NYC Mayor Eric Adams clarifies timeline on colonoscopy, anesthesia following criticism over City Charter rules

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams and his team late Wednesday walked back a statement he made earlier in the day that he had been under anesthesia last week, saying that the mayor in fact underwent a colonoscopy over a month ago that required him to be put under.

The news about the mayor’s colonoscopy follows a flurry of reports and rumors that began late on the night of Jan. 26, when his office announced he was canceling most of his public schedule for the coming week because he wasn’t feeling well.

Adams and his team declined to share details about his health issue until Wednesday, when the mayor told reporters he withdrew from the public spotlight last week to undergo a procedure because he was feeling “real pain in my side.”

“I reached out to the team and said … ‘listen, I’m going to go under for a couple of days, I’m still going to be in communication, but I’m gonna be on anesthesia,’ and so I wanted to make sure that the team knew that the team did what it was supposed to do,” he said during his weekly press conference at City Hall.

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“Thank God, as I stated yesterday, to some people’s dismay, I’m going to be around for a long time, you know, all the tests came up negative.”

After the press conference, Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said the procedure he underwent was a colonoscopy. However, Mamelak said Adams misspoke when he said the procedure took place last week. In fact, she said the procedure happened Jan. 3.

Mamelak said Adams scrapped most of his public events last week because he underwent follow up exams, including an MRI, a blood test and a screening for H. pylori, an infection that can cause stomach cancer.

Mamelak wouldn’t say if there were any particular ailments doctors were looking for during the tests, but told reporters all of Adams’ tests came back negative and that he’s feeling better now.

Under the City Charter, the public advocate becomes acting mayor whenever the mayor has a “temporary inability to discharge the powers” of his office “by reason of sickness or otherwise.”

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Before Mamelak cleared up the timeline of the events, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a Democrat who often criticizes Adams, accused the mayor of violating the Charter by not informing him of his anesthesia procedure.

“Given the new disclosure of the mayor’s time under anesthesia … and his office’s failure to inform the public advocate of that fact at the time, it seems clear that this was a violation of the charter,” Williams said in a statement.

In his press conference, Adams pointed to an executive order he signed Sept. 26 — the same day he was indicted on corruption charges — affirming First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer be allowed to take on most of his actual job duties should he be incapacitated.

“My executive order makes clear that if I can’t perform my duties, the first deputy will perform the duties and have the powers. That’s clear,” Adams said.

But Williams said simply designating certain duties to Torres-Springer “does not constitute the due diligence of a responsible leader, and it does not replace the charter’s language on the continuity of government.”

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“Failing to communicate in this case is irresponsible at best and deceptive at worst,” said Williams.

The city’s comptroller, who is next in the line of succession after the public advocate, was also not notified, said Chloe Chik, Comptroller Brad Lander’s spokeswoman.

Mamelak didn’t explain why Adams’ office didn’t inform the public advocate or the comptroller of his procedure. But she disputed Williams’ accusation about a legal violation.

“He did not violate the Charter,” Mamelak said.

Louis Cholden-Brown, an attorney and City Charter expert, said the Charter’s line of succession is there for good reason, noting it’s modeled on the U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment requiring the vice president to step in if the president is incapacitated.

Cholden-Brown expressed concern about the fact that Adams’ office didn’t inform Williams about his colonoscopy in real time.

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“They should have told Jumaane, because if something went wrong, like the mayor ending up in a coma, it would be bad if they just called Jumaane and informed him then,” he said.

The health screenings have played out at a time of flux for Adams, who’s under indictment on corruption charges that he has pleaded not guilty to and is expected to stand trial on in April. Amid Adams’ absence, Adams’ criminal lawyers were in talks last week with President Trump’s Justice Department about potentially dropping his indictment, as first reported by the New York Times.

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