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By Chris Sommerfeldt | csommerfeldt@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
Mayor Adams is receiving praise from some unsavory corners of the internet over his claim that the migrant crisis will “destroy” New York City.
The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi blog operated by notorious far right conspiracy theorist Andrew Anglin, published a post Friday that said Adams’ comments made him “based,” a phrase used in online chat forums to describe a proudly unfiltered person.
The post went on to claim that Adams’ remarks were also “insightful.”
Asked whether the mayor’s office wanted to distance itself from the Daily Stormer post, Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak accused the Daily News of “legitimizing Nazi websites.”
“The Adams administration is deeply proud of the compassion and care we’ve provided to more than 110,000 asylum seekers who have come to our city asking for shelter for well over a year now,” Mamelak said. “But, as the mayor has said repeatedly, while our compassion is limitless, our resources are not. We simply cannot continue to do this without substantial support from our state and federal partners, and New Yorkers agree.”
Adams made the controversial comments during a town hall event on Manhattan’s Upper West Side Wednesday evening while lamenting the financial strain the city’s facing from sheltering and providing services for the tens of thousands of mostly Latin American migrants who have arrived since last year.
“I don’t see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City — destroy New York City,” Adams said of the crisis. “All of us are going to be impacted by this. I said it last year when we had 15,000 (migrants), and I’m telling you now with 110,000 — the city we knew, we’re about to lose.”
While some 110,000 migrants have arrived in the city since spring 2022, less than 60,000 are currently in city-run shelters and emergency housing facilities, according to the latest data from City Hall. Hundreds more migrants are arriving every week, according to City Hall data.
Adams has faced withering criticism over his latest comments about the migrant crisis from fellow Democrats, who say they are xenophobic and dangerous.
In light of the Daily Stormer praise, Sophie Ellman-Golan, communications director for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, said the mayor should’ve known better than to make his Wednesday comments.
“It was immediately clear that MAGA Republicans appreciated and agreed with the mayor’s anti-immigrant statements. Then Donald Trump approvingly echoed his words,” said Ellman-Golan, whose left-leaning group frequently criticizes the mayor. “And now we see that actual Nazis are also praising the mayor for his xenophobic comments. Division, fear, and the mayor’s billionaire buddies are what pose a threat to New York City — not the newest New Yorkers.”
Natalia Aristizabal, a deputy director of the immigrant advocacy group Make The Road, echoed Ellman-Golan’s sentiment.
“We knew as soon as Mayor Adams spoke yesterday that he was fanning the flames of hate in our city,” she said. “Now there are literal Neo-Nazis praising him for it. Enough is enough, Mr. Mayor: stop the horrifying scapegoating of asylum seekers immediately.”