When a young journalist tried recently to ask Mayor Eric Adams a question about pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Mr. Adams took the exchange in an unusual direction.
“You look like you’ve been working out, man,” the mayor said at his news conference on Tuesday. “You’ve got that summer body going.”
One of the mayor’s top female advisers sitting near him at City Hall shook her head in disbelief. Another deputy mayor looked down and covered her eyes.
For Mr. Adams, the comment was hardly extraordinary. He often remarks about people’s physical appearance or clothing at work events, and everyone is fair game: reporters, constituents and even members of his administration.
As he speaks with pride on how many of his top cabinet officials are women, he has also noted how they lead while wearing high heels, mentioning Louboutin shoes with their signature red soles.
“These are huge shoes to fill, but these two ladies in their red bottoms, they’re going to bring their own pair,” he said.
As Mr. Adams praised the city’s outdoor dining program last summer, he suggested an ancillary benefit.
“You may drive by and you may see eye candy sitting down somewhere,” he said. “You may want to park and come and slip them your number.”
Mayor Adams is far from the only notable elected official who has been criticized for making comments that seem inappropriate. President Biden has made remarks about people’s physical appearance. Former President Donald J. Trump often mocks people’s physical appearance and has been accused of sexual misconduct.
The Department of Justice found that former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo subjected female employees to a “sexually hostile work environment,” made unwanted comments and gave preferential treatment to some employees based on their physical appearance.
Mr. Adams, a Democrat, was himself accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting a colleague in 1993 when he was a police officer.
Fabien Levy, a deputy mayor and the chief spokesman for Mr. Adams, said the mayor “would never intentionally make someone feel uncomfortable. He’s a warm and engaging person who talks to New Yorkers the way any regular New Yorker speaks to one another.”
Not everyone agrees. Marissa Jackson Sow, a law professor at the University of Richmond School of Law and a former deputy commissioner at New York City’s Commission on Human Rights, said the mayor’s comments violated the city’s own guidance on sexual harassment. City employees are provided training about not creating a hostile work environment.
“When you are putting attention on someone’s physique and appearance, it can make that person uncomfortable in their workplace,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it was in jest — it’s not about intent. It’s about impact.”
Ms. Jackson Sow said that it does not matter if the person was personally offended or of the same gender, and that others who witness the behavior could worry about receiving similar comments. It also sends the wrong message, she said, to city workers who might be emboldened to make similar comments to others.
Erica Vladimer, a co-founder of a group that combats sexual harassment in Albany, said the mayor’s comments were “tone deaf and unnecessary” and “make it harder for people to do their job.”
This was not the first time that Mr. Adams had singled out the young reporter, Pete Cuddihy, a college intern at Fox News, for his appearance. At a news conference in March, Mr. Cuddihy asked Mr. Adams about the city’s housing crisis.
“I like that turtleneck — people don’t wear turtlenecks anymore,” Mr. Adams said before suggesting that he might “rock” one himself.
A spokeswoman for Fox News sent a statement from Mr. Cuddihy that said: “Speaking only about my interaction on June 11 with Mayor Adams, I felt his comments towards me were friendly, and I did not feel uncomfortable.”
Some of the mayor’s comments on people’s appearances might derive from his known enthusiasm about health, diet and his own physique. He has often referred to his honed midsection and is fond of saying “I don’t have a six pack, I have a case. My body’s tight.”
But when his observations center on others, the cringe factor can escalate.
Jessica Ramos, a state senator from Queens who might run for mayor next year, said it was the mayor’s job to set a tone of professionalism.
“Any mayor should know there’s no swagger in making inappropriate comments about a person’s body,” she said. “It’s offensive, distracting, antiquated and unnecessary.”
The city’s sexual harassment training includes an example where a manager at a clothing store tells an employee: “Your body looks amazing in that dress!” The training identifies the comment as sexual harassment.
Recent history suggests the mayor shows no sign of changing his ways. At a town hall in the Bronx in January, a woman stood to ask Mr. Adams a question about mental health services. When the mayor asked her how she was doing, she responded: “I’m fine, thank you.”
Mr. Adams took the opportunity to flirt: “I didn’t say how you look.”
The woman laughed and replied: “All right, you better watch yourself there. Watch yourself!”
