Gothamist77%
Council plans to override Mayor Adams, let sex abuse survivors sue the city0%
By Ryan Kost75%
12/26/2025, 6:35:17 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 14 faulty reasoning types, including Ad Hominem, Appeal to Emotion, and Red Herring, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 37.8% saturation with 230 hits. Analysis detected 893 faulty-reasoning hits from 609 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 0% and a BS Rank of 0% (0 of 20,181 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 100.00% of the article peer group.
The City Council has a parting gift for Mayor Eric Adams — a planned override of his veto of a bill that could revive hundreds of sex-abuse lawsuits and let new ones move forward.
The measure passed the Council unanimously last month, and would have opened a new 18-month “lookback” window for victims of sexual abuse to file claims, even if the statute of limitations has passed.
It would also provide an opening for plaintiffs to ask courts to revive hundreds of cases dismissed when a judge ruled the city’s previous iteration of its Gender-Motivated Violence Act did not allow victims to bring certain claims against institutions — including the city itself.
Supporters argue clarifications in the new bill are necessary to ensure survivors are not permanently shut out of court because of technicalities.
But in a Christmas Eve veto message, Adams argued the legislation could expose the city to massive financial liability and accused supporters of advancing it at the urging of a single law firm with a financial stake in the lawsuits.
The mayor said the bill could cost the city up to $1 billion and force cuts to essential services or tax increases, citing estimates from the city’s budget office.
“My administration attempted to work with the City Council to secure compensation for survivors in a fiscally responsible manner, but the City Council did not engage on any alternative proposals,” wrote Adams, who is leaving office in less than a week.
Incoming Council Speaker Julie Menin said the administration never raised these concerns during hearings or negotiations on the bill.
“The mayor’s veto message suddenly mentions a price tag to the city that was simply never raised in their testimony at the hearing,” Menin said in a statement.
“However, we clearly heard directly from survivors of sexual and gender-motivated violence, including horrific accounts from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.”
She said survivors’ testimony made clear that restoring the lawsuits was critical.
“We will vote to override the mayor’s veto,” she said.
The bill has overwhelming support from the Council — with 41 of its 51 members as sponsors.
The legislation was introduced after a Bronx judge, earlier this year, dismissed more than 450 lawsuits by people who said they had suffered sexual abuse while being held at the city’s juvenile detention centers.
As negotiations over the new bill stretched out over months, the city’s law department agreed to delay action on other cases seeking to hold the city liable for abuse.
The firm Levy Konigsberg LLP represents hundreds of plaintiffs suing the city for alleged abuse, and was singled out in Adams’ veto note.
The bill, Adams said, was “effectively a debit card for a single law firm to make a $300 million withdrawal.”
Jerome Block, a partner at Levy Konigsberg, released a statement rejecting that characterization.
“Mayor Adams is slandering lawyers in a transparent effort to deflect attention from his callous veto that is attempting to deprive survivors of their legal rights,” Block said in the statement.
Jordan Merson, attorney who represents survivors of sexual abuse, including people abused by Jeffrey Epstein, has also been supportive of the law.
He said the veto came as a shock.
“The mayor and his team had ample opportunity to voice any concerns,” Merson said.
At the end of the day, [this bil]l would have allowed sexual abuse victims of Jeffrey Epstein — including children — to come forward and get justice.”
The City Council can override a mayoral veto with a two-thirds vote — a threshold supporters say they easily meet given the bill’s unanimous passage.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
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