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Eric Adams Biography & Facts

Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer, currently serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. An ideologically moderate member of the Democratic Party, 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 Senate district in Brooklyn. In November 2013, Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President, the first African-American to hold the position, and reelected in November 2017. Adams was elected mayor of New York City in the city's 2021 mayoral election. He received the Democratic Party's nomination after narrowly winning a crowded Democratic mayoral primary which used instant-runoff voting (ranked-choice voting). In the general election, Adams won a landslide victory over Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Adams was sworn in as mayor shortly after midnight on January 1, 2022. As mayor, he has taken what is seen as a tough-on-crime approach and reintroduced a plain-clothed unit of police officers that had been disbanded by the previous administration. He has also implemented a zero-tolerance policy on homeless people sleeping in subway cars alongside increased police presence. Early life and education Adams was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn on September 1, 1960. His mother, Dorothy Mae Adams-Streeter (1938–2021), worked double shifts as a housecleaner and had received only a third-grade education. His father, Leroy Adams, was a butcher who struggled with alcohol abuse. Both of his parents moved to New York City from Alabama in the 1950s. Adams was raised in a rat-infested tenement in Bushwick, Brooklyn. His family was so poor that he often brought a bag of clothes to school with him in case of a sudden eviction from his home. By 1968, his mother managed to save up enough money to buy a house and move the family to South Jamaica, Queens. He was the fourth of six children. As a young boy, he sometimes earned money as a squeegee boy. At age 14, Adams joined a gang, the 7-Crowns, and became known as "a tough little guy". He would hold money for local hustlers. He also ran errands, including purchasing groceries, for a dancer and part-time prostitute named Micki after she became injured. After Micki refused to pay for the groceries he purchased or his work, Adams and his brother stole her TV and a money order. The two were later arrested for criminal trespassing. While in police custody, they were beaten by NYPD officers until a black cop intervened. Adams was sent to a juvenile detention center for a few days before being sentenced to probation. Adams had post-traumatic stress disorder after the incident and has said that the violent encounter motivated him to enter law enforcement. He was particularly intrigued by the black police officer and by the "swagger" and "respect" that comes with being in law enforcement. A local pastor of The House of the Lord Pentecostal Church added to his motivation when he suggested that by joining the police force, he could aid in reforming police culture from within. Adams would later attend his church often. Adams graduated from Bayside High School in Queens in January 1979, but struggled to maintain good grades. He began attending college while working as a mechanic and a mailroom clerk at the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, receiving an associate degree from the New York City College of Technology, a bachelor's degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and an MPA from Marist College. Adams experienced an academic turnaround that he credits to a dyslexia diagnosis in college: "I went from a D student to the dean's list." As a result, he became a strong advocate for early dyslexia screening in public schools. Policing career Adams served as an officer in the New York City Transit Police and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for 22 years. He has described his wanting to serve as a reaction to the abuse he suffered by NYPD in his youth and separately stated that he was encouraged to join to lead reform from within. He attended the New York City Police Academy and graduated second in his class in 1984. Adams started in the New York City Transit Police and continued with the NYPD when the transit police and the NYPD merged. He worked in the 6th Precinct in Greenwich Village, the 94th Precinct in Greenpoint, and the 88th Precinct covering Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. In 1986, white police officers raised their guns at Adams when he was working as a plainclothes officer; he was mistaken for a suspect. During the 1990s, Adams served as president of the Grand Council of Guardians, an African American patrolmen's association. Adams worked with the Nation of Islam in the 1990s because of their work in patrolling crime-ridden housing projects. Adams met with their leader Louis Farrakhan and appeared on stage with him at an event. Adams also suggested that Mayor David Dinkins meet with Farrakhan and hire the Nation of Islam's security company to patrol housing projects. Adams' ties to Farrakhan—who has made antisemitic comments—received criticism in the New York Post. In 1995, Adams served as an escort for Mike Tyson when he was released from jail following his rape conviction. That same year, in response to the election of Rudy Giuliani as Mayor, he co-founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, an advocacy group for black police officers that sought criminal justice reform and often spoke out against police brutality and racial profiling. The group also held tutorials that taught black male youth how to deal with the police if they are detained, which included turning on the car's dome light, putting their hands on the wheel and deescalating the situation. However, many activists, including Al Sharpton, criticized Adams' efforts, claiming that he was merely teaching young black people how to "live under oppression." In 1999, Adams said on race in policing: Lying is at the root of our training. At the academy, recruits are told that they should not see black or brown people as different, but we all do. We all know that the majority of people arrested for predatory crimes are African-American. We didn't create that scenario, but we have to police in that scenario. So we need to be honest and talk about it. In 2006, Adams was put under surveillance and investigated by the NYPD for appearing on television in his official capacity as a police officer and critiquing Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He retired from the police force with the rank of captain in 2006. Early political career In the 1990s, Adams began to eye a political career with the ultimate goal of becoming the Mayor of New York City. He spoke to William Lynch Jr., who was an advisor to Mayor David Dinkins, about a political career. Lynch encouraged Adams first to obtain a bachelor's degree, rise within .... Discover the Eric Adams popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Eric Adams books.