'I Deserve Better': Adams Blasts De Blasio Loyalists Over Criticisms

NEW YORK CITY ? Hizzoner wanted a honeymoon, but it got stolen by a familiar New York City villain: the Bill de Blasio administration.

Or, at least that's the gist of Mayor Eric Adams' six-minute tirade Wednesday.

Adams closed an already colorful news conference about electric vehicles by declaring he was about to go "off the record." He then launched into a very on-the-record rant over criticisms about his mayoralty that have been levied by officials in former mayor de Blasio's administration.

?I am so tired of the previous administration and their antics,? he said.

?They left the house in total disarray. And then they come and say, ?Look at the mess that you created, Eric.??

(Adams' rant starts about 42:00 into the video.)

The de Blasio loyalist who appeared to have generated the most frustration from Adams is Bill Neidhardt, who served as the former mayor's press secretary.

Neidhardt has frequently criticized Adams on Twitter, where he has roughly 9,000 followers. His critiques ranged from attacking Adams' rhetoric on crime to the new administration's arguable inaction on housing in the city.

Adams called Neidhardt "probably the worst comms guy in the history of communication" ? an assessment that Neidhardt quickly turned into his Twitter sobriquet.

"Adams hasn?t done a thing to address the housing crisis, but it is quite easy to live in his head rent free," Neidhardt tweeted.

Adams hasn?t done a thing to address the housing crisis, but it is quite easy to live in his head rent free. https://t.co/cFqmbqWCaF
? Bill "the worst communications guy" Neidhardt (@BNeidhardt) January 4, 2023

Adams, who has also (and often) vented frustrations about media coverage he considers unfavorable, said he even called de Blasio to complain.

He said officials from past administrations such as Michael Bloomberg's have been more helpful in his first year.

?That was my message to the former mayor: I deserve better from a former administration,? he said.

But for all of Adams' venting, he stopped short of criticizing de Blasio himself. He said de Blasio during their phone call offered to help.

"To Mayor de Blasio?s credit, he has been extremely helpful,? he said.

?This is directed to those who are intended on one thing: to see us fail,? he said.