Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued sharp warnings about the direction of the city under incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani, cautioning in an interview with the New York Post that New Yorkers should be “alarmed” by his policies.
“Yes I do,” Adams said when asked if he still believed “dark days” were ahead. “I think we should be concerned and we are seeing some early indicators. Look, a large number of people who live on our streets deal with mental health illness. We should not be allowing them to live on our streets. We want to bring on 5,000 new police officers to make sure [cop retirements] don’t hurt our law enforcement. We have figured out a successful methodology of making our cities safe. We should not tamper with that at all. Looking to disband [the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group]. That’s the same unit that [responded to a deadly mass shooting in July at NFL HQ in Manhattan].
He continued, “I think New Yorkers need to be alarmed, and I’m hoping that when the mayor-elect becomes mayor he will rethink some of the Democratic Socialist Party’s ideas and policies and see that they’re harmful to New Yorkers. Removing 3,000 inmates from Rikers Island - that is a real issue because they’re going to go back into the communities that they exploited and they preyed on.”
Adams also addressed Mamdani’s relationship with President Trump, following their recent White House meeting. “Let’s be clear: almost half New Yorkers did not vote for Zohran. We’re not going to be able to function in the city if those 49% everyday walk around and say, ‘He’s not [my] mayor.’ That mindset is not helpful to the city, and that’s the same for those who didn’t vote for President Trump. You cannot have four more years of saying the president is not their president. It’s time for us to be politically mature enough and respect our democratic process. So I’m hoping they can work together. There’s some real challenges in front of us. Zohran is going to be able to use all the money in his budget and not deal with asylum seekers because President Trump secured our border, so he should be thankful for that. But I think that it is imperative for him to know that just as he wants people to respect him as a mayor, he has to respect the president as the president.”
Adams also addressed concerns among Jewish New Yorkers over Mamdani’s known anti-Israel stance. “There needs to be a clear denouncement of ‘globalize the intifada.’ There needs to be a clear denouncement of people standing in front of a house of worship and calling for harm to a particular group. A mayor must not only lead based on what they say, but what they do. He has to send a very clear message that antisemitism and hate of any faith will not have a place in the city.”
Reflecting on his tenure, Adams admitted he would not miss the job. “Actually, I’m not going to miss it (laughing). This is a hard job. I’ve been doing 12-hour days, almost seven days a week. You know, the constant critique and criticism. I would love to have finished the things we’ve done for four more years, but trust me, it’s time for me do something else with my life and use experiences that I had as a police officer, as a lawmaker, as the [borough president] in Brooklyn, and now as the mayor to go and help the city more. There’s more I want to do in the city, particularly going after some of the hate we’re seeing, but also, there are other cities across the country and the globe that I could use my expertise in. And so I don’t look in the rearview mirror. I look in the front windshield.”
On future ambitions, Adams said: “Never say never. Don’t close the door because then it’s difficult when you have to walk through it again.” Asked about joining a presidential administration, he added: “Again, you never say never. I am looking forward to all the opportunities that are in front of me.”
Adams rejected accusations that corruption allegations defined his tenure. “I don’t think I was treated fairly. In fact, I was treated unfairly. And despite all the noise that we received and all we went through, we did not stop delivering for New Yorkers.”
He also dismissed regrets about not running in the Democratic primary. “I have no regrets at all. I said I would sit out the Democratic primary and I would run head to head with Zohran Mamdani [as an independent]. You can’t really look back and cry over spilt milk. There’s a whole lot of milk cartons waiting for me to open.”
Finally, Adams reflected on the close election. The outgoing mayor initially ran as independent but ultimately withdrew from the race and eventually endorsed former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“I think I would have won if they would have dropped out. Remember 49% of New Yorkers did not vote for Zohran - 49%. But people want to make it seem like there was some landslide. No, it was not. In fact, it was to the contrary. This was a very close race.”