In 2021, New York City was in crisis, just coming out of the wake of the pandemic. The mortality rate was dropping, but the hospitalization rate was still high. Rent on average was about $1,680 per square unit, and New York was struggling with childcare costs. However, as most New Yorkers were aware, there was an election to be held on Nov. 2, 2021. The main candidates were Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee, and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee. Adams, who was the self-proclaimed “new face of the Democratic Party” campaigned on bringing a “new vision” to NYC that included tough-on-crime policing and economic revitalization. He torched Sliwa in the general election and received close to 67% of the vote. Now, four years later, we must look at how his term has transpired and the causes of his dropping out.
At the time, I was skeptical of Adams, and I felt that what he was promoting would run New York City deeper into existing issues. Where that train of thought came from was people not knowing who he was or what he stood for. Is the Adams administration responsible for all of New York City’s problems? Of course not, but it is the epitome of them, and it has intensified many of our problems as the years have passed by. For example, over the last three years, Adams has cut over $400 million from childcare programs that were mainly skewed towards pre-K and K-3 initiatives. Many of these cuts were crucial in driving kids out of school, and his administration faced harsh criticism as a result. Why exactly would one cut so much money in terms of a program that was working, and many kids and parents relied on? Adams eventually justified this by saying some of the money wasn’t being utilized; however, this was still met with significant backlash from New Yorkers.
Furthermore, I believe it’s important to turn to another part of Adams’ problems: his bribery scandal involving the Turkish Embassy. At first, Adams denied wrongdoing when the FBI seized his electronic devices in November of 2023. However, as more information came out, it started to spell trouble for Adams, culminating in a federal indictment in September 2024 and making Adams the first sitting mayor of NYC to be criminally charged. How can a city of citizens trust their own mayor to represent them when he is taking bribes from a foreign government? It’s a question that was and still is on the mind of many New Yorkers like myself. By the beginning of October, many New Yorkers were calling for him to resign amidst his approval ratings falling as low as 26%.
If Adams was the “new face” of the Democratic Party but has failed so abysmally, it begs the question: Is the old guard of the Democratic Party out of touch with people, especially the youth? I believe so. Ever since the Democrats’ losses in the 2024 elections, partially because of declining support among youth, they have been scrambling to find a way to rebuild their coalition. Adams, like the other former Democrat and now-independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, comes from the old guard of the Democratic Party, emphasized by his moderate political positions and his connections to high-ranking New York Democrats such as Rep. Hakeem Jefferies and Sen. Chuck Schumer. Adams’ politics may have worked back then, but they won’t win you a lot of support from New Yorkers now. Adams has even said, “I didn’t leave the democratic party, the democratic party left me,” a quote that only stoked his unpopularity.
What many New Yorkers want is not words and promises; they want actions that speak to their needs, particularly the need for affordability. It’s why the new Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has been able to rise through the ranks and become a star in the world of Democratic politics. He is someone who speaks to working people, talks about fighting President Donald Trump’s policies against New York and about a New York City that can work for all, not just the few. Mamdani’s vision is another reason I believe Adams dropped out — because he could not take the heat of someone young and vibrant. Adams’ leaving the race only makes it slightly less contested. New Yorkers are still deciding whether Mamdani, Cuomo or Sliwa will be their next mayor.
Ethan Bess, FCRH ’27, is a media and television studies major from Roanoke, Texas.
