Mayor Eric Adams gave a fiery speech during a Sunday morning stop at Emmanuel Presbyterian Reformed Church in the Bronx.
Two days after the first-term mayor pleaded not guilty in federal court on corruption and bribery charges, Adams kept his message consistent: he's innocent and ready to keep serving New Yorkers.
"This is a great moment to step up and show all New Yorkers, who are going through complexities in their lives, how you remained focused on your agenda and that's what I'm going to do," Adams said outside of the church.
The mayor, speaking from the pulpit, said he has no intention of resigning in the wake of the federal indictment, despite a growing chorus of political voices urging him to do just that.
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"I'm going to step up. I'm not going to resign, I'm going to reign," he said.
Back outside of the Bronx church, the mayor was asked about the person who could force him out of office, Gov. Kathy Hochul. She has called the charges a "very serious matter" but has not indicated whether or not she will remove the mayor.
"We have a great chief executive in this state and I'm going to continue to dialogue with her throughout this entire weekend and going into next week," he said.
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Adams pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing him of taking bribes and illegal campaign donations from Turkish nationals. The mayor's personal attorney has said his client is innocent.
"We'll be filing a motion to dismiss. We expect these charges to be dismissed. This isn't even a real case," Alex Spiro said Friday. "This is the airline upgrade corruption case."
Adams is due back in court this Wednesday to meet with the judge presiding over his case.
