Who Among Us Hasn't Tried To Make Friends Using Potato Chip Bags Filled With Cash?

There's a loneliness epidemic, people!

Aug 21, 2025

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On Wednesday, Winnie Greco, a (now-former!) advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, decided to boldly make the first move in what she hoped would be a beautiful, lifelong, Beaches-style friendship with City reporter Katie Honan, by giving her the traditional cash-filled Herr’s Sour Cream & Onion ruffle potato chip bag of platonic affection. Alas, not only did Honan shoot down her overture, but she was fairly convinced it was meant to be a bribe of some kind!

Perhaps she should have gone with salt and vinegar kettle chips instead? I mean, they’re clearly a superior chip. Why would anyone in this day and age even bother with ruffles?

The incident occurred after a campaign event in Harlem. Honan says that Greco, who had been Adams’s director of Asian affairs until the FBI raided her home in a corruption investigation and she resigned, spotted her at the event and texted her to meet up afterwards, next to a bank, like friends normally do.

Via The City:

Greco and Honan walked to the Whole Foods next door. While inside the store, Greco handed Honan the opened bag of chips with the top crumpled closed. Honan, thinking it was an offer of a light snack, told Greco more than once she could not accept the chips, but Greco insisted that she keep them.
The two parted ways. Before entering a nearby subway station, Honan opened the bag and discovered a red envelope inside stuffed with cash, at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills. The reporter then called Greco and told her she could not accept the money and asked if she was still nearby so she could give it back. Greco said she’d left the area. Honan told her she had to take the money back, and Greco said they could meet at some point in Chinatown.
The reporter then texted Greco, “I can’t take this, when can I give it back to you?” She did not get a response.

Given Greco’s previous connection to Adams and the fact that she had been visibly involved in his re-election campaign, Homan assumed it was a bribe meant to secure better coverage for Adams in the publication. However, when contacted by The City, Greco said it was all a mistake and she was just trying to make friends.

“I make a mistake,” she said. “I’m so sorry. It’s a culture thing. I don’t know. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I feel so bad right now. I’m so sorry, honey.”
She then called THE CITY back, advising that we call her attorney, Steven Brill, and adding, “Can we forget about this? I try to be a good person. Please. Please. Please don’t do in the news nothing about me.”
“I just wanted to be her friend,” Greco added. “I just wanted to have one good friend. It’s nothing.”

I mean, they do say there’s a loneliness epidemic.

The City did contact Brill, who explained that it is very normal for Chinese people to just hand people they want to be friends with $160 in a bag of potato chips.

“I can see how this looks strange,”he said. “But I assure you that Winnie’s intent was purely innocent. In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude. Winnie is apologetic and embarrassed by any negative impression or confusion this may have caused.”

However, several Bluesky users of Chinese descent say that this is not, in fact, a thing and that random envelopes of cash given to reporters are traditionally … bribes.

But hey! I say we give Winnie the benefit of the doubt. A lot of people do have trouble making friends as an adult, though perhaps she’d be better off maybe joining a quilting bee or the roller derby.

The Adams campaign, with little empathy for Greco’s inability to find anyone to go to brunch with, has distanced itself from the former advisor.

“We are shocked by these reports,” campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro said. “Winnie Grecco [sic] holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all VOLUNTEER campaign-related activities. Mayor Adams had no prior knowledge of this matter. He has always demanded the highest ethical and legal standards, and his sole focus remains on serving the people of New York City with integrity.”

Please do read the whole thing at The City for a truly shockingly long list of Greco’s previously reported highest ethical and legal standards. She is inventive!

Adams’s own very high ethical and legal standards have gotten him into a bit of trouble in recent years — but perhaps we had that all wrong as well. Perhaps he was just trying to make friends with the Turkish and thought that accepting upgrades on Turkish Airlines would help him in that regard. Maybe they offered him Turkish Delight like the Snow Queen from Narnia. You never know.

At least they’re not as bad at making friends as Andrew Cuomo is, since he apparently can’t manage to do that without groping people. Given the choice between being offered a weird potato chip bribe and Andrew Cuomo touching my ass, I would go for the potato chips every time. Although, again, I would prefer salt and vinegar kettle chips, as sour cream and onion ruffles are just gross.

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You know who does not appear to have any trouble at all making friends? Zohran Mamdani. Here he is, in fact, easily making friends and being very cute with Elizabeth Warren!