Eric Adams has been elected as Democrat Mayor of New York. The second ever Black Mayor and a former captain of the NYPD, Adams is no stranger to adversity. Growing up in poverty, at 15 years old he was assaulted in the basement of a police station by the very official hired to protect its citizens – a policeman.
A lot has transpired since then. He became a state senator for four terms (2006-2013) where he fought for those who did not have a voice (like the blacks and others who felt omitted from political discussions). This – together with the fact that he is Brooklyn’s borough president – will give Adams the necessary tools to head the Mayoral office.
Adams ran on a platform of obliterating gun violence within a larger framework of public safety; NYPD budgetary cuts; job industry transfer from officer to civilians (which he believes could result in an annual $500m save for the city); the possibility of bringing back plainclothes anti-crime unit. This was dismantled by the previous administration as it became controversial.
He is already working on this with his money raising from real estate and Wall Street, as part of his commitment to business leaders on how much the city needs them. As he said in his campaign in his address to the business community:
“Please stay in New York; I need more of you guys than I need AOC-types,” while trying to reduce concerns of business leaders about police not being able to do their jobs.
