Tenure
Adams took office shortly after the New Year's Eve Ball Drop at midnight in Times Square, holding a picture of his recently deceased mother, Dorothy, while being sworn in. He became the city's second mayor of African American descent to hold the position after David Dinkins left office in 1993.
Shortly after becoming Mayor, Adams sought a waiver from the Conflicts of Interest Board to hire his brother, Bernard, for a $210,000 paying job in the NYPD, where he would serve as the head of his personal security detail. Bernard started working the job on December 30, 2021, two days before Adams was inaugurated as Mayor. Adams was accused of nepotism for this pick. Adams said white supremacy and anarchists are on the rise and "suggested that he can trust no one in the police department as much as he can his own kin." He was also criticized for his hiring of Philip Banks III, a former NYPD commander, to serve as deputy mayor for public safety. Banks had been the subject of a federal investigation by the FBI in 2014, the same year he resigned from the police force.
Eight days into Adams's tenure as Mayor, an apartment fire in the Bronx killed 17 people, including eight children. In response to the fire, Adams announced that a law requiring self-closing doors to prevent smoke and fires from spreading throughout apartment buildings would be enforced. However, his administration faced criticism for its slow response in distributing disaster funds to those impacted by the fire.
New York City faced a significant uptick in crime during the first months of Adams's tenure as Mayor. The uptick in crime was highlighted by the shooting deaths of two NYPD officers, Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, when responding to a domestic disturbance in Harlem. In response, Adams announced that he would be bringing back a police unit made up of plainclothes officers, which was disbanded by de Blasio in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. The unit was officially revived on March 16, 2022. Amid the crime spree, President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland visited New York City and vowed to work with Adams to crack down on homemade firearms, which lack traceable serial numbers and can be acquired without background checks. Throughout Adams's first year in office, crime continued to rise, resulting in both The New York Times and the New York Post labeling his plans as "ineffectual".
In early February 2022, a video of Adams from 2019 leaked in which the then-Borough President boasted about being a better cop than his "cracker" colleagues. Adams apologized for his comments, saying, "I apologize not only to those who heard it but to New Yorkers because they should expect more from me, which was inappropriate."
Later in February, Adams implemented a zero-tolerance policy for homeless people sleeping in subway cars or subway stations. Police officers, assisted by mental health professionals, were tasked with removing homeless people from the subway system and directing them to homeless shelters or mental health facilities. The plan has been met with criticism from some activists. The Adams administration also took a stand against homeless encampments. In the first three months of Adams's tenure, more than 300 homeless encampments had been declared and cleared. To track these encampments, the Adams administration directed NYPD officers to report information on homeless encampments to the Department of Homeless services, who is then tasked with responding to them within a week.
On February 14, 2022, 1,430 New York City municipal workers were fired after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The mandate had been introduced in October 2021 by Adams's predecessor but kept in place by Adams. In March 2022, Adams ended the city's vaccine mandate for indoor settings and the city's mask mandate in public schools. That same month, Adams announced that he would keep the city's vaccine mandate for private-sector employees but create an exemption for athletes and performers. The policy became known as the "Kyrie Carve-Out", as it was intended to allow unvaccinated Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to play home basketball games.
On February 23, 2022, Adams called on companies based in New York City to rescind remote work policies put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, "You can't stay home in your pajamas all day." Adams cited the need for in-person workers in the city who would patronize local businesses, saying "I need the accountant in the office so that they can go to the local restaurant so that we can make sure that everyone is employed."
On April 11, 2022, Adams was diagnosed with COVID-19 and entered quarantine for ten days. While Adams was quarantined, a man shot 10 people on a New York City Subway train in Brooklyn. Adams worked virtually to issue a response to the attack and criticized the national "overproliferation" of guns as being responsible for gun violence. Following the shooting, he suggested the implementation of metal detectors to screen riders entering the subway.
In June 2022, Adams unveiled his administration's "comprehensive blueprint" for affordable housing. However, the plan was critiqued for being too vague as it did not propose rezoning to build more housing, and did not contain any actual estimate of how many new housing units would be built.
In response to an influx of asylum seekers sent to New York City from the states of Florida and Texas, Adams announced plans to install Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center Tent Cities on Randalls Island. After about one month, the tent city was closed and the migrants were moved to hotels in downtown Manhattan.
In late November, as part of his campaign to combat crime and clear homeless encampments in New York City, Adams announced an effort to allow the police to commit mentally ill people to psychiatric institutions involuntarily. The policy states that those hospitalized should only be discharged once they are stable and connected to ongoing care. The policy will be enforced by police, care workers, and medical officials, who will be tasked with identifying those who have a mental illness and who are unable to care for themselves. The policy applies to those who pose no direct danger to themselves or others.
