‘History is going to be kind’: Adams defends NYC’s response to air quality emergency

New York City Mayor Eric Adams pushed back against criticism of his administration’s response to the dangerously poor air quality spurred by the Canadian wildfires, as elected leaders accused him of acting too slowly and not communicating effectively.

Adams' heated comments on Thursday are an indication of the mounting pressures and criticism his administration faces as it deals with multiple crises, including the current influx of asylum-seekers and the city's lack of affordable housing.

“All of that conversation about our inability to serve? We are serving – and we’re doing it every day," Adams said at a press conference for an unrelated event. "History is going to be kind to this administration because of our capabilities.”

New Yorkers are being urged to don masks and remain indoors as winds continue to push wildfire smoke from Canada into the Northeastern U.S. The unusual weather led some schools to cancel outdoor activities while other venues – like beaches, zoos and libraries – temporarily shut down.

Although Adams said he noticed the poor air quality on Tuesday and phoned family members about the situation, City Hall did not issue a statement until 11:30 p.m. Others critiqued the administration’s apparent lack of widespread communication to the public and slow rollout of masks available for residents.

The blowback is compounding other criticism Adams is facing, including over his constantly evolving plan for handling the influx of asylum-seekers and his calls for budget cuts to ease the city’s shaky economy.

During the press conference, Adams seemed to place blame on “unpredictable weather patterns” created by climate change. He said that he is part of a small group of mayors – that includes Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg – who have had to deal with the climate issue.

“When you are in the stands, it’s easy to say what the quarterback should have done,” he said. “But try getting sacked by a 300-pound lineman and then get up and call the next play and score a touchdown. That’s the real skill.”

State Sen. Jessica Ramos of Queens called the air quality concerns a “public crisis that the mayor is not taking seriously.”

“When you communicate to New Yorkers, you use every single medium available to you,” she said. “Social media is not enough. It is the floor.”

Comptroller Brad Lander also criticized the mayor.

“We needed to have a playbook,” he said earlier this week, adding that city officials “scrambled to get information up.”

The mayor, in turn, criticized the comptroller for his frequent complaints — referring to him as a “shadow mayor” — and not doing more to advocate for New Yorkers.

“[Lander] has not gone to Washington, D.C. and fought on behalf of New Yorkers to get their fair share,” Adams said.

The mayor, now in the second year of his term, applauded both his administration's response to New York City’s biggest problems. He said he was “extremely impressed” with the city’s deployment of masks and doubled down on his decision not to mandate whether or not organizations should host outdoor events this weekend, instead referring to it as a “game-time decision.”

“Don’t get it mixed up: I’m an adrenaline junkie,” Adams said. “And I wake up every day saying: ‘Thank God, I’m the mayor to solve these big problems, and these small problems. I am just so fit for this moment.”