As Gotham’s second Black mayor, Eric Adams’ nearly four years at City Hall began with immense promise. He declared himself the “face of the new Democratic Party” shortly before defeating a crowded field of challengers in the 2021 Democratic primary, and promised to bring a “swagger” back to the mayoralty.
But despite his many accomplishments in office, his popularity quickly faded amid a torrent of controversy and scandal. Last year, he became the first sitting NYC mayor ever to be criminally indicted, a development from which he never fully recovered, even after the Trump Justice Department dropped the case against him.
On Sunday, Adams released a social media video announcing the end of his independent re-election campaign, effectively capping his tumultuous tenure as mayor of America’s largest city. He’ll remain in office until his term concludes on Jan. 1, though he has not yet endorsed a potential successor.
The moderate Adams, now 65, won four years ago on a pledge to bring down crime and rein in disorder that proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic. He ran on his experience patrolling the subways and streets as a transit cop and eventually an NYPD captain for 20 years. He also promised to jump-start the city’s economy after the pandemic.
“We took that victory four years ago and turned it into action, making this city better for those who have been failed by government,” Adams said in his Sunday video. “I felt immense pride serving you every day and look at what we accomplished together.”
Prior to becoming mayor, Adams served eight years as Brooklyn borough president and nearly a decade in representing a Brooklyn district in the state Senate. Once he arrived in Gracie Mansion on Jan. 1, 2022, he was heralded as a fresh start for the city, still reeling from the pandemic.
A campaign to stop crime, lead COVID recovery
The mayor often insists he delivered on the core tenets of his 2021 campaign. He points to double-digit drops in murders and shootings, the city recovering all of the jobs it lost during the pandemic, and record job growth last year as evidence of his success.
One of Hizzoner’s most significant accomplishments includes a reduction in street and subway crime since he took office in 2022. On Sept. 2, the NYPD announced that in the first eight months of 2025, New York City saw the fewest shooting incidents and shooting victims in recorded history.
According to the NYPD, major crimes, including murder, robbery, and felony assault, have been decreasing at least since 2023. Year-to-date, crime is down a significant 4% since last year and 5% since 2023 during the same period. Subway crime is still on a downward trend, even as more commuters have taken to riding the rails since the COVID-19 pandemic years.
He also jump-started an effort to make city streets cleaner by requiring both business and residential building owners to place their trash in containers, instead of piling black garbage bags on the street.
New trash rules requiring residents and businesses to put their trash out fully containerized and later in the day led to cleaner streets. Sanitation officials reported noticeable improvements in neighborhoods that began covering their trash even earlier in the year than mandated.
Adams has also scored some major policy wins, such as the passage of his massive “City of Yes” plan last year— an overhaul to city zoning rules aimed at boosting housing construction. Adams signed it into law on Dec. 18, launching an historic plan for zoning reform set to create 82,000 new homes over the next 15 years and involve a substantial $5 billion investment in infrastructure throughout the city.
Adams made many investments in housing, including the announcement of 3,000 new residential units at the closed Flushing Airport in Queens as part of his ongoing push to create affordable and market-rate houses around the city.
During his term, Adams was also known for his packed public schedules, love of night life, sharp sartorial choices, and bevy of catchphrases.
Road of ruin
But the honeymoon proved short-lived, once members of Adams’ administration started leaving one by one. Many found themselves on the wrong end of FBI search warrants, raids, and investigations that made headlines starting in September 2024.
Edward Caban, the first in a series of four top cops who would take the reins throughout the Adams administration, was the first to resign amid FBI raids.
Adams’ first schools chancellor, David Banks, left his post on Oct. 16, 2024, just weeks after the FBI seized his and his partner, former First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright’s phones on Sept. 4 as part of what seemed like a never-ending spree of federal probes into Adams and close members of his administration.
Federal agents also executed a search warrant at the home of Banks’ brother, former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, who wound up submitting his resignation on Oct. 6.
Perhaps most famous in the resignee parade is Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the embattled mayor’s former top advisor. She departed from City Hall in December of the same year after being the subject of a federal investigation that prompted authorities to serve her with a subpoena just as she arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport after a trip to Japan.
Fast forward to just last month, when the former adviser was hit with a list of new corruption charges, accusing her and her son of accepting thousands of dollars’ worth of benefits in exchange for official favors.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office accused Lewis-Martin of using her top City Hall post for two years to expedite the workings of city government. She faces conspiracy and bribe-receiving charges that are separate from the still-pending bribery and conspiracy charges filed last year.
But the exodus did not stop as 2024 continued. Lisa Zornberg, an Adams’ chief counsel, and Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the administration’s health commissioner, also resigned.
Amid those scandals, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Adams with bribery and campaign finance fraud on Sept. 25, 2024. Per the five-count indictment, Adams was accused of taking luxury travel perks and illegal campaign donations from Turkish nationals in exchange for helping them open a Manhattan consulate building that did not pass city fire inspections.
Then, on April 2, 2025, a federal judge dismissed Adams’ case at the behest of President Trump’s Justice Department. But Adams hardly got off scot-free, as the move left drew wide accusations that Adams engaged in a quid pro quo with Trump’s DOJ to have his charges dropped.
Adams continued to deny the criminal charges throughout his time in office. Though his charges were dismissed, the scandals left a mark on his tenure and his re-election bid.
Even before scandals rocked the administration, Adams made an announcement during a 2023 town hall in Manhattan, saying that the continued flow of migrants will “destroy New York City.” He discussed the masses of people arriving in New York each month, as the city lacked enough resources to help them find shelter and access to other basic necessities, following repeated requests from the federal government for help. The remarks appeared to put a damper on the relationship between Adams and former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Overall, Adams’ decision not to vie for a second term resonated in striking contrast to the energy, enthusiasm, and invigoration he brought to the halls of Gracie Mansion, the steps of City Hall, and the homes of New Yorkers.
Meanwhile, the remaining 2025 mayoral candidates remain in the race: NYS Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani; former NYS governor Andrew Cuomo; and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
Adams has yet to say who he will support as Election Day draws near.
“Whoever follows me at City Hall must continue the work we started: lowering the cost of living, investing in quality of life, and staying laser-focused on reducing crime and disorder through investments in policing, mental health, substance abuse care, homelessness services, and community-based initiatives,” the mayor said in his video announcement.
