As Mayor Eric Adams fights for his political life, some of his most ardent supporters preached their continued faith in him on Monday during a rally at an Ocean Hill church. 

Numerous community and clergy leaders came together on Feb. 17 at Rehoboth Cathedral to voice their unyielding support for the embattled mayor. Adams has faced a barrage of calls for his resignation or removal from office after the Trump Justice Department moved last week to dismiss the federal campaign fraud indictment against him.

The mayor himself showed up for his faithful flock on an afternoon in which his administration lost four deputy mayors who submitted their resignations over his cooperation with President Trump on immigration crackdowns and other policies as the criminal charges against him were dropped. 

The crowd chanted “Four more years!” for Adams, who took a shot at Public Advocate Jumaane Williams — a frequent critic of his who would become acting mayor if Adams resigned or were removed from office.

“What has he put out to show that he is fighting for the people? Do an analysis,” Adams charged.

Supporters of Adams, such as 94-year-old Reverend Herbert Daughtry Sr., touted Hizzoner’s leadership as instrumental in leading to reductions in crime and guns on the streets. He also pointed to a reported 20% decrease in Black and Latino unemployment.

For Rev. Bruce Brown, a member of Rehoboth’s clergy team, the rally was a “a platform for community voices to highlight the significant accomplishments of the mayor and his administration to counteract the misinformation that has been circulated regarding the recent federal charges that the US Department of Justice has dropped.”

Rev. Kenneth Seabrooks, pastor of Rehoboth Cathedral and a long-time Adams ally, reminded the crowd that he has known the mayor for “more than 27 years” and that he is not a conventional politician.

“There are many, many folks out there who are career politicians. Eric Adams is not one of them,” Seabrooks said of the mayor, who was previously Brooklyn borough president and a state senator. “Please know, Mr. Mayor, that against the backdrop of the insidious negative noise and pressure around this city is a steady stream of prayers being lifted on your behalf.” 

The faithful at Rehoboth, who prayed on and for the mayor, demonstrated that particular point. Seabrooks told him to “keep fighting because the bend in the road is not the end of the road.”

Adams, meanwhile, recalled the advice of his “spiritual father,” Bishop Johnny Seabrooks, whom he recalled telling him, “Once you walk, he said, God has an unusual way of taking the ditch that your enemies have dug for you, put in water and teach you how to swim.”

“You’ll take every lie told and transform it into the best PR you could ever get,” Adams added, insisting once more that he has no plans to step down as mayor. He also spoke of holding similar rallies in the coming days around the city. 

Adams repeatedly insisted that there was no “quid pro quo” in his criminal case and that he was not beholden to anyone but New York’s residents. Twice on Sunday, during appearances at Queens houses of worship, Adams rebuffed calls for his resignation, telling the congregants, “I am going nowhere.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul is under increasing pressure to exercise her City Charter authority and remove Adams from office—an unprecedented move in the city’s history. Amid the fallout from the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the Adams case, Hochul told MSNBC she was weighing her options regarding Adams’ future but did not dismiss the possibility of seeking the mayor’s removal.

This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site amNewYork. 

Being single in New York City isn’t just emotionally expensive—it’s financially draining too.

A new study has found that renters who live alone are paying a staggering $20,100 more per year than those who split a home with a partner or roommate, making the so-called “singles tax” in NYC nearly three times the national average.

The study by the real estate listing site StreetEasy and its parent company, Zillow, shows that the $40,200 annual rent for people living on their own in New York City is reflective of a 24% increase in rents across the city over the last five years. This includes a 22% jump in the median rent for one-bedroom units, from $2,746 a month ($32,952 a year) to $3,350 a month.

The $20,100 “singles tax,” the additional cost a person pays for their solo occupancy rather than cohabiting with another person, for New Yorkers is nearly three times more than the national average of $7,562.

All five boroughs had a singles tax higher than the national average. Manhattan led the way at $25,200 for an annual total rent of $50,400, followed by Brooklyn at $18,294 for an annual total of $36,588, then Queens at $15,900 for an annual total of $31,800, the Bronx at $15,594 for an annual total of $31,188 and Staten Island at $11,400 for an annual total of $22,800.

The singles taxes for each borough, other than Staten Island, is higher than any other metropolitan area in the United States included in the study. However, Staten Island still has a higher singles tax than several notable metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles ($10,470) and Long Beach ($10,228) in California and Denver ($9,676) in Colorado.

