Eric Adams is set to become the 110th mayor of New York City.
Adams was elected to the city's top leadership job on Tuesday night, with the Associated Press calling the election ten minutes after polls closed. Adams' victory over Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa looks resounding, with the Board of Election's unofficial results showing him holding 67.7% of the votes and Sliwa holding 27.2%
The current Brooklyn borough president, Adams will be only the second Black mayor in the city's history, and the first New York native to be elected since Rudy Giuliani, Gothamist reports.
On Tuesday night, Adams entered his celebration party at the New York Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge to Jadakiss' "The Champ Is Here," walking in from behind the crowd â" taking the throngs of photographers by surprise â" and dropping to his knees before starting his speech.
"New York has chosen one of you, one of your own. I am you," Adams told the 1,200 people who had gathered to see him.
"This campaign was never about me, it was about this city and the people in it, form every corner and every background. This campaign was for those who thought they were the forgotten, but also those who make the city operate every day. For those sitting in a cell in Rikers, I'm speaking to them tonight."
Adams told the crowd he had spent years "praying and hoping and struggling and working" to take the reins as the city's mayor, but acknowledged there would be vast challenges ahead: "We are fighting COVID, crime and economic devastation all at once."
"For a young man from south Jamaica Queens that grew up with all the challenges that New Yorkers face, it is not just a victory over adversity, it is a vindication of faith," he said.
"My mother cleaned houses, I washed dishes, I was beaten by the police and sat in the precinct certain that my future was already decided and now I'll be the person in charge of that precinct and every other precinct in this city."
Adams started the day by casting his vote at Brooklyn's P.S. 81, where he walked into the polling station holding a photograph of his mother, who cleaned houses to raise Adams and his five siblings.
According to the New York Times, Adams grew up poor in Queens and Brooklyn and was once a victim of police brutality, but later went on to become a captain in the NYPD who pushed for internal reform.
Throughout a close and contentious Democratic primary, Adams was one of the only candidates who advocated strongly for the NYPD. His Republican challenger, Sliwa, who differed ideologically on many points, had a similar view on the NYPD's role in the city.
On Tuesday night, Sliwa conceded to Adams, telling supporters he was âpledging my support to the new mayor Eric Adams," adding the jab: âYou will have Curtis Sliwa to kick around.â
Adams, for his part, rejected the city's current divisions: "I want you to believe again, I want you to believe in who we are. The greatest city in the world. We are in this together, no division"
Reynoso new Brooklyn borough president
Current Bushwick Councilmember Antonio Reynoso will take over from Adams as Brooklyn borough president.
According to the Board of Elections unofficial results Reynoso has 72.42% of votes for Brooklyn BP, and Republican Menachem M. Raitport has 20.97%.
Reynoso, 37, was born and raised in South Williamsburg by Dominican Republic immigrant parents. Now term limited, Reynoso came into office in 2014 after serving as chief of staff to his City Council predecessor Diana Reyna, who held the 34th District seat for 12 years.
He is part of the new generation of progressives on the political landscape. It's a group that includes U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Julia Salazar. Reynoso previously spoke with BK Reader about his vision for the borough.
"Brooklyn right now, I believe, is the progressive capital of this country. It's where many of the great ideas and policies and movements began. I want to be not just a leader in whatâs happening in the city or the state. I want to be a leader in the work thatâs happening in the country, in how we define Democrats moving forward," Reynoso said.
In other major races, Brad Lander will be the next city comptroller and Jumaane Williams will remain as the public advocate.
Brooklyn City Council race results:
District 34 (Williamsburg, Bushwick): Jennifer Gutierrez (Democratic)
District 35 (Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant): Crystal Hudson (Democratic)
District 36 (Bedford Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights): Chi A. Ossé (Democratic)
District 37 (Cypress Hills, Bushwick, City Line, Ocean Hill, Brownsville, East New York): Sandy Nurse (Democratic)
District 40 (Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Kensington, Midwood, Prospect Park, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens): Rita P. Joseph (Democratic)
District 41 (Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill-Brownsville, East Flatbush, Crown Heights): Darlene Mealy (Democratic)
District 42 (East New York, New Lots, Remsen Village, Spring Creek, Starrett City): Charles Barron (Democratic)
District 45 (Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Marine Park, Flatlands, Kensington): Farah Louis (Democratic)