In December 2022, Adams, Reverends Al Sharpton and Conrad Tillard, Vista Equity Partners CEO and Carnegie Hall Chairman Robert F. Smith, World Values Network founder and CEO Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, and Elisha Wiesel joined to host 15 Days of Light, celebrating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in a unifying holiday ceremony at Carnegie Hall. Adams said: "social media is having a major impact on the hatred that we are seeing in our city and in this country ... We should bring social media companies to the table to highlight the racist and antisemitic words being spread on their platforms."
In late February 2023, at the annual interfaith breakfast, Adams said he disagreed with the notion of separation of church and state. During the speech. Adams said, "Don't tell me about no separation of church and state. State is the body. Church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies." Additionally, Adams said he disagreed with the Supreme Court's 1962 decision in Engel v. Vitale, which held school prayer to be unconstitutional. Adams added, "When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools ..."
In March 2023, as a result of the high office vacancy rates, the New York City Department of City Planning advanced plans to convert vacant office buildings into "affordable" apartments. Adams elicited backlash after proposing "dormitory style accommodations" and declaring that apartments did not require windows.
In 2022 and 2023, Adams and the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), which is led by the presidents of two sizeable municipal labor unions, District Council 37 (DC 37) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), agreed on a deal that would move City retirees from traditional Medicare to a new, privately run Medicare Advantage plan. Although the MLC comprises the leadership of every municipal union, MLC voting is proportional to the union's size, giving DC 37 and the UFT more than enough votes to prevail over unions opposed to the deal. Many City retirees have protested the agreement between the Mayor and the MLC.
As mayor, when Yom HaAtzma'ut fell on April 25, Adams announced the night-time lighting of City Hall and other municipal buildings blue and white, identifying the assessment of the modern state of Israel's history as "three-quarters of a century promoting peace and security in the Middle East and hope and opportunity across the globe" as "stand[ing] side by side" with New York's Jewish community.
In 2023, the Adams administration spent $50,000 to relocate 114 migrant households who entered New York City from the Mexico-United States southern border to countries like China and other states within the United States. They were resettled during the years of 2021 and 2022. The migrants were seeking political asylum. Adams vetoed a bill to increase penalties for zoning violations in New York. In July 2023, during the New York City migrant housing crisis, Adams argued that New York City was running out of room and resources to provide for the influx of roughly 100,000 migrants from the southern border. He said, "Our cup has basically runneth over. We have no more room in the city." In August 2023, a lawyer for Governor Kathy Hochul accused Adams of being slow to act and failing to accept aid offers from the state to manage the migrants. In September 2023, Adams warned reporters that the migrant crisis could "destroy" New York City.
On June 23, 2023, Adams vetoed legislation that would have increased eligibility for housing vouchers to homeless families and individuals under the CityFHEPS program; Adams implemented part of the legislation via executive order, eliminating a 90-day waiting requirement for people currently in shelters. In an op-ed in the New York Daily News, Adams claimed that the bills would cost too much and create administrative difficulties. The City Council responded in a series of annotations to the op-ed, "call[ing] the mayor's arguments 'wrong,' 'misleading,' 'gaslighting' and 'alternative facts'". On July 13, 2023, the City Council overrode the Mayor's veto by a vote of 42–8, marking the first veto override since the administration of Michael Bloomberg. The New York Times described the override as "another example of the increasingly confrontational relationship between the City Council and the mayor", and City & State said that it was "a turning point for the City Council". Adams has indicated that he may challenge the veto override in court. Adams also sought to challenge the "right to shelter" consent ruling in Callahan v. Carey.
During a housing town hall on June 28, 2023, 84-year-old Holocaust survivor and Washington Heights tenant advocate Jeanie Dubnau accused Adams of being controlled by the real-estate lobby and questioned him about the past two years of rent increases on rent-stabilized housing, which were approved by a board he appointed. Adams responded, "Don't stand in front like you treated someone that's on the plantation that you own." The following day, a local radio channel asked Adams if he felt he "went too far"; Adams refused to apologize and called Dubnau's behavior "degrading".
In November 2023, Adams was accused in a lawsuit of sexual assault by an anonymous former coworker while they were both city employees in 1993. Adams denied the accusation, claiming he did not know who the accuser was and if they had ever met; he did not recall it. The lawsuit also accused Adams of battery, employment discrimination based on gender and sex, retaliation, a hostile work environment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and also named the NYPD Transit Bureau and the Guardians Association of the NYPD as defendants.
