Proclamations have consequences, as Mayor Eric Adams is discovering. 

Adams, in a manner of speaking, runs a self-proclaimed “sanctuary city.”

That’s progressive-speak for a municipality dedicated to packing as many illegal border-crossers into its confines as will fit — and then protecting them from the immigration cops.

Back in the day, lefties used the term to troll people who respect the rule of law.

But no real harm was done then because, in relative terms, there weren’t all that many illegals around.

Now big cities across the country — especially New York — are up to their scuppers in them; social-services chaos reigns; there’s another budget-busting wave on the way, and the progressives are starting to sing a different song.

But rather than placing blame where it belongs — on the Biden administration’s immigration non-policy — the progs are searching for scapegoats.

Monday, Adams found Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

The mayor laced into Abbott, a white Republican, accusing him of busing illegals to big cities “with black mayors” — presumably in pursuit of one racist goal or another.

It was a disappointing outburst, if only because it recalls Adams’ early days in public life.

The former cop was a founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care — a platform custom built for career-enhancing race-baiting and which was used to that purpose without subtlety or shame.

Not a few people have been hoping Adams had moved beyond that sort of thing; it’s early yet, but apparently not.

In any event, why assign racist motives to Abbott when each of the five black-led cities the mayor identified — his own, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles and Denver — are, in fact, self-designated sanctuary cities?

Haven’t they been asking for it?

As a deflection, of course.

Adams, a Democrat, can’t speak the truth because the Democratic White House is the cause of his problem and the two most powerful Democrats in Congress — Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries — are both from Brooklyn and refuse to do anything about it.

So it’s much less dangerous for Adams to race-bait Abbott — again, a white Republican — than to call out his own party’s power players.

Meanwhile, there’s a larger issue at play, at least as far as Gotham is concerned.

It is becoming distressingly clear that Eric Adams talks far too much, even as he does way too little.

The Abbott slur, ugly as it was, is just a symptom.

New Yorkers who thought they were getting a new mayor 16 months ago seem to have ended up with a focus-group leader — if leader is the correct word.

Hizzoner underscored that Monday by announcing the second in a city-wide series of town-hall meetings.

The so-called “Talks With Eric” are meant to build on what City Hall termed last year’s “highly successful” community sit-downs addressing crime.

But “highly successful” in what respect?

Indeed, there is much irony in that claim.

It came after a weekend pockmarked by the usual shootings, stabbings and subway assaults.

Plus an NYPD patrol car was shot up in Brooklyn — while cops were sitting in it!

But the police report was highlighted by Saturday’s high-drama gunplay on Ninth Avenue, in which one man was wounded while post-matinee theater patrons, terrified tourists and ordinary passersby scattered in all directions.

That shooting was a spectacle, for sure, but it was distinct from violent crime all over the city only insofar as it was caught on video.

Thus it was far more likely to depress theater attendance and tourism than the routine bloodletting.

So as evidence of a “highly successful” community crime conversation, the Ninth Avenue violence falls short.

But it certainly succeeds as testimony to disappointments in Adams’ anti-crime efforts; the fact that it happened in front of one of the hundreds of illegal weed stores the city can’t seem to control simply amplifies that reality.

It never hurts to talk, up to a point anyway. And if Adams thinks another round of town-hall meetings will help, fine — he should go for it.

Yet talk is no substitute for focused strategy, coherent tactics and disciplined follow-through.

Clearly Adams is frustrated — New York’s mayoralty always turns out to be more challenging than expected — and a little lashing out can be excused.

But if the Abbott slur is a harbinger — if Adams intends to racialize his resentments — the city is in more trouble than anyone realizes.

So less talk, Mr. Mayor.

More action.

Email: bob@bobmcmanus.nyc