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NYC Mayor Eric Adams likens himself to Jesus’ disciples removing ‘mini-houses’ from homeless

April 8, 2022 | | Print Article

New York City Mayor Eric Adams came to his own defense on the topic of clearing the city’s homeless encampments, invoking the Bible in his talk with religious leaders.

The Democrat pandered to the faithful during a Christian meeting in City Hall Park on Thursday, claiming that Jesus’ disciples would be on his side and on the streets helping him clear the homeless tents.

“We are on the wrong road as a city. We have tolerated homelessness, walked past our brothers and sisters who are living in tents on the street, and we’ve normalized it,” he said.

“I can’t help but to believe that if Matthew, Mark, Luke and John was here today, he would be on the streets with me, helping people get out of encampments,” the mayor said, though Luke was not actually one of Jesus’ original 12 apostles.

“Those disciples of yesteryears are with the disciples of today of saying it’s not about just talking about it, it’s about being about it,” Adams told the religious leaders, saying if Jesus’ disciples were “here today,” they would agree with him that young people should stay out of jail and ensure that there is affordable housing and health care.


(Video: NYC Mayor’s Office)

“That’s why, as the mayor of the city of New York, we’re tearing down the walls that divide the knowledge of our faith-based institutions and this administration,” he said. “We are in this together, and that’s the only way we are going to get out of it.”

His comments came in the wake of criticism over his push to clear encampments such as the one in the East Village where NYC Sanitation Department workers descended this week and led to a standoff and arrests.


(Video: Fox5 New York)

Members of the City Council denounced Adams’ “cruel” plans to crack down on the homeless, criticizing the move while calling for an increase in social services instead.

“By demolishing these street encampments, the mayor is telling people, many of whom have nowhere else to go, that they don’t belong,” read a statement by the City Council’s progressive caucus, which makes up a majority of the chamber’s members.

“These sweeps will not end homelessness; they will only put people in further harm,” the letter said.

“If this administration is serious about ending homelessness, they need to immediately discontinue this harm and embrace the Council’s budget,” council members said. “This includes $113 million for safe haven shelters, stabilization beds, drop-in centers as well as additional investment in mental health services and permanent affordable and supportive housing.”

But Adams, a former NYPD captain, has insisted “we’re not throwing people off the street.”

“You have a right to sleep on the street. You don’t have a right to build a miniature house,” the mayor has said.

“I’m not abandoning anyone. I’m not going to believe that dignity is living in a cardboard [box], without a shower, without a toilet, living in terrible living conditions,” he said at a City Hall press conference late last month. “It’s just so inhumane.”

Many New Yorkers welcome the efforts as crime has skyrocketed in the city.

Reacting to Adams’ Biblical remarks at the rally this week, many Twitter users had plenty to say.

Frieda Powers
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