After the publication of an exposé on his visits to pricey city restaurants and nightclubs without providing evidence that he or his crew had been paying expenditures, New York City Mayor Eric Adams lambasted the New York Times on Monday.
Adams’ visits to two New York City restaurants, where he spoke with politicians and other high rollers and ate pricey meals while so far offering no sign that he has been paying the bills, were described in detail in the Times piece by reporters Sarah Maslin Nir and Jazmine Hughes.
According to the study, it creates ethical concerns if Adams receives complimentary meals or VIP treatment at these exclusive locations. According to the publication, public employees are not permitted to accept presents from city merchants that cost $50 or more.
Adams declined to provide names when questioned by journalists about who had been hosting him at a number of exclusive New York City hangouts, such as the Italian restaurant Osteria La Baia and the exclusive nightclub Zero Bond. Nobody will want to hang out with me any longer because they will be followed and scrutinized, he retorted. “If I tell you who I go with, y’all going to do full-page stories on them. Nobody’s going to want to hang out with me anymore. Because people are going to follow them, they’re going to watch them.”
He visited Osteria La Baia often, according to the Times article. Entree costs range from over $30 to over $60 at Osteria La Baia, which the paper stated is owned by close friends of Adams’s Robert and Zhan Petrosyants, two guys with a history of criminal activity, unpaid taxes, and legal issues.
Reporters at the Times never saw him pay for his meals. A spokesperson for Adams said that he pays his expenses on a regular basis, although none of his representatives have ever shown receipts or other documentation of payment.
Adams addressed the rumor and said,”I owe no one a receipt of a private dinner that I have with people in this city. I’m not going to start being treated differently. I won’t accept that. That was a silly story. You know it was a silly, silly story.”
The Times also covered the mayor’s visits to Zero Bond, where membership costs $5,000 for the first year and $4,000 each year; food and drink are extra. A member must accompany nonmembers.
