Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams held an in-person fundraiser for his mayoral campaign at a club located inside a COVID “yellow zone” in Queens on Saturday.
It came a day after an in-person fundraiser he attended in Manhattan drew outrage online and as officials have urged New Yorkers to avoid gatherings during the holiday season.
“I thank you, brother Ross, for opening this amazing place, this beautiful place … allowing us to come in and to host this event,” he said inside Ross Code Lounge in the South Richmond Hill neighborhood.
“This is going to be my hangout, a safe, comfortable place where people can come and enjoy themselves,” he added.
The club’s 117-15 101st Ave. address is located inside one of the areas determined by the state to be a COVID “yellow zone,” according to an online map of the zones.
Restrictions in such zones include a 25-person limit on “mass gatherings.” Asked Sunday how many people attended the fundraiser, Adams’s campaign said there were eight people, adding that they were required to wear masks and practice social distancing.
Asked why Adams was holding in-person fundraisers during the pandemic, his campaign spokesman Evan Thies said in a phone call, “My question to you is, why not do that? … Who is saying that we should not be doing that besides you?
“It’s been a pandemic now for eight months and people have been doing in-person events all across the city every night,” he added.
In an email statement, Thies said, “Eric strongly agrees with New York State’s science-based approach to the coronavirus, and the campaign will continue to follow the law and best health and safety practices.
“As a former dishwasher, Eric knows how important it is to the families of working people to support our small businesses while the State still deems it safe to do so,” Thies added.
The event was billed online as a “meet & greet fundraiser” with a “maximum contribution” listed as $2,000.
Adams officially launched his mayoral campaign last week.
“We’ve out-raised the whole field,” he crowed. “Nobody has more money.”
On Friday night, he attended a fundraiser at an Upper West Side bar and restaurant where at least 18 supporters gathered indoors.
The event drew outrage online, with one commenter tweeting, “Anyone who is running for office and exposes their future constituents to this much danger should be disqualified.”
Earlier this month, Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Ingrid Lewis-Martin attended a packed birthday party where she was photographed not wearing a mask. She later apologized for doing so.
Adams issued a statement about Lewis-Martin saying in part: “I have since repeatedly reinforced with my entire staff the importance of modeling proper public health precautions in the midst of COVID-19.”
The weekend’s fundraising activity by Adams came after schools abruptly shut down last week and as officials warn of further restrictions to come as the coronavirus rages in New York City and beyond.
On Sunday, Gov. Cuomo said parts of the city are at risk of becoming “orange” or “red” zones with heavy restrictions on daily life, including further limits on indoor dining and gatherings.
