This partnership between the mayor and speaker that he’s called “Adams and Adams Corporation” is being put to the test.

Adams and Adams is increasingly becoming Adams versus Adams as they clash key issues like the closure of Rikers Island by 2027.

“This is the only plan that serves our city and the only one that this council will be pursuing!” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said Thursday, leading a rally slamming Mayor Eric Adams for being inconsistent in his messaging on meeting the deadline for closing the dysfunctional correctional facility.


What You Need To Know

  • The city's top leaders have trying to stay diplomatic this budget season, but relations are increasingly tense

  • The speaker and mayor also have locked horns over aspects of the city's handling of the migrant crisis

  • Mayor Eric Adams and Speaker Adrienne Adams will need to come together to pass the city budget in late June

There was diplomacy of a tense sort.

“So let’s work together to deliver the health and safety that all New Yorkers deserve,” the speaker said. “I say it again: Let’s work together, administration, advocates, City Council.”

The mayor’s response similarly served as both a call and a challenge.

His spokesman Fabien Levy said late Thursday, “We believe that instead of talking about what happened before the mayor and speaker were elected, the more constructive approach would be to join forces and urge the state to provide mental health funding to keep more New Yorkers from ever going to Rikers.”

The mayor and speaker are dug in as they prepare for battle over the city budget due in late June.

Mayor Adams prefers an austere approach and Speaker Adams seeks more funding for programs, including early education and libraries.

Like the closing of Rikers, the handling of asylum seekers is another issue with implications on city finances and another issue where they lock horns.

Earlier this month, the mayor said, “We were happy to see that the City Council heard our call of taking some of the discretionary dollars. They gave us a million out of a $4.2 billion potential call. I think they got to dig a little deeper.”

In February, the speaker said, “Rather than utilizing law enforcement to target asylum seekers who may have been uncertain and fearful, I would have preferred to see the administration engage in credible voices outside of their own officials to play a constructive role.”

The mayor attended the speaker’s “State of the City” speech earlier this month, just as she was in the audience for him in January.

Both were at Friday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, but did not appear to cross paths.

He marched with the city’s Fire Department and union leaders while she marched with her members and the Queens borough president.