NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Mayor Adams Endorses Cuomo as Successor, and Sugar Warnings on Fast Food Menus

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

Mayor Eric Adams, who called Andrew Cuomo a quote "snake and a liar" last month, now says he'll campaign with Cuomo in his bid for mayor. And finally, new sugar warnings are popping up on menus at chain restaurants across the five boroughs.

From snake to successor, Mayor Adams endorses Cuomo, and sugar warnings are popping up on fast food menus across the city. From WMYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jene Pierre. Andrew Cuomo has a new ally in his push to become New York City's next mayor. It's current mayor, Eric Adams. Adams announced Thursday that he's endorsing the former governor's campaign. Cuomo is running as an independent and trailing Democratic nominees Aramam Dani in the the polls with just days to go before early voting. Adams and Cuomo were rivals just last month.

So how do we get here? WMYC's John Campbell is here to explain. Hey, Jeney. So John, did you watch the next season open or Wednesday night? Well, I was watching the debate. I got a job to do. Adams and Cuomo were there looking like pals, courtside, right after the debate. And that really grabbed my attention, but I did not think that it would lead to an endorsement the next day. Did we see this coming? Well, we certainly didn't see. Cuomo at the Knicks game come in because the debate ended at 830 and Cuomo, I mean, zoomed right over to MSG from. Yeah, he was in Long Island City. But that's not what we're here to talk about.

I mean, the short answer is, yes, there were certainly some signs that this was coming ever since the mayor dropped out of the race. I mean, Adams and Cuomo are both centrist Democrats and they're certainly more aligned than Adams and Mom Dani, who is a Democratic socialist. And during yesterday's debate, Cuomo was the only one of the three candidates to say, yeah, he would actually accept the mayor's endorsement. But now the question is, you know, is this going to help Cuomo or is it going to hurt him? I mean, remember, Jeney, the mayor dropped out of the race because there wasn't a path forward for him. I mean, his poll numbers were very poor. And now the hope for Cuomo is that Adams can help him reach some of the communities that helped propel Adams to office four years ago, particularly black and and brown communities in the outer boroughs.

Yeah, but these two aren't really friends, right? I mean, Adams had some choice words for the former governor during the campaign. I remember him calling him a snake. Yeah, I'd say there were some choice words. I mean, just listen to that clip of Mayor Adams talking about Andrew Cuomo just last month. Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar. I am in this race and I'm the only one that can beat Mindani. And then later in that same press conference, Adams would call

Cuomo and Mom Donnie, quote, spoiled brats. So now flash forward to today and Adams and Cuomo are all smiles. They appeared together at this public housing complex in East Harlem. I'm fighting for the family of New York. That's why I'm here today to endorse Andrew Cuomo to be part of this fight. So, yeah, that's a huge change in tone, obviously. And it happened over the course of just about a month and a half. But really, these two have had a pretty volatile relationship over the last four years.

They dined together a couple times when Adams first took office and Cuomo was still kind of considered politically toxic after he resigned from office. Then Cuomo runs against Adams and things took a turn for the worst and now they seem to be friendly again. Yeah, so what changed? Well, I mean, the big thing is Mayor Adams threw in the towel. Adams blamed Cuomo for trying to push him out of the race, which included some talks between the mayor's allies and President Trump's allies about a potential federal job. But then when Adams dropped his reelection bid, Cuomo started saying nice things about the mayor in hopes of kind of courting him to his side. And Adams made the calculation that he wants to try to stop Zoran Mamdani from winning. And his remarks with Andrew Cuomo today were very much more of the anti-Mamondani variety than they were pro.

Cuomo. And for Cuomo to really have any chance of winning in November, he needs to consolidate the anti-Mamomondani vote behind him, which is really no easy task. I mean, Cuomo and Adams have a very similar political base. They're both moderates, and they've both performed well in black and brown communities in the past. So in some ways, this is a marriage of political convenience, but again, the question comes back to whether an Adam's endorsement helps move the needle at all. I mean, he was polling in the single digits when he dropped out. Yeah. What are the other candidates in the race saying, Mamdani and Curtis Lewa?

Well, Zaraam Mamdani has responded. He basically has been making the case that Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams are two peas in a pod. And earlier today, he reiterated that in an unrelated press conference. Today will be an illustration for New Yorkers of the fact that Eric Adams' record is Andrew Cuomo's agenda. Now, remember, when Mom's... Domani first launched his campaign a year ago. He did so in the video that was highly critical of both Adams and Cuomo, so this isn't really anything new for him.

And as for Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, he's no fan of Eric Adams or Andrew Cuomo. He called Adams a crook during last night's debate. And Slewa, like Mondani, said he wouldn't accept Adams endorsement, not that Adams was offering up an endorsement. And earlier today, Slewa issued another scene. statement that said Cuomo and Adams are, quote, corruption past, corruption present, and corruption waiting to happen again. Wow.

That's WMYC's John Campbell. John, thanks a lot. My pleasure. Up next, new sugar warnings are popping up on menus at chain restaurants across the five boroughs. More on that after the break. New sugar warnings are popping up on menus at chain restaurants across the city. If you haven't seen them yet, the sugar warnings look like little.

black pyramids with white spoons suspended in the middle. Restaurants with at least 15 locations have to put the warnings next to menu items with more than 50 grams of added sugar. That's WNYC's health reporter Caroline Lewis. She says 50 grams of sugar is the daily recommended amount under federal dietary guidelines. New York is the first city in the country to require menus to have the special icons next to extra sweet foods and beverages. The city council passed the Sweet Truth Act two years ago. It's been billed by supporters as a way to empower consumers with more information and address health complications that come from eating too much sugar.

Caroline went to a couple fast food restaurants in Lower Manhattan this week. She says out of the six people she talked with, most of them didn't even notice the icon, like Abelie Reyes, who says she eats at McDonald's multiple times a week. What did you get today? So yeah, I had a big mac meal. So that's a large fry and soda. And what kind of soda? Black pepper.

And did you see any little, like, a black triangle with a white little spoon on it? I didn't realize it. Caroline also met Tanner Cruzen at a nearby Shake Shack. If there was a warning that was really got my attention, it might give me some pause. Because I do think that people might be surprised by the amount of sugar or salt or whatever. Caroline says health researchers she talked with actually echoed this idea. They said there's evidence suggesting that a warning label might be more effective. if it's a different color like red, a little bigger, and comes with text attached that says something like sugar warning so people know what it means.

But advocates who support the warning also say there's still plenty of opportunity to educate the public about these new symbols. Public health researchers say these types of nutrition labels can help change customer behavior if done correctly. Caroline says one study found a 6% reduction in the average amount of calories per purchase at Starbucks. after New York started putting labels up in 2008. Another study found that after New York City put sodium warnings in place a decade ago, people eating at full service sort of sit-down chain restaurants did consume less sodium per order, but there wasn't the same impact in fast food settings. In Philadelphia, a similar warning led restaurants to actually remove some of their saltiest menu items,

but that same effect, again, wasn't observed in New York. But we'll see what happens here. That's WMYC's Caroline Lewis. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. I'm Junae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.