Who is Jeanie Dubnau? NYC Mayor Eric Adams under fire after comparing 84-year-old to plantation owner 

On June 28, the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, was presiding over a community town hall at the Gregorio Luperon High School for Science and Mathematics in Washington Heights. An elderly woman named Jeanie Dubnau interrupted the mayor while he was delivering his speech and accused him of influencing the Rent Guidelines Board. Eric Adams was unhappy with the allegations and said he "does not control the [Rent] Guidelines Board."

However, the matter did not end there, as the two got involved in a prolonged, heated exchange where Eric Adams ended up comparing her to a "plantation owner." Unsurprisingly, the mayor faced severe backlash from her following this.

Jeanie Dubnau is an 84-year-old woman who has been a tenant’s advocate for decades. The New York City resident was a German native who fled from the Nazis with her parents and landed in the USA during the Second World War.

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Jeanie Dubnau has been living in New York City long before Eric Adams’ administration

A German by birth, 84-year-old Jeanie Dubnau was born in Belgium when her parents were staying there before the Second World War. However, they returned home when she was a toddler, only to find themselves amidst the Nazi terror regime.

As a result, they were forced to escape the country with their daughter, first to Belgium, then to France, and finally, when the War ended, to New York City’s Big Apple neighborhood, where she has been residing since she was eight. Currently, she resides in a co-op apartment in Upper Manhattan.

A Twitter user supporting Jeanie Dubnau. (Image via Twitter/Jenny)

An assistant professor in microbiology by profession based at Rutgers University, Jeanie Dubnau has been a tenant advocate volunteer since the 1960s. She is also the current chairwoman of Riverside Edgecombe Neighborhood Association, a tenant and housing rights advocacy organization in Upper Manhattan.

Previously, the Holocaust survivor had publicly challenged other mayors, including De Blasio, in 2015. It was regarding the affordable housing initiative that the mayor was in no way implementing.

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Eric Adams counter-accused Jeanie Dubnau of being disrespectful

During Eric Adam’s speech at the Gregorio Luperon High School for Science and Mathematics, Jeanie Dubnau interrupted the mayor and accused him of allowing landlords to increase the rent on otherwise rent-stabilized apartments across the city up to 6 percent. She also asked him to take accountability for controlling the Rent Guidelines Board.

Eric Adams responded instantly, saying that he "does not control the [Rent] Guidelines Board, and then asked Dubnau to stand up to hear her better. She obeyed him but continued yelling that Eric Adams had earlier talked in favor of rent increases and even pointed her fingers at him.

Adams was clearly surprised at her allegations and asked her to stop pointing at him and not be disrespectful.

“I’m the mayor of this city and treat me with the respect that I deserve to be treated. I’m speaking to you as an adult, he said.”

He added, "Don’t stand in front like you treated someone that’s on the plantation that you own." Moreover, he defended himself by saying that he owns a three-family home in Brooklyn but has never raised his tenants’ rent. He also clarified that he was in no way involved in the workings of the Rent Guidelines Board.

“I think it was a 3 percent recommendation and I don’t control the board. I make appointments. They make the decision.”

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Jeanie Dubnau held Eric Adams under fire

A day after the fiery exchange with the mayor, Jeanie Dubnau had an extensive conversation with The New York Post. She said that Eric Adams’ defensive response was a clear step "to avoid accountability for his policies." The 84-year-old also said that it was a mere deflection from the mayor, as he had no answers to the questions she was asking.

“He’s a landlord himself. He said, ‘Oh, I don’t raise the rent on my own tenants.’ Who cares about his own personal tenants? He’s raising the rents on thousands and thousands of people in New York City.”

She also called out Adams as "an enemy of all the rent-stabilized tenants in New York City" and claimed that the mayor earns millions of dollars from real estate. However, under no circumstances does she expect an apology from the mayor.

“Oh, he’s not going to apologize. I mean, you know the mayor. He thinks he’s the greatest and doesn’t want to be criticized,” Dubnau said.

She wrapped up by saying that the reason he attended Eric Adams’ meeting was that she thought she would get an opportunity to speak, which she didn’t as it was controlled by the mayor’s people. She told The New York Post:

“We have to get rid of him and the tenant movement has to be strong. I know the whole tenant movement is against him.”

After her interview went viral, Eric Adams’ spokesperson, Fabien Levy, defended him, saying:

“This administration has invested more money in housing than any in New York City history. The mayor’s comments are the mayor’s comments. We stand by the mayor’s comments.”

Sandy Nurse, a Democrat representing Brooklyn, told The New York Post that she supported Dubnau and said that Eric Adams’ comments were "disrespectful" and his reaction was "an overreaction" and "condescending."

“We all get hard questions thrown at us and there are times we feel flustered and frustrated because there’s opposition to our points of view, but that’s part of governing. There’s every justification for any New Yorker to enter a town hall and ask a question. Given her backstory and how much she’s been fighting for tenants and New Yorkers - it was just so disrespectful.”

She also stated that Adams’ reaction was in no way justified and that he should apologize to her.

Adams has been under constant fire in the past month. A week ago, during a press conference, he mentioned that there was a racially-influenced effort to keep him from winning re-election. Before that, he compared his media coverage to racial exploitation.