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Eric Adams

Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for more than 20 years, retiring at the rank of captain. He served in the New York State Senate from 2006 to 2013, representing the 20th district in Brooklyn. In 2013, Adams became the first Black American to be elected Brooklyn Borough President; he was re-elected in 2017.

In 2021, Adams received the Democratic Party's nomination for mayor of New York City after narrowly winning a crowded primary that used instant-runoff voting. In the general election, Adams won a landslide victory over Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. As mayor, he has taken what is seen as a tough-on-crime approach and reintroduced a plain-clothed NYPD unit that had been disbanded by the previous administration. He has also implemented, alongside increased police presence, a zero-tolerance policy on homeless people sleeping in subway cars.

Adams's mayoral tenure has been plagued by accusations of corruption, by the departures of key members of his administration, and by historically low polling. In September 2024, a series of investigations into Adams's administration emerged. Adams was indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. He is the first mayor in New York City history to be charged with federal crimes while in office. Adams pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming that the federal government was retaliating against him for opposing the Biden administration's handling of the migrant crisis. Many elected officials demanded Adams's resignation, and some called for New York Governor Kathy Hochul to remove him from office. In February 2025, the Department of Justice in the Donald Trump administration instructed federal prosecutors to drop charges against Adams without prejudice. Judge Dale Ho instead dismissed the case against Adams with prejudice in April 2025 on the grounds that he could not force the Justice Department to prosecute Adams.

In April 2025, Adams announced that he would seek re-election as an independent in the 2025 New York City mayoral election. Provided by Wikipedia