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Mayor Eric Adams hosted an undisclosed dinner on Saturday at Gracie Mansion with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive with a national platform who has openly criticized the mayor in the past, along with other Democratic lawmakers, according to a city councilmember who accompanied her.
The dinner may be a sign that Adams — who spent the early part of his tenure criticizing left-leaning members of his party — is trying a more conciliatory approach to fellow Democrats.
It follows a report by Gothamist last week that there have been signs of a thaw in the cold war between Adams and Ocasio-Cortez — two high-profile and ideologically opposed Democrats who have traded attacks, but now appear to be looking for ways to collaborate. In an interview, Ocasio-Cortez said that their relationship was “getting to a place of workability.”
Councilmember Tiffany Cabán of Queens was among those who attended the event. Jesse Myerson, her director of communications, told Gothamist that the councilmember had been invited as a guest of Ocasio-Cortez.
A host of policy issues, including “immigration, NYCHA, public safety, storm resilience and sanitation” were discussed, according to Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, who was also present at the event.
Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor the mayor’s office would confirm the meeting.
“The mayor meets with elected officials from across the city every single day to help benefit the lives of New Yorkers,” said Fabien Levy, the mayor’s press secretary. “We don’t talk about private conversations.”
The event comes as Adams confronts low approval ratings and a contentious budget battle with the City Council.
For some, the gathering of strange political bedfellows signals a shift in the mayor’s strategy.
“He’s being criticized from the right and the left,” said Susan Kang, a political scientist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “Perhaps swagger is out and building bridges is in.”
In Albany, the mayor has adopted a more diplomatic approach than during his first year in office. He has gone out of his way to meet with Democratic leaders of the state Legislature — Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie — who have disagreed with him on bail reform. He has also changed his rhetoric around criminal justice, emphasizing the need to address repeat offenders as well as provide greater funding for district attorneys and public defenders.
On Wednesday, when asked by a reporter whether Heastie’s opposition to expanding charter schools was in the best interest of his constituents, Adams, a charter school supporter, came to the speaker’s defense.
“I find the speaker to be extremely conscientious,” he said. “I think he has served his constituents well.”
“And I think he’s a great lawmaker,” he added.
He has taken a harsh tone with progressives. Both Ocasio-Cortez and Cabán have called for shrinking the NYPD budget to fund investments in low-income communities that they argue would address the root causes of crime.
Last month, he called out “woke” progressives for seeking to “defund the police.” When he campaigned for mayor during the general election, he railed against the Democratic Socialists of America, accusing them of “mobilizing” against him.
Although the mayor did not mention them by name, both Ocasio-Cortez and Cabán describe themselves as democratic socialists. Shortly after his remarks, Rep. Nydia Velázquez called out the mayor for not being respectful to members of the congressional delegation.
Some political observers say it’s customary for mayors to seek meetings with those outside their political base.
“He’s presumably organizing and building relationships for his near-term and longer-term goals,” said Neal Kwatra, a Democratic political consultant.
He added that Ocasio-Cortez and Adams “can do big things if there is an open line of communication and they are aligned.”
George Arzt, a longtime Democratic consultant who served as press secretary for Mayor Ed Koch, said his former boss was known for convening meetings with an array of interests at Gracie Mansion.
“We always had people at Gracie Mansion, some friendly, some not so friendly,” he said.
“Koch used to say, ‘I will sit down with anyone,” Arzt added.
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