A little more to the left, a liiiitle more. Aright. That’s it. You’re good. Stay.
So, what do we have here? We have one mayor of a major city accused of accepting bribes to turn a blind eye to a project’s misconduct for another country’s benefit.
Surprisingly, despite the intro screaming, “Greece 2.0,” we have nothing to do with it.
However, our beloved neighbors, with whom we’ve harmoniously coexisted for 400 years and thus share similar levels of expertise in this array of matters, are involved.
But let’s take a moment to clear things up and set the record straight.
Since 2012, the Turks have wanted to renovate a building left to them by their late grandmother and turn it into a New York skyscraper that would perhaps serve as a tribute to the aforementioned beloved grandmother they so deeply cherished.
The project was almost completed in 2018 when a rat known as the fire department meddled and refused to issue a building installation and operation permit.
As our worthy neighbors (as the saying goes, “Show me thy neighbor, and I’ll tell you who you are”), they tried to bribe the fire department directly to speed things up. However, as it turns out, the things that fly in little Turkish towns don’t quite fly the same way in New York.
So the years went by, and we got to 2021, when the Turks finally debuted the Turkish House, also known as Turkevi Center also known as an unfinished mess in a Manhattan neighborhood that now houses various state services, including the Consulate General and Turkey’s Permanent Mission to the UN, among others.
And the years keep passing until it’s 2024, and anyone walking past might wonder aloud, “Errr, guys? This Turkish House malarkey, what permit is it operating under?”
“Hmm..” someone might have responded, “give us a minute to check.” So they did, and what did they find? New York Mayor Eric Adams had “applied some pressure” to finally get that pesky permit issued so that Erdogan could come visit in 2021 and cut the damn ribbon. After all those years of waiting, he certainly deserved it, did he not? Of course, he did.
But obviously, our buddy Adams (ex-pi… er.. policeman in Brooklyn) didn’t just do this out of the kindness of his soul.
Of course, he didn’t exactly slaughter them, either. Rumor has it that he received gifts worth $100,000, including luxury hotel stays, business-class flights, yacht excursions, and his very own car with a driver while in Turkey.
Oh, and a little campaign money to help him get elected mayor since his dealings with the Turks began years prior.
Klein Mein, as the Greeks would say to imply that one cares, especially considering that the project’s delays cost the Turkish government $5 million annually for every year construction stalled. In total, the project cost $300 million—roughly the combined budget of Panathinaikos, Olympiakos, and PAOK – to give you an idea of what the holy trinity of Ioannis, Evangelos, and Ivan are spending to make your eyes bleed.
Now, Adams is facing serious federal charges, including bribery, fraud, and accepting illegal foreign donations. He denies everything, but his associates are resigning one by one, which is never a good sign for his political future.
However, if he’s reading here right now, I’d like to tell him not to worry.
I’d like to wish him all the best and tell him that when he finally untangles himself from this little (miss)adventure – which could very well cost him his political career in the U.S.- he can always come to Greece, and we’ll resurrect it for him. This country has revived so many careers, after all. Name one municipality that wouldn’t beg to have Eric Adams at its helm!
It would truly be a waste to let such a political mastermind go to waste.