In December 2023, the United Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit against Eric Adams to prevent a $550 million cut to education funding.
On January 30, 2024, the New York City Council voted to override Mayor Adams's veto of the How Many Stops Act under the command of Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. The new law officially limits the use of solitary confinement of prisoners being held on Rikers Island and all city jails and requires police officers to take detailed notes of encounters with members of the public who they suspect of committing a crime or for other reasons. Councilman Yusef Salaam is the Chair of the Public Safety Committee and he also had a part in bringing this legislation to the floor for a vote.
Adams rejected a ceasefire in the Gaza war, saying "Bring the hostages home."
At a news conference, Adams suggested that the city could hire migrants as lifeguards because they are "excellent swimmers". The comment was called "racist and divisive" by unnamed immigrant rights groups.
Adams has promoted a series of changes to New York City's zoning laws called the "City of Yes". The first proposal, intended to make environmentally-friendly building renovations and rooftop solar installations easier, was approved by the City Council on December 6, 2023. The second proposal, intended to allow businesses more flexibility in terms of where they can operate, was approved on June 6, 2024. The third proposal, intended to allow "a little more housing in every neighborhood", is scheduled for a vote in December 2024. Proponents say the proposal is crucial to address the New York City housing shortage, while opponents have raised concerns about changes it will bring to low-density neighborhoods.
On May 21, 2024, Adams created a Charter Revision Commission to propose changes to the New York City Charter. It released five proposals, which will be subject to voter approval on November 5. Critics said the proposals, three of which limit the City Council's power, were designed to push an earlier ballot measure, which would have limited mayoral power, off the ballot. A spokeswoman for the City Council called the commission a "sham" and accused it of "undermining democracy and oversight of the Mayor's administration".
Police Commissioner Edward — and Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg each left the Adams administration in September 2024. Reports indicated that Zornberg departed due to Adams's "refusal to get rid of officials who have come under federal scrutiny".
Timothy Pearson, a senior adviser to Adams, left his position as of October 4, 2024. Pearson was the subject of complaints of battery and sexual harassment. On October 7, 2024, Mohamed Bahi, Adams's chief liaison to the Muslim community, resigned his position. A day later, Bahi was arrested and "charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence in relation to the Southern District of New York's investigation into Adams' 2021 campaign". Also in October 2024, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks and Director of Asian Affairs Winnie Greco resigned their posts; the homes of Banks and Greco had previously been searched by federal authorities. First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright also stepped down in October, as did Schools Chancellor David Banks; Wright is married to Phil Banks, and David Banks is the brother of Phil Banks. Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan also left his position in October 2024.
On October 26, 2024, Adams spoke out in defense of former President Donald Trump and criticized Vice President Harris, claiming that he did not think that Trump was a fascist.
On November 12, 2024, mandated trash containerization for buildings with 10 or fewer units became effective. The pro-containerization policy began a year prior with mandates for restaurants, and intends to achieve full containerization on 89% of city streets. The New York Times described containerization as "one of the major achievements of Mayor Eric Adams's first term."
In December 2024, chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin resigned her position; she was later indicted on bribery charges. Also in December 2024, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey of the New York Police Department resigned his position following accusations of sexual misconduct.
In April 2025, Adams invited U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to take a ride on the subway following recent comments by Duffy deriding the subway as a "shithole" and epicenter of violent crime. Ultimately the pair rode the subway for 10 minutes, from Brooklyn to Manhattan, reportedly discussing crime rates and those with mental illness in the public transportation system as well as the congestion pricing policy in the city. In 2025, Adams signed an executive order to reopen an ICE office on Rikers Island.
On July 8, four former NYPD officers filed individual suits against Adams and high-ranking NYPD officials. The plaintiffs had each served in leadership roles—chief of detectives, assistant chief of the criminal task force division, chief of professional standards, and second in command for internal affairs—and allege in part that Adams enabled department corruption and retaliation for speaking out. Edward Caban, the former commissioner, Jeffrey Maddrey, the former chief of department, Philip Banks III, the former deputy mayor for public safety, and John Chell, the current chief of department, are also among the defendants in one or more of the suits.
On July 16, Tom Donlon, who had served as interim NYPD commissioner, filed suit against Adams and high-ranking NYPD officials, alleging that they had engaged in a "coordinated criminal conspiracy" to enrich themselves, prevented executive misconduct investigations, forged documents, and engaged in retaliation.
During Adam's mayoral lame duck session, Mayor Adams created a new commission. This commission's leadership positions and other positions are occupied with operatives appointed by Mayor Adams. It would provide a political check and fiscal overnight over the new mayor's power in collaboration with the New York City Charter review Commission.