With Valentine’s Day having just passed, this data reflects that one big thing couples who live together in New York City can be happy about is how much they save on rent. As the cost of rent continues to go up in New York City with each passing year, it is much easier for people in one-bedroom units to share the spaces with a romantic partner, family member, friend or acquaintance.

“As anyone on the dating scene in NYC will tell you, it’s not easy to be single here, and the lack of affordable rentals just adds another layer to that struggle,” StreetEasy home trends expert Casey Roberts said in the report. “It’s no secret that New York is an expensive city, whether it’s food, entertainment or housing — and those costs have only gone up, making the dream of living alone even harder to achieve. Over the last five years, we’ve seen rents continue to set and break new records. So whether you’re living with a romantic partner, a friend, or even an acquaintance, it can make a lot of sense for New Yorkers to partner up to make living in the city work.”

COMPLAINTS OF blocked fire hydrants have more than doubled across the city since 2020 and have increased twelvefold in the last decade.

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Brooklynites showed their groovy kind of love for Phil Collins on Saturday by packing a Greenpoint bar to celebrate the annual tribute to the legendary British drummer and singer.

Screens at Berry Park displayed a compilation of Collins’ performances, appearances, and career highlights as a DJ spun vinyl records of his solo hits and classic Genesis tracks as fans danced with cutouts of the pint-sized crooner.

The tradition began in 2011 when local artist Heather Kramer organized a parade down Greenpoint’s Franklin Street as an alternative to Valentine’s Day celebrations on Feb. 15, with Collins’ melancholic music serving as the perfect antidote to the sentimental holiday’s excess mush.

The concept was later revived in 2020 by Phil Collins enthusiast Dave Landesberg and a group of friends.

“There used to be a guy who would drive around Greenpoint blasting ‘In the Air Tonight’ out the windows,” Landesberg recalled. “At a similar time in 2011, a local artist wanted to create an anti-Valentine’s Day event, and who better to represent that spirit of independence and heartbreak than Phil Collins? She and her friends created a parade.”

Landesberg, who describes the event as a day of youth and reverence, first connected with Saturday’s co-host, Megan Scanlon, in 2023. The pair now have three Phil Collins Day celebrations under their belt and thanks to their efforts, Feb. 15 has become “Another Day in Paradise” for fans in Brooklyn.

“For my 40th birthday, a friend of mine who’s here tonight told me there was such a thing as Phil Collins Day and I was like, what, so I was trying to track down the organizers to see if I could get involved and I finally got in touch with Dave,” Scanlon said, who loves that Collins’ music is “heavy but he is so funny and light as well.”

“When I saw him live for the first time in 2019 at Madison Square Garden, I wept but also danced like I was at a rave,” she added. “I realized I’d listened to Phil Collins after every breakup. I grew up with him; his music connected me to my older sisters and my family.”

This year, the event featured “Phillustrations,” a collection of art created by volunteers, adorning the venue’s walls. Proceeds from a raffle also benefited the Brooklyn Music School, with students performing on drums in honor of Collins’ legacy.

“All of our ideas come from the two of us and we’re really interested in broadening our volunteers and participation,” said Landesburg. “People are inspired by Phil Collins, they really are and the fanship is real. This year we had people reaching out to us being like, ‘Can we be involved?’”

Among the fandom in attendance on Saturday night were Bushwick couple Jonathan Bardo and Yauny Wheaton, who named their dog after the singer and had Collins’ “Take Me Home” play as the last dance at their wedding. 

“My first concert ever was 1986 at MSG, or ’88, Genesis Invisible Touch tour, and I was 8 years old,” Bardo said. “We were coming up with names for our dog even before we had her and we were like, ‘We should give her a tough rock and roll name like Stevie Nicks or Jimi Hendrix,’ and we were like, ‘What about Phil Collins?’”

For others, the celebration was a happy accident. Sue Ritzman, visiting from Dallas, Texas, said she and her husband stumbled upon the event.

“We didn’t even know about it. We just came to the bar and were like, ‘Oh my god, Phil Collins!’ We love him. It was a pleasant surprise,” Ritzman said. “We should be doing this in Dallas.”

As the night wrapped up, Bardo summed up the sentiment of many attendees: “Put Phil in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year.”