Mayor Adams claimed on Tuesday that the vaunted New York City press corps was covering him wrong because they're all White.
Yes, pushback from the mayor about how reporters cover him is inevitable, though it usually doesn't happen in the second month of an administration, especially one that is largely enjoying favorable coverage. But some of the negative coverage of the mayor's trip to Albany on Monday — where he tried (and apparently failed) to pursuade his fellow Democrats to rollback some of its bail reform initiatives — rankled the city's second Black mayor, who claimed that reporters can't possibly cover him accurately because the press corps is not diverse enough.
Adams says he gets the coverage he gets (which is not particularly negative for a NYC mayor) because the media is not diverse: "That’s why I am covered the way I am covered and I’m not comfortable with it."
— Dana Rubinstein (@danarubinstein) February 15, 2022
The Post naturally played it to the hilt, amNY played it straight, and Fox 5 (of all places) did a well-balanced story, but we expect more discussion today. Hopefully, it will keep to the substance of the debate: the press corps is too White. The decision-makers are too White. The editorial boards are too White.
But the mayor isn't perfect, and when he makes a mistake, he's likely to not like everything he reads in the papers the next day (even in the papers that endorsed him).
In other news:
- Brooklyn liberals can breathe easy now that ex-Mayor de Blasio has opted not to run for Congress in the newly drawn 11th District. De Blasio might have defeated centrist Democrat Max Rose in the primary for the mostly Staten Island seat, but he likely would have lost to Republican incumbent Nicole Malliotakis. (NY Post, amNY)
- The Times made a stirring call for reducing the subway fare for lower-income New Yorkers.
- Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez is sounding very much like a man who can't make good on his promise to fortify 50 percent of the city's weakest protected bike lanes in his first 100 days in office. (amNY)
- Not too many outlets bothered to cover the MTA budget hearing in Albany on Tuesday, but Streetsblog focused on the bathroom issue and amNY looked at Assembly Member Emily Gallagher's effort to lengthen the G train.
- Gothamist was a bit late on the news from last week's open restaurant hearing. And it was also late on news that Mayor Adams wants Albany to give him more control over the speed camera system and the speed limits on city streets.
- Big Real Estate is pushing back against a tenant-friendly bill that's shorthanded as "Good Cause Eviction" (The City). Don't know about Good Cause Eviction? You must watch this Times explainer by comic and housing activist Jeff Seal.
- And, finally, at least someone at the Times understands the need to stop traveling by plane and car — it was whoever published this letter to the editor.
