Eric Adams, Curtis Sliwa spar in 1st NYC mayoral debate

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NEW YORK – The 2 men moving to go New York City's adjacent politician offered starkly antithetic visions Wednesday astir however to pb the nation's largest metropolis retired of the pandemic, amended nationalist information and gird the metropolis of 8.8 cardinal radical for much almighty storms driven by clime change.

Democrat Eric Adams and Republican Curtis Sliwa besides sparred implicit idiosyncratic and quality issues, with Adams lambasting Sliwa for having admitted successful the past to making up crimes and for “buffoonery.”

Sliwa, the laminitis of the 1970s-era Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol, insisted he's the campaigner much in-touch with regular New Yorkers. He said helium feels they judge his apology for having falsely claimed helium was kidnapped decades agone and boasting of faked exploits from his unarmed patrols.

Adams, the Brooklyn Borough president and a erstwhile New York City constabulary captain, is wide expected to triumph the Nov. 2 election.

He's the Democratic campaigner successful a metropolis wherever Democrats outnumber Republicans 7-to-1, having campaigned arsenic a mean prime successful a crowded superior field. Adams would beryllium the city's 2nd Black politician and arsenic a candidate, helium has spoken personally astir policing done the lens of having been a cop, a professional of his ain section and a young Black antheral who experienced constabulary brutality.

Sliwa has been a longtime media fixture successful New York, archetypal from his days arsenic the laminitis of the red-beret wearing Guardian Angels and aboriginal arsenic a vigor commenter with a penchant for attracting quality cameras and staging stunts. As a mayoral candidate, helium latched connected to reports questioning whether Adams truly lives astatine his Brooklyn brownstone and walked astir New York with a beverage carton featuring a representation of “missing” Adams.

Adams has repeatedly dismissed Sliwa during the run and continued to bash truthful during the debate, refusing the accidental to respond to an extended, rapid-fire critique from his opponent.

“I’m speaking to New Yorkers. I’m not speaking to buffoonery," helium said.

Sliwa sought to represent Adams arsenic an out-of-touch elitist for having reportedly vacationed successful Monaco and gathering with donors successful elite enclaves similar the Hamptons.

“Just travel maine successful the streets and subways. I'm there. I'm the people's choice. Eric Adams is with the elites successful the suites," Sliwa said. “Come on, Eric. Come back. Come backmost to the streets and the subways. Be with the existent peeps.”

Adams said helium agreed with outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio's determination announced Wednesday to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for each metropolis workers, including constabulary officers. Sliwa said helium opposed the mandate, saying the metropolis doesn't person capable constabulary officers arsenic is and can't spend to suffer much to a vaccine mandate.

To revive the city’s bare commercialized bureau abstraction aft the pandemic drove workers to enactment home, Adams said he’d question to marque the metropolis much business-friendly and mold it into a destination for industries similar cybersecurity, biotechnology and drone development.

Sliwa said galore radical volition ne'er travel backmost to in-person enactment and the metropolis should alternatively person bare offices and commercialized existent property into affordable housing.

Adams said he'd let restaurants to support their pop-up structures connected the city's streets and sidewalks that person served arsenic outdoor eating rooms during the pandemic. Sliwa said the structures are taking up abstraction needed for bicyclists, pedestrians and cars and request to beryllium scaled back.

Sliwa and Adams person some spoken connected the run way astir combatting convulsive transgression and clashed Wednesday implicit however to code it. Sliwa called for hiring 3,000 constabulary officers and claimed Adams had shown nary involvement successful utilizing national resources to enactment much cops connected the streets. He besides called for ending the city's presumption arsenic a “sanctuary city,” wherever section instrumentality enforcement does not cooperate with stepped-up migration enforcement from national officials.

Adams said helium would proceed the city's alleged sanctuary presumption and knocked Sliwa for fabricating crimes and “playing cop” portion Adams was successful azygous connected the constabulary force.

Both candidates were asked however they'd hole for bigger and much devastating storms fueled by clime alteration aft Hurricane Ida dropped a deadly deluge of rainfall connected the metropolis successful September, sidesplitting 13 New York City residents.

Adams called for a three-step forecast strategy informing residents and metropolis agencies of the menace and a program to much rapidly pass those surviving successful flood-prone basement apartments, peculiarly amerciable cellar apartments without ample exits.

Sliwa called for gathering seawalls to forestall against coastal flooding arsenic seen aft Superstorm Sandy astir a decennary ago, on with amended cleaning of drains and basins.

Tuesday's hourlong statement was the archetypal of 2 face-to-face meetings earlier the Nov. 2 election. The 2nd statement volition beryllium Oct. 26.

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