Eric Adams

 Eric Adams

Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City Police Department for more than 20 years, retiring at the rank of captain. He served in the New York State Senate from 2006 to 2013, representing the 20th Senate district in Brooklyn. In November 2013, Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President, the first African-American to hold the position. He was reelected in November 2017.

On November 17, 2020, Adams announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City. On July 6, 2021, the Associated Press declared Adams the winner of the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary. Adams defeated Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election in a landslide victory.[3][4][5] Adams was sworn in as mayor shortly after midnight on January 1, 2022. As mayor, he has taken what is seen as a tough-on-crime approach and reintroduced a plain-clothed unit of police officers that had been disbanded by the previous administration. In efforts to improve the city's standards of living, he has implemented a zero-tolerance policy on homeless people sleeping in subway cars alongside increased police presence.

Adams was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, on September 1, 1960.[7] His mother, Dorothy Mae Adams-Streeter (1938-2021), [8][9] worked double shifts as a housecleaner and had received only a third-grade education.[10] His father was a butcher who struggled with alcohol abuse.[11][12] Both of his parents moved to New York City from Alabama in the 1950s.[12] Adams was raised in a rat-infested tenement in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and his family was so poor that he often brought a bag of clothes to school with him in case of a sudden eviction from his home.[13] By 1968, his mother managed to save up enough money to buy a house and move the family to South Jamaica, Queens.[12] He was the fourth of six children and as a young boy he sometimes earned money as a squeegee boy.

At age 14, Adams joined a gang, the 7-Crowns, and became known as "a tough little guy".[12] He would hold money for local hustlers. He also ran errands, including purchasing groceries, for a dancer and part-time prostitute named Micki after she became injured.[12] After Micki refused to pay for the groceries he purchased or the work he had done, Adams and his brother stole her TV and a money order. The two were later arrested for criminal trespassing.[12] While in police custody, they were beaten by NYPD officers until a black cop intervened. Adams was sent to a juvenile detention center for a few days before being sentenced to probation.[12] Adams had post-traumatic stress disorder after the incident, and has said that the violent encounter motivated him to enter law enforcement. He was particularly intrigued by the black police officer and by the swagger and respect that comes with being in law enforcement.[12] A local pastor of The House of the Lord Pentecostal Church added to his motivation when he suggested that by joining the police force, he could aid in reforming police culture from within. Adams would later attend his church often.

Adams graduated from Bayside High School in Queens in 1978, but struggled to maintain good grades.[18] He began attending college while working as a mechanic and a mailroom clerk at the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, receiving an associate degree from the New York City College of Technology, a bachelor's degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and an M.P.A. from Marist College.[19] Adams experienced an academic turnaround that he credits to a dyslexia diagnosis in college: "I went from a D student to the dean's list."