STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It seems Staten Islanders want the ear of Mayor Eric Adams.
Seating for a Monday town hall event at Curtis High School, 105 Hamilton Ave., St. George took just four days to reach the 250-person capacity, a City Hall spokesperson said. Friday.
RSVPs for the event opened July 7 and closed Tuesday, July 11, the spokesperson said. Following the Advance/SILive.com’s Wednesday publication advertising the event, the a reporter received several complaints from people about the closed registration.
The City Hall spokesperson said the Adams administration advertised the event with about 40 community-based organizations encouraging them to spread the word.
Adams announced a town hall series in May during which he would visit each of the five boroughs, and the Staten Island event is set for next week.
The “Talk with Eric” series’ Staten Island stop will take place Monday from 6 to 8 p.m., with doors set to open at 5:45 p.m.
“I always say I’m an on-the-ground mayor, and engaging with everyday New Yorkers is how I’m able to hear about the issues that matter most to the people who make New York the greatest city in the world,” Adams said in May. “I’m excited to launch our second series of town halls and talk to thousands of New Yorkers about the issues affecting them every day. Our team will continue to make sure that this is the most accessible mayoral administration in city history.”
Monday’s event follows “Talk with Eric” visits in the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan. That most recent event in Washington Heights took place June 28, and featured a contentious exchange during which the mayor likened a questioner to a plantation owner.
That questioner, who the Daily News identified as Holocaust survivor Jeanie Dubnau, focused on rent hikes recently approved by the Rent Guidelines Board, which is effectively controlled by the mayor.
During her questioning, Dubnau repeatedly pointed at the mayor as she grilled him on the rent hikes that came during what officials around the city, including Adams, have described as a housing crisis.
“Okay, first, if you’re going to ask a question, don’t point at me and don’t be disrespectful to me. I’m the mayor of this city, and treat me with the respect I deserve to be treated,” Adams said in response. “I’m speaking to you as an adult, don’t stand in front like you treating someone that’s on the plantation that you own. Give me the respect I deserve and engage in the conversation.”
That exchange marked one of the more contentious of Adams’ town hall events around the city. His series last year focused on public safety, and featured a stop in Stapleton.
During that August event held at the Gerard Carter Center, Adams took curated questions from about 150 community leaders on topics, like gun violence and housing conditions, but this year’s event will be open to the general public.
The first hour of the event to be held Monday will be closed to the press with the media being welcomed during the question and answer session when members of the administration will discuss community issues with the audience.
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