A Democratic Party forum meant to showcase Lieutenant Governor candidate Adrienne Adams turned tense last Thursday when a woman in the crowd shouted that Jews are second-class citizens, prompting boos and her removal, while protesters outside the Brooklyn clubhouse chanted that Adams should go home.
The confrontation unfolded at the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club in Mill Basin, where roughly 50 people gathered to hear from Governor Kathy Hochul's running mate, according to the New York Post. Attendee Stephanie Benshimol interrupted the event to press Adams on antisemitism and Jewish safety in New York, shouting that Jews are second-class citizens before the crowd forced her out, with some in attendance declaring she was out of order. Outside the club, protesters shouted that Adams should go home and, separately, that she is an antisemite.
Brooklyn Democratic Party chair Frank Seddio, who hosted the forum, pushed back on the accusations, saying every elected official in the club had supported Israeli issues and that the club itself had been highly supportive of Israel. Seddio also offered kosher hot dogs to the protesters gathered outside, per the same report. Adams did not take questions from the Post following the event.
Backers Point to Adams' Record on Hate Crimes
Attorney General Letitia James, who introduced Adams at the forum and attended alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, said Adams can be a fighter and builder at the same time. Jeffries has also backed Adams' place on the ticket. Supporters of Adams point to her record as City Council Speaker, which the Post notes included cracking down on hate crimes, fighting antisemitism, holding ICE accountable, and investing in childcare and early education.
Not everyone in the room was convinced. Attendee Robert Pearl criticized Adams' handling of the neighborhood during the migrant crisis, according to the Post's account. Ryan Radulovacki, defending Adams' broader campaign push, said she is campaigning across New York. The Post also noted that Adams received just 6% of the first-round mayoral primary vote in the surrounding Assembly district during her unsuccessful 2025 bid.
A Clubhouse With Deep Brooklyn Roots
The Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club, founded in 1958 by former Brooklyn Democratic leader Meade Esposito and Shirley Weiner, relocated its headquarters to 5809 Avenue T in mid-2025, according to the Brooklyn Eagle. It remains one of the oldest active Democratic political organizations in the state and served as Esposito's primary power base. Before joining Hochul's ticket, Adams represented Queens' District 28 on the City Council starting in 2017 and became the first Black person to serve as Council Speaker, a post she held from January 2022 until reaching term limits in December 2025, per Wikipedia.
Adams was previously a Queens councilwoman, and her selection as a Queens-based pick for a statewide ticket rooted in New York City politics rankled some Brooklyn party leaders from the start. The Kings County Democratic Committee's executive committee voted in February to rescind its endorsement of Hochul, with Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn citing a lack of consultation and claiming Adams had been bad for Brooklyn during her speakership, according to City & State New York. Party leadership later moved toward reconciling, and Hoodline previously reported on Mamdani's Hochul endorsement amid that same friction.
Ticket Faces Tighter Race Against Blakeman
Hochul is running for a second full four-year term in November, with Adams as her running mate under a New York election law that lets gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates run as a joint ticket in the primary. If elected, Hochul and Adams would form the first all-female major-party gubernatorial ticket in New York state history and only the second such ticket elected nationally, after Massachusetts in 2022, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.
The race has tightened in recent weeks. A Siena College poll of 811 likely voters released on August 12 showed Hochul leading Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman 49% to 39% statewide, but trailing him 49% to 41% in downstate suburban counties and holding just a 5-point edge among independents, according to the Finger Lakes Daily News. Blakeman publicly rejected that 10-point deficit, claiming his internal surveys showed a tied race and touting more than 66,000 petition signatures gathered for an independent Vote Affordable ballot line, as Hoodline has previously reported on Blakeman's ballot push.
The Post's report characterizes the Blakeman ticket as pursuing what it calls a 100% MAGA agenda, with the campaign accused of planning to let Donald Trump raise New Yorkers' costs and threaten public safety. Adams recently rallied with Hochul in Westchester County as the campaign works to shore up suburban support heading into the fall. Former Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado's primary challenge against Hochul dissolved in February after he suspended his campaign, clearing the Democratic primary path for the Hochul-Adams ticket, according to City & State New York.
