Leftist Democrats know that they’ve lost Middle America over their immigration policies.
But rather than changing their thinking, instead they are doubling down.
Now Eric Adams is rushing to quell a Harlem firestorm as angry residents question city plans.
It certainly looks like they were caught red-handed and were forced to backpedal.
Rumors had been circulating that city officials were planning to convert an abandoned luxury complex into a housing shelter for illegal immigrants.
That left many members of the Harlem community outraged.
At a community meeting, residents were discussing the whispers that a building on the corner of 130th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. was being prepared under the radar to house arriving immigrants.
The locals were upset that there was plenty of need for long-time residents of the community and many felt that their concerns should be considered first.
Harlem resident: “You have to take care of the residents that are already there.”
Harlem resident Ruth McDaniels told Fox News, “Of course they’re upset. They’re outraged. They’ve been overlooked for so long. How do you think you would feel if you have a brand new luxury building, as they’re describing it, and people are living sometimes two or three generations in one apartment, and now you don’t even want to give it to them, you want to bring outsiders in. What does that look like? You have to take care of the residents that are already there.”
Tiffany Fulton is the executive director of Silent Voices United Inc., and says, “No, I don’t agree with it turning into a sanctuary for asylum seekers knowing we have people right here that need the space.”
The building was originally marketed as a luxury doorman building that includes kitchens with granite countertops and marble bathrooms.
There is even an indoor swimming pool on its roof.
But developers defaulted on loans and the building was vacant for a decade.
That was until this week when neighbors noticed boxes of bunk beds being loaded in.
Fulton added, “They snuck them in here with no transparency. We see bunk beds being moved in. What’s going on? And no one was aware that this was happening. No one.”
Mayor Eric Adams (D) showed up to the meeting unannounced amid the uproar and claimed to be unaware of what was going on.
Adams said, “I told the team, ‘Find out what’s going on here. We’re not moving folks into a brand-new building when you have long-term needs in a community. That’s not going to happen. You will not have migrants and asylum seekers in that property.”
But McDaniels wasn’t buying Adams’ happy talk.
Another angry resident to Adams: “We put you in position to help us. This will definitely affect any elections going forward.”
She added, “Right now your people are looking at you. You have an obligation to your own Black community to make sure that we have our needs met. Every other demographic takes care of their community: Chinese, Italian, Jewish. When it comes to communities of color, specifically Black, it seems as though they get paralyzed. You have to speak to the narrative. We put you in position to help us. This will definitely affect any elections going forward.”
McDaniels seems to have her pulse on public sentiment.
In December, Eric Adams’ approval rating sunk to 28%.
This is the lowest for any New York mayor in a Quinnipiac University poll since it began surveying the city 27 years ago.
Over 100,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in New York since Joe Biden assumed the presidency and immigration and border enforcement are among the top concerns of voters in recent polling.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
