Eric Adams' Problems Catch Up to Him

New York City Mayor Eric Adams' problems are catching up to him, a new poll shows.

A Marist poll released Tuesday showed that a majority of New York City residents, 52 percent, disapproved of Adams' job, including a third who said they "strongly" disapprove. Comparatively, 37 percent of residents approve of the mayor.

Compared to the same poll conducted in March 2022, the latest results were a 24-percentage point drop from Adams' early months in office, when 61 percent of residents approved of him.

Adams' approval rating have tanked amid the city's migrant crisis and the FBI's probe into allegations that foreign money was funneled into his mayoral campaign.

The disappointing figures could be explained by the wide-ranging federal investigation into Adam's 2021 campaign, which has been accused of conspiring with members of the Turkish government. This month, federal authorities raided the home of the mayor's chief fundraiser and seized Adams' cell phones and iPad in relation to the probe.

Newsweek has reached out to Adams via email for comment.

Adams, who has denied any wrongdoing, has set up a legal defense fund called The Eric Adams Legal Defense Trust amid the FBI probe. An affidavit signed by the mayor states that the fund is "intended to defray legal expenses in connection with the inquiries by the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York related to the operations of the Adams 2021 mayoral campaign committee."

City employees are allowed to set up legal defense funds to raise money for certain expenses connected with their employment and are allowed to accept donations outside the normal campaign cycle of up to $5,000.

Tuesday's poll found that more than seven in 10 New Yorkers think Adams' campaign did something wrong in its dealings with Turkey, including 33 percent who believe the mayor did something illegal and 39 percent who say he did something unethical but not illegal. Less than 20 percent of residents think Adams has done nothing wrong.

Adams' approval figures came as the city struggles to respond to the influx of more than 125,000 migrants who have arrived in New York City since last year.

Last week, the mayor announced the city was slashing $4 billion in public funding—including cuts to the New York Police Department's budget that would freeze hiring—as a result of the $1.45 billion that the city spent on the migrant crisis in the 2023 fiscal year that runs through June.

On Monday, Adams blamed the cuts on the federal government, telling a town hall, "D.C. has abandoned us, and they need to be paying their cost to this national problem."

"I tell people all the time when they stop me on the subway system, 'Don't yell at me, yell at D.C.,'" the Democratic mayor said. "We deserve better as a city."

His recent budget plan estimates that the city will spend $11 billion over 2023 and 2024.

The migrant crisis has taken a toll on the city. A Siena College poll from last month found that 58 percent of respondents said they agreed that the issue "will destroy" the city. Nearly 85 percent of respondents, including more than 80 percent of Democrats, called the influx of migrants a serious problem.

The Marist poll found that nearly six in 10 New York state residents think their quality of life has gotten worse during the past year, while almost three in 10 believe it has not changed. Only 11 percent think the quality of life has improved over the last year.