Mayor Eric Adams broke bread with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blackman — a powerful GOP leader and ally of President-elect Donald Trump — Tuesday night on Long Island.
The dinner at Cipollini's Italian restaurant in Manhasset raised eyebrows among political insiders who suggested the indicted Democratic mayor was shopping for a presidential pardon — but Adams' press secretary insisted they “didn't talk about Trump.”
The two discussed ways the city and Nassau County can work “more aggressively” together, particularly on the issue of violent gangs that have plagued the Long Island area, City Council Representative Kayla Mamilak said.
The politicians can be seen smiling as they sit at a white tablecloth table, in a shot posted by a Politico reporter on X. Howard Fensterman, the Long Island lawyer and businessman who organized the sit-in, joined them, sources said.
Fensterman is the law partner of Frank Carone, a longtime adviser to Adams who served as his first chief of staff.
The dinner — which Adams drove from Albany, where he attended Gov. Kathy Hochul's annual “State of the State” address earlier Tuesday — lasted about two hours and was planned for about a week, a source said.
A spokesman for Blakeman previously said he was unable to attend the governor's policymaking address due to “urgent business” in Nassau County.
Adams — a self-proclaimed vegetarian who occasionally eats fish — had a $45 branzino and salad, while Blackman kept it light with $29 chicken and salad, a source said.
The city's mayor, who is up for re-election this year, faces a landmark federal bribery and corruption indictment alleging he accepted illegal foreign donations for his 2021 mayoral campaign. He has pleaded not guilty.
Adams will face a crowded field of challengers in the Democratic mayoral primary in June.
Blakeman is also up for re-election this year and is favored to win a second term. He has also been mentioned as a potential Republican candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial race.
