By: Serach Nissim

The sunny tropical retreat at the Somos Puerto Rico conference was somewhat clouded by underlying tensions.

As reported by Crain’s NY, the annual Brooklyn and Bronx Democratic lawmaker conference held at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan, boasted a record 2,000-plus attendees.  The event, held from Wednesday to Friday, allowed a wide variety of New York’s political establishment to mingle– including politicians, lobbyists and labor leaders– all wearing their best smiles.

The mayor himself was conspicuously absent at the event, announcing last minute that he won’t make it, due to “fiscal prudence”. Still, he was well represented.  His top aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, was there, along with First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, and Schools Chancellor David Banks.   Attendees were buzzing about the Mayor, as news had recently uncovered that his electronic devices were searched by the FBI days earlier, in light of a federal probe of his 2021 campaign fundraising with possible ties to the Turkish government.  The investigation is ongoing, and Adams has said he is cooperating fully.  Adams has adamantly said that he and his campaign have not done anything wrong.  At this point, Adam’s has not even been accused of wrongdoing.

Notwithstanding, some attendees at the conference were all too eager to discuss options to replace Mayor Adams.  Crain’s reported that veteran LGBT advocate, Allen Roskoff, was even recruiting candidates to run against Adams next year.  “We want to have someone for mayor that doesn’t sit there insulting the progressives as though we’re ruining the city,” said Roskoff, who has been the outspoken leader in the LGBT and social justice movements for over five decades. “We make the city.”   State Senators Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, who both consider themselves contenders for the mayor in 2025, were also eager to chime in.  “It’s deeply concerning,” said Sen. Ramos. “More than ‘getting stuff done,’ he needs to start getting work done and addressing the real management crisis despite the investigation.”  “It’s obviously concerning,” said Sen. Myrie.

Per Crain’s, there was also, of course, some discord between the party members.  Justin Brannan, the Democratic Bay Ridge councilman was there, though he said he wouldn’t be there if Brooklyn Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn wasn’t ousted. Brannan recently won an easy victory against Ari Kagan, who ran as a Republican.  Brennan’s campaign had been inundated with criticism and allegations of discrimination against a former autistic former City Council staffer, which was resurfaced by Hermelyn.

By Friday night, attendees made their way to one of the conference’s final planned events, the Met Council on Jewish Poverty’s annual Shabbat dinner.  Here too tensions mounted, as several dozen pro-Palestinians were protesting outside, against what they call, ‘Israel’s war in Gaza’, Crain’s reported. “This is about what we share in the same colonial fight,” said Anthony Feliciano, who helped organize the protest, and who likened the Palestinian cause to Puerto Rico’s history of oppression by colonial powers.

Police officers stood guard outside the event, and at one point had to separate protesters from a man who went out to try to silence them.  David Greenfield, a former City Council member who now leads the Met Council, expressed dismay that the anti-poverty organization was being bombarded with Israel-hate.  “This is a Jewish event. What does it have to do with Israel? The answer is, clearly you have a problem with Jews,” he told the attendees.