AllPolitics

Brooklyn Borough Pres Eric Adams Running for NYC Mayor

Borough President Adams visiting a Brooklyn vegan shop. Photo courtesy of Krystalb97

Eric Adams, Brooklyn’s borough president since 2013, kicked off his campaign for mayor of New York with a video ad campaign. In the video, he promises that, as a former NYPD captain, he will reform the police department while still keeping the city safe.

Adams, who is 60 years old, will join a large crowd of mayoral hopefuls for the Democratic primary scheduled for June 2021.

Adams was a victim of police brutality when he was a teenager growing up in Jamaica, Queens. In the video, he stands in front of the 103rd Precinct building where he was beaten in the basement by a police officer when he was 15 years old.

In the video Adams discusses the experience:

“Some people talk about police brutality, I want to tell you how it is to live through it,” Adams said in the video. “That was a dark place. My life could have gone a different way, full of bitterness. But, I had people who loved me and a determination to change things. So, I became a police officer. To bridge the gap between us, to make us all safer, and to take on systemic racism from within. It’s why I took on police brutality, while I was a police officer myself.”

Adams has already raised $2.6 million for his campaign, indirectly launching his campaign unofficially. The launch of the video officially launched his campaign.

Others eyeing the mayoral seat are Maya Wiley, former de Blasio chief council; Kathryn Garcia, former sanitation commissioner; Shaun Donovan, former administrator for Bloomberg and Obama; Dianne Morales, former nonprofit executive; Loree Sutton, former Veterans Services Commissioner; and Ray McGuire, former Citigroup executive.

James

James Allenby is the editor of Gowanus Lounge, bringing to his position a vast background on New York, and especially Brooklyn history, culture and lifestyle. Born and bred in the heart of "the County of Kings" James Allenby knows what it means to be a Brooklynite, and imparts this meaning at all times to his readers. Contact James at info(at)gowanuslounge.com.