Mayor Eric Adams’ long-shot independent reelection bid received a much-needed boost on Tuesday with new endorsements from dozens of religious leaders representing various faiths across the city.
Hizzoner, during an Aug. 5 news conference on the City Hall steps, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with roughly 75 Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist faith leaders who endorsed his run for a second term.
During the event, Adams described himself as a “man of God” and said the city’s many religious groups have been “ever present” throughout his time in office.
“Behind me are the various faith communities that have made this city what it is,” Adams said. “I’m asking you to go back to your parishioners, I’m asking you to speak directly to them, and tell them who we have been together.”
The crowd included Bishop Jose Martinez Rincon, president and radio producer for Radio Vision Cristiana International; Rev. Doctor James Kilgore of the Friendship Baptist Church Harlem; Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov of Kehilat Sephardim Of Ahavat Achim; and Imam Izak-el Pasha of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz in Harlem.
Also in attendance were controversial Adams allies such as Winnie Greco, a former City Hall aide who resigned last year amid a federal corruption probe, and Brianna Suggs, whose home was raided by federal agents in 2023 in connection with Adams’ own now-dismissed indictment.
The endorsements come as Adams lags in the polls behind Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who is also running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
The mayor also used the gathering to attack his rivals, claiming that his relationship with the city’s faith communities is far stronger and more genuine than theirs.
“Some come visit you on Sunday and talk from your pulpit. Some, all of a sudden found religion, Some, all of a sudden want to create what they’ve done,” Adams said of his opponents, without specifying who each jab was aimed at.
The mayor has specifically accused Cuomo of only visiting Black churches on Sundays when he needs the community’s votes during election season.
During the event, speaker after speaker lauded Adams as a man of “integrity” and faith, despite the cloud of corruption allegations hanging over his first term as mayor.
Bishop Kilgor said Adams possesses “the three A’s”: audacity, authenticity and accomplishment.
“He has the audacity, the audacity of being able to overcome the stigma, the stigma of being born in an urban environment in New York City…in spite of that, he went on to lead us to be the second African American mayor,” Kilgore said of Adams. “He’s accomplished the fact that he has been down, and since he’s been down, he now knows that he’s a man of faith who can continue looking to the hills.”
Rabbi Nisanov praised Adams as a “uniter.” He said that Adams brought Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders together for a meeting following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that left 1,200 Israelis dead and more than 200 others held hostage for months.
“The mayor said ‘let’s get the voices that unite us together,'” Nisanov said. “He brought imams, rabbis, priests, and said, ‘let’s work together.’ I had the honor exactly one month after Oct. 7, to go to Jamaica Muslim Center and talk about unity.”
While the religious leaders’ endorsements show some fresh enthusiasm for Adams’ struggling campaign, his bid still has far fewer boosters than Mamdani’s. Last month, Adams nabbed his first major supporters, with the endorsements of several law enforcement unions.
Since winning the primary, Mamdani — a democratic socialist Queens state lawmaker — picked up the backing of most of the city’s powerful unions. He has also won over Democratic Party stalwarts such as U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (Manhattan/Bronx), state Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, and Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn.
