Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that New Yorkers refer to the Big Apple as “America’s Port-au-Prince,” a dubious claim that was later reported to X as false.
In the post, the mayor said he was responding to a political crisis in Haiti, where the Caribbean country faces growing turmoil and is overrun by violent gangs. He expressed his support for Haitians living abroad and in the Big Apple.
“We call New York City the Port-au-Prince of America,” Adams said. tweeted. “As the situation worsens, we feel the pain that our Haitian neighbors are feeling. To the people of Haiti, and to the Haitian community here in New York City, we stand by you today and always. Please know that.”
The mayor included a link for those seeking travel assistance for family members living in Haiti.
However, the post was later reported by Community Notes, the platform’s fact-checking service.
The user-generated response was to paste a blunt notice: “No one said this before Eric Adams.”
The note includes a link to Wikipedia’s “Nicknames for New York City” page, but you won’t find the name of Haiti’s capital there.
A link to a Google search for “Port-au-Prince of America” was then added to the community notes, but no results appeared until they added “Adams,” which refers to the mayor’s tweets.
New Yorkers and other social media users slammed the mayor over the cryptic comment.
Actor Clifton Duncan responded, “I have never heard anyone, anytime, anywhere, refer to New York as the Port-au-Prince of America.”
“Eric, can you give me an example of someone calling New York the “Port-au-Prince of America” in audio, video, or text? To this day,” one user said.
“Some people say Yonkers is the Ulaanbaatar of the New York metropolitan area,” someone joked, referring to Mongolia’s capital.
“Everyone knows New York City is the updog of the East Coast,” another joked.
Asked to comment on the mayor’s post, a City Hall spokesperson said, “The Post focused on the link to the Wikipedia page rather than Mayor Adams’ efforts to help people suffering in Haiti and New York.” It’s a shame that it’s happening,” he said.
According to NYC PlanningMore than 82,000 New York City residents were born in Haiti.
Other major foreign-born populations in the city include 425,000 people born in the Dominican Republic. 171,000 from Jamaica; 150,000 people from Mexico. 141,000 from Guyana; 128,000 from Ecuador; and 99,000 from Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Marines sent anti-terrorism forces to protect the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, as street chaos closed schools and businesses and disrupted daily life across the country.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, 74, said on Tuesday that he plans to resign once an interim presidential council is set up, hours after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Jamaican leaders to discuss the situation. Announced.
However, the proposal to form a new government appeared to fall apart on Wednesday due to opposition from some political parties. rejected the plan It would establish a presidential council to manage the transition of power.
U.S. authorities are preparing for a potential influx of Haitian migrants fleeing violence.
