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Adams Berates Reporter Over Memoir Coverage After Praising Ex-Aide’s Book

The outburst follows his public praise for ex-aide Jasmine Ray’s memoir, intensifying scrutiny of her City Hall appointment.

Overview

  • At a Times Square safety briefing Friday, the mayor called Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt a "dark, sick person" and said the memoir does not describe a sexual act at Borough Hall.
  • City & State reported the book does not explicitly say sex occurred but uses language implying an intimate encounter at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
  • One day earlier, Adams — posting from a trip to Albania — wrote on X that he "enjoyed reading" Jasmine Ray’s self-published Political Humanity and urged others to read it.
  • Ray, the first director of the Mayor’s Office of Sports, Wellness and Recreation, resigned before publication after earning roughly $170,000 and receiving a waiver for outside consulting, and she writes there was no romance during her City Hall tenure.
  • The clash comes after Adams ended his 2025 reelection bid following a federal corruption indictment and low approval, keeping focus on ethical questions about Ray’s hiring.