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The burgeoning beef between New York and Florida’s political leaders continues to sizzle.
Gov. Ron DeSantis ripped Mayor Eric Adams’ billboard campaign to coax Floridians to pack up for Gotham this week — leading Hizzoner’s press secretary to return fire on Twitter Wednesday.
Casting New York City as a free-speech haven, Adams took aim at a Florida law that bans instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity for kids in kindergarten through third grade.
Critics charge that the legislation is rooted in anti-LGBTQ sentiment — and dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
DeSantis and his staffers have rejected that claim, arguing that the law shields students from age-inappropriate material.
“We are going to loudly show our support, to say to those who are living in Florida, ‘Listen, we want you here in New York. Want you right here in New York City,’ ” Adams said Monday at City Hall in unveiling the billboards that tout LGBTQ support.
Basking in New York’s recent population dive and Florida’s boom, DeSantis has reveled in bashing the Empire State’s political stewards.
The pugnacious governor again took on Adams Tuesday — and questioned New York’s free speech follow through.
DeSantis noted that a city lawyer and public school parent was fired this week after confronting Adams about ongoing toddler masking requirements at a press conference Monday.
“They’re saying you can say whatever you want,” DeSantis said in reference to the billboard offensive. “They just fired somebody who was critical of the mayor for masking these toddlers. They still make toddlers wear masks in New York… If you speak up for the kids then they fire you from your job. It’s no wonder why they’re having so much problems.”
That language prompted a Twitter rebuke from a City Hall spokesperson Wednesday.
“So many inaccuracies,” said Fabien Levy. “But, sadly, what we have all come to expect from a Florida man.”
Levy leveraged the meme — which references stereotypically outlandish behavior on the part of Sunshine Staters — in dismissing DeSantis.
DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw countered on Twitter that Levy’s tactic belied City Hall’s inclusivity claims.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine also entered the fray after DeSantis backers ripped the metropolis as a “crime-ridden socialist utopia.”
Levine posted statistics showing that Florida had more murders than New York statewide.
Adams has previously addressed New Yorkers leaving for Florida — and predicted their eventual return if New York steadied after the pandemic.
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