Mayor Eric Adams broke bread with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — a powerful GOP leader and ally of President-elect Donald Trump — Tuesday night on Long Island.
The dinner at Italian restaurant Cipollini in Manhasset raised eyebrows among political insiders who suggested the Democratic indicted mayor was shopping for a presidential pardon — but Adams’ press secretary insisted that “They did not talk about Trump.”
The two discussed ways the city and Nassau County can work “tougher” together, particularly on the issue of violent gangs plaguing the swath of Long Island, said City Hall rep Kayla Mamelak.
The pols could be seen smiling while seated at a table in the white tablecloth joint, in a snap posted on X by a Politico reporter. They were joined by Howard Fensterman, a Long Island lawyer and businessman who organized the sitdown, sources said.
Fensterman is the law partner of Frank Carone, a longtime consiglieri to Adams who served as his first mayoral chief of staff.
The dinner — which Adams drove to from Albany, where he attended Gov. Kathy Hochul’s annual “State of the State” address earlier Tuesday — lasted about two hours and had been planned for approximately a week, a source said.
A spokesperson for Blakeman earlier said he was unable to attend the governor’s policy-setting speech because of “pressing business” in Nassau County.
Adams — a self-proclaimed vegan who sometimes eats fish — had the $45 branzino and a salad, while Blakeman also kept it light with a $29 chicken paillard and a salad, a source said.
The mayor, who is up for re-election this year, faces a historic federal bribery and corruption indictment alleging he accepted illegal foreign donations to his 2021 mayoral campaign. He has pleaded not guilty.
Adams will face off against a crowded field of challengers in the June Democratic mayoral primary.
Blakeman is also up for re-election this year and favored to win a second term. He has also been mentioned as a potential Republican candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial race.
