Drumroll begins for Eric Adams' City Hall exit
Mayor Eric Adams and Democratic mayoral candidate former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo leave a campaign event in Manhattan last week. Credit: AP / Richard Drew
More than 18 years ago State Sen. Eric Adams stood on the floor of the State Senate in Albany and, addressing a legislative pay raise, declared “Show me the money!”
Now he’s seen some money and power, has gone politically bankrupt, and might have been headed for prison if not for President Donald Trump’s famously unprecedented and transactional intrusion in an active felony prosecution just to get the mayor off the hook.
On Dec. 31 he leaves office after a long electoral exit dance that culminated with his very late endorsement of ex-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo as his successor. After the scramble of Assemb. Zohran Mamdani, Curtis Sliwa and Cuomo ends on Tuesday, many appraisals will be written. We already know most of the high and low points.
It has been a long journey for the Brooklyn politician. Four years ago, he was elected New York City's mayor by galvanizing voters rightly concerned by disorder and crime. As the first Black mayor in a generation, and a retired NYPD captain qualified to address race and policing, his profile matched the moment.
People smile when they see Adams; he smiles back like a true celebrity regardless of the occasion. He had cordial relations with elected officials from surrounding regions in both parties. He’s telegenic and engaging with a rascally charisma. He emerged from the pack of Democratic candidates in 2021 as populistically anti-woke. “Some of us never went to sleep,” he said.
Except on ethics.
Scandals rocked him and several top aides in succession. The allegations of corruption across the administration included free and discounted flights on Turkish Airlines connected to fast-tracked safety inspections for that nation’s new consulate. Investigators charged witness tampering and destruction of evidence by an Adams adviser.
The tales and snapshots ranged from large to small. Gratuities passed in a potato chip bag. Straw donors to his campaign. Dubious contracts for housing asylum-seekers. A nightclub protection service owned by the then-police commissioner’s twin brother. Claims of bribery for consulting contracts.
Look back and a twisted trajectory is clear.
The city’s mostly Democratic electorate in 2021 chose to ignore red flags about the behavior of the ex-senator and then-Brooklyn borough president. A state inspector general’s report in 2010 said Adams, chairman of the Senate Racing and Wagering Committee, and other legislators used "exceedingly poor” ethical judgment in picking a troubled gambling operator to run Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. The deal was called off.
Was it only a year and a month ago that the federal government charged Adams with bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance violations? Was it only eight months ago that Trump, back in office, ordered prosecutors to drop these charges, purportedly so the mayor could assist in the president’s ICE operations? Prosecutors resigned, city residents condemned, other Democrats protested.
It was a brief bit of bipartisan harmony between them. The indicted Democratic mayor and the convicted Republican president seemed to find common cause in claiming “witch hunts” against them.
Adams, now alienated from his party, kept up the pretense that he could be reelected and ran as an independent candidate before dropping out. Next week will confirm him as the first mayor in three decades of term limits to fail to be reelected.
What’s the next act for the 65-year-old Adams? He’s let it be known he’s received several private sector offers. Could Trump reward him for dropping out? Or maybe Adams likes being in business for himself.
Columnist Dan Janison's opinions are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
