I have a level of discipline that starts early and ends late," Adams said.
The mayor responded to a shocking lawsuit filled with graphic detail, accusing him of sexual assault, infliction of emotional distress, gender discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment.
His accuser, a woman who said she worked with him when he was a transit cop three decades ago, charged that the incident happened when she asked Adams for help with a job problem and he demanded oral sex.
It's the kind of charge that could hurt a mayor who has to seek re-election in November 2025.
"Mr. Mayor, I guess I wonder, given the fact that we're in a sort of me-too environment, how you prevent this incident from becoming a career-ending incident?" CBS New York's Marcia Kramer asked.
"New Yorkers will make the decisions on how the move forward when allegations are made, and I'm focused on running the city. I think my legacy is going to be a clear one, is going to be a good one," Adams said. "For almost 40 years now, I have been one of the most public faces in the city and I have always carried myself with the level of dignity that New Yorkers expect from me."
But when the mayor was asked to respond to the explicitly graphic charges in the lawsuit, Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix jumped in.
"We are currently reviewing the complaint and we would make the appropriate answer and everyone will get that information when we file it with the court," Hinds-Radix said.
Reporters questioned why the Corporation counsel, whose salary is paid by taxpayers, is representing the mayor instead of a private attorney, but Hinds-Radix said she had the authority to take the case.
The mayor insists he does not remember ever meeting his accuser.