New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday said that he is dissatisfied with how the media has portrayed him during his term and criticized the Democratic Socialists of America, the political group that helped Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani win office.
During a roundtable discussion with Community and Ethnic Media outlets as his mayoral term comes to a close, Adams warned that the city could be in trouble after the socialist mayor takes charge in 2026.
“New Yorkers don't know. They don't know the DSA. They don't know this group that is closely aligned with Zohran and their policies, if he were to follow them, are destructive to the quality of life of our city,” said Adams.
Adams said Mamdani would decriminalize prostitution, release inmates from Rikers Island, and tax individuals based on ethnicity, without elaborating further.
“It’s problematic… We can’t go backwards. That’s what is troubling to me,” Adams said. “When I became mayor, it wasn't just something that I did [to go from] Borough President to [state] senator, but it went all the way back to my days of being a police officer. There were different things that I noticed, really, during childhood, how my family was betrayed."
Adams, a former captain of the New York Police Department, took pride on how his administration cracked down on crime since the pandemic. “We turned the city around. I inherited a city that was dealing with real crime, gun violence,” he said.
He also noted his focus on hate crimes, going as far as to make an office to combat antisemitism during his term.
“The first office to combat hate was for African Americans. A lot of you don't realize that that was the first office to do so," Adams said. "You can't be 10% of the population and 51% of the hate crime."
The next administration must be extremely clear on a position around hate in general, but also antisemitism, the mayor said.
"You can't stand in front of a synagogue and call for Globalizing the Intifada," he added.
Adams, who came into office in 2022, ran a tight race for mayor back in 2021 against notable candidates such as Maya Wiley, Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia in the Democratic primary. After being selected as candidate through ranked choice voting, Adams won the general election against the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa.
The second African American mayor of New York City, however, faced a criminal indictment in September 2024, when he was accused of taking bribes and illegal campaign donations in exchange for favors at City Hall. This indictment was dropped by the U.S. Department of Justice under the direction of President Donald Trump and later dismissed by a federal judge in April.
Although Adams kicked off his re-election campaign in late June 2025 under an independent ballot line, he ended his bid in late September, instead endorsing former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Monday's roundtable discussion was only for Ethnic and Community Media outlets, a City Hall press group that Adams created in 2021.
“You had no seat in Room 9," said Adams, referring to the central press room at City Hall. "It was as if the ethnic media didn't exist.”
The mayor, who had held weekly press conferences until June, said he stopped the sessions because the press only focused on covering his “personal agendas.”
“Why not report the thumbs-up moment as you report the middle finger?" he said.
One regret, Adams said, is not adopting translation technology for city services earlier, a policy he recently introduced.
“We have to become a more language-friendly city… If you don't speak English, you really don't get access to your fair share of governmental services,” said Adams.
The outgoing mayor said he has had several job offers, but is also thinking about going back to school and writing a book.
When asked by BK Reader if he has any advice for the incoming mayor, Adams stated, “Ignore the noise.”
