A dresser in the Merchant's House Museum, built in 1832, has been discovered as a secret link to the Underground Railroad — the first of its kind discovered in Manhattan in over 100 years.

NY1 received an exclusive first look at the concealed passage, which runs from the second floor down to a pantry hideaway in the basement. The passageway had been known for about four decades, but its purpose was unknown to historians.

"Spotlight On The Tonys: Jennifer Simard Talks Theater History and Jewel Choice for the Big Night"

Alex Samuels at Daily Kos:

In a series of interviews early Friday, Eric Adams, the ethically crippled mayor of New York City, left open the possibility of rejoining the Republican Party. Adams was a registered Republican from 1995 through 2002 before switching over to the Democratic Party. But when asked whether he’d consider switching his party affiliation (again) Adams chose to dance around the issue.  “The party that’s most important to me is the American Party. I’m a part of the American Party. I love this county,” the mayor said during an appearance on NY1. During a second interview with PIX11, he was similarly coy on a possible party shift. “No matter what party I’m on or vote on, I’m going to push for American values,” he said. 

Finally, when pressed again, Adams said that he does plan to run for reelection as a Democrat. “I’ve been a Democrat for many years. And I’m going to run for reelection as a Democrat,” he said. “But my focus is the American people and the people of New York City.” A switcheroo on Adams’ part wouldn’t be all that surprising. Adams has long been critical of Democratic immigration policies and previously accused President Joe Biden of being too lax when it came to dealing with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. At one point, Adams went so far as to say that an influx of asylum seekers would “destroy New York City.” “Every community in this city is going to be impacted,” Adams said at the time. “We have a $12 billion deficit that we’re going to have to cut—every service in this city is going to be impacted. All of us.”  More recently, Adams has gone to great lengths to not offend or antagonize President-elect Donald Trump, whose racist and anti-immigrant messaging toward migrants (he’s called them “animals,” “stone cold killers,” and “the worst people,” among many other horrid names) increased tenfold during his third bid for the White House. 

[...] Adams’ shift in tone could, of course, be related to his legal situation: He remains under federal indictment for bribery and campaign finance offenses and may be cozying up to Trump with the hopes of him dismissing U.S. v. Eric Adams. Indeed, his openness to Trump has enraged Democrats because of the power Trump will have over the five-count criminal cases Adams faces in federal court.  Then there’s the added wrinkle that Adams apparently believes he was unfairly targeted (another action straight from Trump’s playbook). He implied in a November interview with the Wall Street Journal that he was purposefully singled-out by the federal government following his criticism of the Biden administration’s perceived lack of action on immigration. “There are a lot of other people unhappy that I fought for this city,” Adams said.