{"id":286075,"date":"2025-10-08T08:37:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/286075\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T08:37:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:37:49","slug":"mayor-adams-missing-fdny-memorial-ceremony-for-first-time-due-to-albania-trip-sparking-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/286075\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Adams missing FDNY memorial ceremony for first time due to Albania trip, sparking criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the midst of an overseas trip to Albania<\/a>, Mayor Adams is skipping this year\u2019s FDNY memorial day ceremony honoring fallen members of the department \u2014 marking the first time he has missed the solemn event since he took over the reins at City Hall in 2022.<\/p>\n

Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York President Andrew Ansbro, whose union represents some 9,000 active FDNY members, told the Daily News that Adams\u2019 decision to not attend Wednesday\u2019s ceremony is \u201cextremely disappointing\u201d and \u201cthe first time in memory that a sitting mayor<\/a> has missed this solemn event.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur members risk their lives every day to protect this city. To see the mayor overseas while the FDNY gathers to remember our fallen is deeply hurtful,\u201d Ansbro said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect our city\u2019s leadership to stand beside us \u2014 not just when it\u2019s convenient, but when it truly matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York City Mayor Eric Adams is pictured at the FDNY’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony to honor FDNY members who have died in the previous year at the Riverside Park Firemen\u2019s Monument on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Michael Appleton \/ Mayoral Photography Office)<\/p>\n

Wednesday morning\u2019s ceremony at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights will honor eight firefighters and EMS workers who died in the past year, including FDNY Captain Thomas LaBarbiera<\/a>, who passed away at 51 from 9\/11-related cancer last September.<\/p>\n

Adams, who abandoned his bid for reelection last week, had been expected to attend. The FDNY this past Thurdsday disseminated a bulletin to employees, a copy of which was obtained by The News, saying Adams was scheduled to lay a wreath at Wednesday\u2019s event and deliver the keynote remarks.<\/p>\n

But Adams spokesman Zachary Nosanchuk confirmed Tuesday the mayor will not be attending as he is in Albania<\/a> through Thursday meeting with that country\u2019s prime minister and other local leaders.<\/p>\n

Nosanchuk said Kaz Daughtry, Adams\u2019 deputy mayor for public safety, will attend Wednesday\u2019s ceremony in his stead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a more than two-decade career in law enforcement himself, Mayor Adams deeply values the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to keep New York safe,\u201d Nosanchuk said, noting that the Adams administration recently spent $91 million on replacing FDNY ambulances.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York City Mayor Eric Adams is pictured at the FDNY’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony to honor FDNY members who have died in the previous year at the Riverside Park Firemen’s Monument on Oct. 12, 2022. (Michael Appleton \/ Mayoral Photography Office)<\/p>\n

Kayla Mamelak, Adams\u2019 press secretary, disputed the notion that it is uncommon for New York City mayors to miss the annual FDNY ceremony. She did not specify which mayor had missed the event.<\/p>\n

Adams attended and spoke at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 FDNY memorial ceremonies. At the FDNY\u2019s memorial day service in October 2023<\/a>, Adams, a retired NYPD captain, spoke about how the annual event is especially important for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come to an acknowledgment to reflect on the year, to be here with the men and women who are your colleagues, and stating that \u2018never forget\u2019 is more than a bumper sticker or a slogan, it\u2019s an actual presentation as you honor those that we have lost,\u201d he said at that year\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n

\"MayorMayor Eric Adams is pictured at the FDNY’s Annual Memorial Day Ceremony at the Firemen\u2019s Memorial in Manhattan on Wednesday, October 12, 2022. (Michael Appleton\/Mayoral Photography Office)<\/p>\n

For the mayor\u2019s Albania trip, the city\u2019s covering the cost of his flights and some related expenses, while the Albanian government is paying for his lodging and ground transportation to the tune of about $290 per day, Mamelak said. That payment structure has raised some eyebrows<\/a>, given that Adams\u2019 now-dismissed federal corruption indictment alleged he took bribes from Turkish government operatives.<\/p>\n

Adams departed for Albania early Monday, a week after he dropped his bid for reelection amid low polling numbers in the wake of the Trump administration\u2019s controversial dismissal of his indictment.<\/p>\n

With Thomas Tracy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 7, 2025 at 12:46 PM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the midst of an overseas trip to Albania, Mayor Adams is skipping this year\u2019s FDNY memorial day…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":286076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[61150,5229,13239,5289,6525,45994,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-286075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-albania","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-city-hall","11":"tag-eric-adams","12":"tag-fdny","13":"tag-memorial-day","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkcity","18":"tag-ny","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115337645887333300","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}