It’s Adams versus Adams yet again.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams told councilmembers and their staff to ignore a new communication directive instituted by Mayor Eric Adams Wednesday. The mayor wants all elected officials to fill out a seven-page questionnaire to “engage with an agency commissioner.”

The mayor says his policy — which was first reported by Politico — will get rid of duplicative requests and streamline agency responses.

What You Need To Know

  • The Adams administration instituted a new communications directive between local officials and agencies Tuesday

  • The mayor wants all elected officials to fill out a seven-page questionnaire to “engage with an agency commissioner”

  • City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams in a memo to councilmembers and staff told them to ignore the new directive and continue with business as usual

  • Its unclear if commissioners or elected officials will face consequences if they don't follow the new procedure

“I would get a [City] Council person, or like an assembly person or senator, not just councilmembers, all electeds. I will give one [to] who are troubled,” he said at an unrelated event on Wednesday. “We were doing these individual meetings, and we said, listen, we need to coordinate our manpower. My commissioners are being inundated.”  

The mayor went on to say that the questionnaire system is similar to one he used when he was Brooklyn borough president and one he uses now.

”This is not new. For 10 years, I had the same system. Someone stops me on the street, they say 'mayor, I would like to meet with you.' I give them a link. They fill out that link. I look over in the morning and determine who is going to solve that problem,” the mayor said.

“I don’t want disorder. I want us to orderly make sure that we listen to requests, process them and follow up,” he added.

Councilmembers told NY1 they think the new policy will fail. Another compared it to a constituent being told to call 3-1-1 versus visiting a district office for help.

The council speaker is pushing back, telling councilmembers in an email on Wednesday to ignore the directive.

“I encourage your offices to go about your business on behalf of your constituents and New Yorkers, as usual. If you or your staff have issues getting responses from agency staff, I recommend that you call the commissioner and/or any other executive staff to address these issues,” read the internal memo obtained by NY1.

At least one commissioner thinks the policy won’t change how the city operates.

“Procedure is procedure, but for me, this procedure will not have any negative impact. We will continue having a good conversation, good relationship with elected officials,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said. “We have a great intergovernmental relations office, department at City Hall, and I am sure they will coordinate those meetings following the new procedure.”

It’s unclear if there are any consequences for not following the new communications policy.

NY1 has reached out to the mayor’s office about the council speaker's internal memo about ignoring the new policy but has not heard back.