Port-au-Prince of America

On March 13, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams posted on X/Twitter:
     
“We call New York City the Port-Au-Prince of America. We feel the pain our Haitian neighbors feel as the situation grows dire.
To the people of Haiti and our own Haitian community here in New York City, know that we stand with you today and always.”
   
Readers on X/Twitter flagged the post, claiming that no one ever called New York City the “Port-au-Prince of America.” Several people stated that New York City’s nickname was the “Big Apple.”
   
   
Wikipedia: Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince (/ˌpɔːrt oʊ ˈprɪns/ PORT oh PRINSS; French: [pɔʁ o pʁɛ̃s] ; Haitian Creole: Pòtoprens, [pɔtopɣɛ̃s]) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city’s population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894.
 
X/Twitter
Mayor Eric Adams
@NYCMayor
We call New York City the Port-Au-Prince of America. We feel the pain our Haitian neighbors feel as the situation grows dire.
To the people of Haiti and our own Haitian community here in New York City, know that we stand with you today and always.
 
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Important context:  no one other than Eric Adams has called NYC the “Port-Au-Prince of America.”
Search results for “Port-Au-Prince of America”:
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Same search, but excluding “Adams”:
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10:56 AM · Mar 13, 2024
   
New York (NY) Post
Eric Adams claims New Yorkers call Big Apple ‘Port-Au-Prince of America,’ quickly gets dragged on X: ‘Could you show us a single example?’
By Social Links forCraig McCarthy and Social Links forPatrick Reilly
Published March 13, 2024, 9:13 p.m. ET
Mayor Eric Adams said on Wednesday that New Yorkers refer to the Big Apple as “The Port-Au-Prince of America,” a dubious claim that was later flagged on X for being untrue.
 
In the post, the Mayor was responding to the political crisis in Haiti as the Caribbean nation faces growing turmoil and has become overrun by violent gangs.
 
He voiced his support for the Haitians living abroad and in the Big Apple.
 
“We call New York City the Port-Au-Prince of America,” Adams tweeted. “We feel the pain our Haitian neighbors feel as the situation grows dire. To the people of Haiti and our own Haitian community here in New York City, know that we stand with you today and always.”
       
X/Twitter
Michael
@MJ_61074
I’ve never heard anyone refer to New York as Port Au Prince before. Gotham, The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps…. Yes, but
11:21 PM · Mar 13, 2024
 
X/Twitter
Mirjana Babic
@MirjanaBabic17
Sure, the Big Apple, Gotham, the City that Never Sleeps, but Port-Au-Prince of America never heard that one
10:04 AM · Mar 14, 2024
 
X/Twitter
🌴♥️🇺🇸Dixie ♥️s America & Trump🇺🇸♥️🌴
@DixiDarlen
Who is the “we” he speaks of?
I’ve never in my life heard NYC referred to in the this way.
Maybe the Mayor thinks Port-au-Prince means Big Apple?
11:05 PM · Mar 15, 2024