Lee Zeldin vows to ‘save the city’ with Mayor Adams in final pitch to NYC voters

Lee Zeldin said he looks forward to working with Mayor Eric Adams to “save the city” if he unseats Kathy Hochul as governor of New York.

The comments came in an interview aired by Spectrum News-NY1 Monday after a Post article revealed that the Democratic Big Apple mayor privately sees more opportunities to advance his crime plan if the Republican wins.

“My first call Wednesday morning will be to Mayor Adams,” the Republican Long Island congressman told host Pat Kiernan in a taped sitdown.

“I look forward to writing the story in 2023 about how well a Gov. Zeldin is working with Mayor Adams to save the city.”

Multiple insiders have told The Post that the Mayor Adams, a Democrat, sees more opportunity to advance his initiatives on crime and public safety if the Republican wins.

Zeldin is making his final pitch to New York City voters in the final hours before Tuesday’s Election Day as he seeks to unseat Democrat Hochul, who became governor when disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped down amid multiple scandals in August 2021.

Zeldin, 42, would need to win at least 30% of the vote in overwhelmingly blue New York City, and recent polls show he is tracking along those lines.

The candidate told the local cable news outlet that voters in the boroughs are looking for a change in state leadership.

“They want safe streets and safe subways, they want life in New York to be more affordable, they want to bring down energy costs. Maybe they oppose congestion pricing. Whatever that issue is, that we’re able to work together to move the state forward, I believe that balance should be resorted up to Albany,” Zeldin said.

“This is a common-sense wave. It’s Republicans and Democrats and independents. There are a lot of Democrats in New York City who feel like the party has gone too far left.”

The Republican said New Yorkers are more passionate about his candidacy than Hochul’s, despite the incumbent’s star-studded rallies.

“When Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris were here doing their rally, we had 10 times as many people, at the same time, at our rally up in the Capital Region. There’s just a clear enthusiasm gap, excitement and momentum on our side,” Zeldin said.

“She has a huge problem. There are a lot of different minority groups that just didn’t show up to early voting. There are actually boroughs that didn’t show up for early voting. And meanwhile, you can look around the entire state, because it’s been a 62-county campaign, and we’re right where we need to be.”

Zeldin downplayed his support for abortion bans and former President Donald Trump, claiming he wouldn’t outlaw the practice in New York while explaining how the Republican helped his eastern Long Island district fight COVID-19 and gang violence.

“I want to give people their government back,” he explained.

“I want people to have a government they can be proud of so they can confidently say for a very long time to come, they live in the greatest state in the greatest country in the history of the world.”