Mayor Eric Adams said his heart breaks for Jordan Neely, but couldn’t help but make the lightning-rod case about himself by mentioning his son — who has the same name — in the same breath.
“My heart breaks that we lost young Jordan,” Adams said Tuesday morning during the National Urban League ‘”Safe & Just Communities Summit” at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“Many people missed the fact that Jordan is my son’s name,” he added.
When mentioning Neely, the homeless man who was choked to death by former Marine Daniel Penny on the subway last week, Adams called for greater awareness of mental health issues among the city’s homeless population.
“I have been in the subway system talking to young black men, who are the majority of those who are homeless and dealing with severe mental illnesses,” Adams said.
“I have been in the subway system for almost two years now, talking to them, trying to get them the care they deserve,” he said. “I don’t want us to be energized when we have a death and not energized when there are conditions creating the deaths.”
Neely, a 30-year-old former street performer, was reportedly on a “Top 50” roster that details which homeless people in the city need the most help.
While Adams has insisted several times that he has tried to contact Neely’s family — the slain man’s family told The Post that no one has received a call.
When confronted by a reporter with The City Monday night at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach, Adams reiterated, “I have reached out to them several times to give them my condolences.”
“Many people missed in this whole thing — my son’s name is Jordan,” Adams said in the exchange, which was posted to Twitter.
“I haven’t had a call from Mayor Adams. My parents haven’t had a call from the mayor. Emphatically no, me and my parents haven’t heard from him,” said Christopher Neely, the brother of Jordan’s slain mother.
“We don’t have anything to say to Mayor Adams. I don’t know any mayor who parties and bulls–ts like Adams,” he added.
The family says they’ve heard the mayor hopes to attend Neely’s funeral — but that his presence is not wanted.
The slain man’s uncle also cast his doubts over whether Jordan was really on the city’s “Top 50” list. He also questioned the quality of care Jordan received while in the hospital.
“Do they not have proper room and board they need to assist those people who need help the most?” He asked, later adding: “I want to know how he was treated in the hospital and whether the treatment was good enough.”
Through their lawyers, Neely’s family on Monday begged Mayor Adams to “please give us a call.”
“The family wants you to know that Jordan matters,” they said in part of the statement addressing Adams. “You seem to think others are more important than him.”
Neely’s struggles with his mental health began to spiral after his stepfather murdered his mom in 2007, and according to his family, never received proper treatment.
He also had frequent run-ins with the cops and his outbursts of random violence led to at least one stay in jail.
Neely had over 40 arrests in total and about 43 calls for an “aided case,” which means someone is sick, injured or mentally ill.