Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his socialist successor, Zohran Mamdani, is getting a reality check on the “idealistic” approach he fiercely championed after two months in charge of the Big Apple.
Mamdani got the wake-up call, Adams charged, after facing criticism for flipping on his pledge to end mayor control of schools — a system he strongly opposed on the campaign trail — and letting at least 20 homeless people freeze to death during a recent cold snap.
“He’s seeing the reality of governing,” the ex-mayor told TMZ at LAX Friday, adding that he’s repeatedly told Mamdani that “idealism collides with realism.”
“You can’t tell people who are homeless to sleep in the street. Twenty people died and I think we’re up to over 20 now. Looking at his decision on what he wanted to do about mayoral control, at one time he was saying he didn’t want it and now he understands you need control.
“So, he’s going to learn that the idealistic approach is not the realistic approach. Governing is real.”
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani pledged to end mayor control of the largest public school district in the country, arguing that the structure sidelined community voices in the system.
But after getting elected, he reversed course, announcing his support to renew mayoral control as he introduced Kamar Samuels as the new schools chancellor, overseeing more than 900,000 students at some 1,800 schools.
City Hall did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Adams said he’s barely been in the Big Apple since leaving office – just 10 days – spending the rest of his time jet-setting across Africa, the Middle East, and more while working with a “bunch of businesses.”
“There’s so much going on and when you’ve climbed a mountain of being the mayor of the greatest city on the globe now you have the opportunity of using all those experiences and just really enjoying life,” he told the outlet.
“It’s been a real whirlwind. It’s a real pleasure using that experience.”
Adams, upon arriving in Los Angeles, also quipped that Denzel Washington should play him in a movie.
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