Mayor Eric Adams claimed Wednesday that the firing of a New York City mom who protested the city’s ongoing toddler mask mandate at his recent press conference was due to her history of “inappropriate” comments rather than her confrontation with him.
Adams clarified at a briefing that he “did not make the call to fire her” from her city government job as assistant corporation counsel. “When she tweeted,” he said, “it was inappropriate, and the Law Department made the decision and notified me prior to that press conference of their actions. I had no interaction with that at all.”
A spokesperson for the Law Department said in a statement obtained by the New York Post that her employer was preparing to terminate Daniela Jampel before she challenged Adams during his address Monday, during which he announced an anti-Florida advertising campaign targeting the state’s Parental Rights in Education law.
“In public statements, Ms. Jampel has made troubling claims about her work for the city Law Department. Based on those statements, the decision had been made to terminate her prior to today,” the spokesperson said in a statement Monday. “Today’s events, however, which include her decision to lie to City Hall staff and state she was a journalist at a press conference, demonstrate a disturbing lack of judgment and integrity. As of today, she is no longer an employee of the Law Department,” the spokesperson said.
.@NYCMayor, on March 27 you bragged about ending the Toddler Mask Mandate. Today, five days later, you reimposed it.
What happened? pic.twitter.com/l1Xov5S4Ev
— Daniela Jampel (@daniela127) April 2, 2022
The problematic tweets that might have precipitated the firing decision included a criticism of Adams for maintaining the mask rule for children under five and the claim that her Law Department job involved defending “cops who lie in court, teachers who molest children, prison guards who beat inmates.”
On Monday, Jampel, who the Law Department alleges was inappropriately pretending to be a reporter, blasted Adams for backtracking on his pledge to drop the mask requirement for toddlers, the least at-risk demographic for developing severe disease from Covid-19.
“Three weeks ago, you told parents to trust you, that you would unmask our toddlers. Ten days ago, you stood right here and you said that the masks would come off April 4, that has not happened,” she said. “You reneged on your promise, and not only did you renege on your promise you had your lawyers race to court on Friday night to overturn…”
“My questions are, what is the irreparable harm to children age 2 to 4 taking off their masks, just as they do in Long Island, just as they do in Westchester? And when will you unmask our toddler?” she demanded.
Last week, Adams assured New Yorkers that the masks would finally come off for toddlers after he extended their mandate on March 18 while simultaneously dropping it for older grade levels, citing this age group’s vulnerability due to their ineligibility for the vaccine.
“I also stated if we see an uptick, we will come back and make the announcement of what we’re going to do. We’re going to pivot and shift as COVID is pivot and shifting,” he reminded Jampel on Monday. “There’s a new variant. The numbers are increasing. We are going to move at the right pace, and that’s the role I must do.”
Jampel has organized multiple demonstrations in the past against the K–12 mask mandate for NYC public schools including daycare. She was fired from her job directly after her outburst at Adams’s public presentation.