As political scandal grips NYC, a fictional press conference puzzles some New Yorkers

NEW YORK (AP) — Stone-faced authorities stepping up to a podium. A scrum of reporters jostling for a quote. Popping flashbulbs and pandemonium.

The spectacle played out across a public plaza from the federal courthouse where New York City Mayor Eric Adams was arraigned on federal bribery charges Friday morning — but it had nothing to do with the stunning indictment.

Instead, it was a far more familiar city occurrence: a film crew shooting an episode of “Law & Order,” one that happened to feature actors dressed as law enforcement officials briefing TV cameras and uncommonly attractive journalists.

“It’s just pure coincidence,” said one Law & Order crew member, who’d already informed several curious passersby that the clamor had nothing to do with the newly announced charges against Adams. “People have been asking us all day if the mayor is here. He is not,” said the crew member, who declined to give his name.

Still, the scene offered an uncanny simulacrum of the fast-moving corruption scandal that has created a political crisis, prompting the resignations of the real police commissioner and schools chancellor in recent weeks.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-hide-dates=«true» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-parsely-url=«https%3A%2F%2Fapi.parsely.com%2Fv2%2Frelated%3Fapikey%3Dapnews.com%26url%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fapnews.com%2Farticle%2Feric-adams-federal-investigations-law-order-filming-75c913df2a327a8bb212128d534b5d26%26limit%3D9%26respect_empty_results%3D1%26sort%3D_score%26pub_date_start%3D2024-08-13%26exclude%3Dsection%3APress%20Releases%26exclude%3Dtags%3ACelebrity%20Birthdays» data-parsely-title=«Related Stories»