New York City Mayor Eric Adams publicly responded to the controversy of his campaign team’s Chinese advisor, Winnie Greco, giving red envelopes to media reporters during a roundtable meeting with ethnic minority media on the 30th. Adams emphasized that this behavior was highly inappropriate, stating that even if he were to win re-election, Greco would not be included in the city government team.
Adams pointed out during the roundtable meeting that Greco was not an official member of the city government or the campaign team but was one of around 800 volunteers. He stressed that following the exposure of the incident, Greco had withdrawn from the campaign activities and would not be hired by the city government in the future.
According to news website “THE CITY,” Greco was reported to have handed a bag of potato chips containing red envelope cash to THE CITY reporter Katie Honan after a campaign event in Harlem. When the reporter discovered the red envelopes inside the bag, they immediately handed the items over to the media editor, who then turned it over to the Department of Investigation (DOI). The Brooklyn Federal Prosecutor’s Office has also launched an investigation.
Despite Greco’s withdrawal, Adams emphasized that there are still several Chinese community liaisons within the city government responsible for communicating with Asian residents, including senior advisor Gus Yeung from the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs.
Adams’ political future is currently facing serious challenges. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office recently indicted seven close associates, including Adams’ former chief advisor and long-time friend, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, on charges of bribery and corruption. Coupled with the red envelope incident involving Greco, Adams’ camp has once again been caught in a storm of public opinion.
Multiple polls have shown that Adams’ approval rating continues to decline, with only about 5% of support. He currently ranks fourth among the five candidates, trailing behind Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, independent candidate Andrew Cuomo (running as non-affiliated), and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa.