Eric Adams Booed While Lobbying for Data Center in Small Wisconsin Town

Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams faced vehement opposition when he travelled to a small Wisconsin town to try to convince residents to accept the construction of a data center on Saturday, new reporting reveals.

New York’s Hell Gate reported that Adams gave a talk in the town of Wisconsin Rapids, situated in the central part of the state, as part of his new job as a “pitchman” for real estate technology companies, as he recently told another New York outlet. In this role, he said, he’s traveling all over the world to consult for numerous firms; he recently went on a sales trip to Nigeria.

This role also seemingly involves helping New York-based industrial real estate firm, PNK Group, to assist with the building of a data center — at a time of growing grassroots opposition to data center construction. In Wisconsin in particular, democratic socialist gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong has been gaining popularity while running on a platform that highlights her opposition to data center construction.

The proposed site would sit on the banks of the Wisconsin River, in a spot that was formerly a paper mill. Local residents have been organizing to oppose the development under a group called South Wood County Neighbors for Responsible Development.

Indeed, the video of the talk that was posted online shows Adams facing passionate opposition from local residents. Adams opens his talk by touting his celebrity — and then tries to downplay it.

“One of my colleagues sent me a post that says, ‘A high profile person is coming to your town.’ And I said, ‘Who’s that?’ Let me tell you something: My name is Eric Adams,” he says. His introduction spurs loud boos and shouts of “go home!” from the crowd.

“I grew up in a small area in Queens. Young man, dyslexic. I’m not high-profile,” he goes on. “Twenty-two year police veteran. I wore a blue vest for 22 years protecting children and families.” To that, the crowd laughs and jeers.

After saying that he is there to listen to the residents’ concerns, he shares a story about a friend whose grandmother died from breast cancer. He says that that friend went to the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, for a screening, and that artificial intelligence helped with early identification of breast cancer. The crowd can be heard yelling “no.” One person says, “doctors do that.”

Adams then claims that AI helped him prevent some of the worst effects of diabetes due to “early diagnosis.” He begins a sentence by saying, “when we start talking about our hate of our technology,” but is drowned out as that spurs the loudest boos yet.

A minute later, he asserts, “data centers are going to be here,” which generates even more passionate yelling from the residents. One person is heard saying, “put it in your backyard! You live next door to it!” His talk ends as he hands the reins over to another man to conduct a presentation, and one person simply yells “shut up!”

Hell Gate reported that residents are incensed by Adams’s attempts to meddle in their town. South Wood County Neighbors for Responsible Development say that they have obtained evidence that city officials have been trying to push forth the project without a formal agreement, with Adams’s involvement.

“People were asking him, ‘What did you think, we were just a bunch of stupid hicks who would sit down and take it?’” one local resident said, according to the New York publication.

PNK told Hell Gate that they chose Adams to consult on the project because of his experience “having led one of the world’s most complex cities as Mayor of New York.”

Adams’s time in office was plagued with corruption scandals, including federal charges for conspiracy, wire fraud, bribery, and soliciting illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals. A federal judge ended up dropping the charges after the Trump administration lobbied on Adams’s behalf.