Video shows Eric Adams YELLING at parents after being questioned about toddler mask rule
Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City, rebuked a father for confronting him about Covid mask requirements for those under 5 years of age.
Adams, 61, was filmed chastising the unidentified dad outside the Pig n' Whistle pub in Midtown Manhattan as he celebrated St Patrick's Day in New York. The Democrat's visit to the pub was marred by several parents who demanded to know when their children would be allowed to take off the face coverings they are still required to wear at school. At the time of publication, under 5s must continue to cover their faces because Covid vaccines haven't been approved for them, despite data showing youngsters to be at extremely low risk from serious infections.
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"Talk to me, don't yell. You send the wrong message to your daughter," Adams told the father, adding, "I got this. They'll be unmasked." The mayor did not reveal when that would happen, but the dad responded politely by thanking him for answering. The latter's alleged outburst that prompted the mayor's testy response wasn't caught on camera.
Mayor is met outside the bar by parents urging him to lift masks for those under 5. “Trust me,” Adams says before asking this dad not to yell at him. pic.twitter.com/xlkQHsOTLo
— Elizabeth Kim (@lizkimtweets) March 17, 2022
36-year-old Maria Kubak, a financial professional, accompanied another mom inside the Pig & Whistle bar where Adams reportedly enjoyed an early morning pint of Guinness before the St. Patrick's Day parade. When they confronted him about lifting the restriction for toddlers, Adams scolded them asking, "You want to be the mayor or you want me to be the mayor?" One responded, "I would love to hear from you," to which Adams said, "I'm a dad too."
Another parade, another question for @NYCMayor on unmasking kids under 5 in schools pic.twitter.com/p46llSOa9G
— katie honan (@katie_honan) March 17, 2022
Kubak has a daughter, 3, and a son, 4. She said she wanted to remind Adams that his 26-year-old son doesn't have to wear a mask. However, the mayor walked away before she had a chance. "I find that’s very condescending because, as a mother of toddlers, I'm asking a very valid question," she told the Daily Mail. The embattled mother, who reportedly moved from Brussels to New York, revealed that her son suffers from a language-related phobia called selective mutism, due to which he's unable to speak in certain social situations. Kubak noted that his native language is French and she feels the constant masking will permanently prevent him from learning English. She explained how masks muffle and cover the mouth, inhibiting his ability to hear and see words being pronounced. "I don’t know why he thinks he knows what parents of forced-masked children are going through. Not sleeping, worrying how much harm two-year masking will have on his kid's speech," she said.
Here’s the interaction that preceded this. pic.twitter.com/mrMMX2VGKm
— Elizabeth Kim (@lizkimtweets) March 17, 2022
According to scientific data, kids under five are at extremely low risk for developing severe symptoms if they contract Covid-19. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has recommended against using face coverings for children this young considering they rarely fit and they aren't worn properly. Despite the evidence, Mayor Adams decided to carry over the mask mandate from his predecessor Bill de Blasio's administration.
"He’s refusing to sit down with us and give us the reason [to keep the mandate]" Kubak told the Daily Mail of Adams. City Hall staff, however, did have time to have a closed-door meeting with the powerful Yankees General Manager Randy Levine so they could figure out how to get unvaccinated baseball players onto the playing field by opening day in April. "It’s completely outrageous, it shows that it’s not about safety, it’s completely about money," Kubak alleged, adding, "Sports are more important than children's needs."