Mayor Eric Adams downplayed a former close aide’s close ties to the Chinese Communist Party on Monday, telling The Post he respects “diversity.”
The swirl of suspicious foreign influences encircling Adams — who is under indictment for allegedly taking bribes from Turkish officials and nationals — grew this weekend as the New York Times reported that his longtime confidante Winnie Greco repeatedly collaborated with people and groups doing the bidding of China.
Adams, when asked about Greco’s pro-Beijing links at the Columbus Day Parade, brushed it off as part of New York City’s melting pot.
“To date, we have the largest Chinese population, and so we’re gonna have different beliefs, different understandings, and I respect them,” he told The Post.
He then reiterated his tolerance of China’s decidedly not diverse single-party rule, at least within the Big Apple.
“I don’t have to be part of their politics, but I respect the diversity in this city,” he said.
Greco resigned last week as the mayor’s Asian Affairs director ahead of a widely anticipated potential federal indictment against her.
Federal investigators with Eastern District of New York have been investigating Greco’s dealings with foreign countries while she served in city government, under Adams in Brooklyn Borough Hall and on his election campaigns, insiders have said.
The same office recently accused Linda Sun, a former aide to Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, of acting as a foreign agent for China.
Greco and Sun appeared at least 20 times together at events, the Times reported.
Like Sun allegedly did with her high-level bosses, Greco steered Adams away from public shows of support for Taiwan, which the communist People’s Republic of China considers part of its territory, according to the report.
Greco, along with Adams, appeared at a 2022 event in which a nonprofit leader with close ties to the CCP boasted of opening a secret police station in Lower Manhattan that federal prosecutors said Beijing used to crack down on dissidents in New York City, the Times report states.
The feds raided Greco’s Bronx home in February, but she has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Federal authorities recently demanded that City Hall cough up communications with five more foreign nations beyond Turkey, including China.
Greco’s attorney didn’t return a request for comment.
Sun has pleaded not guilty to charges she took millions of dollars in kickbacks and fancy perks from the Chinese government.
— Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy