BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR JAN. 21-27, 2022 33
Q.) Who were the people
who most influenced
your political
career and made you
the person you are today?
Adams: The person
who had the greatest
inf luence on me was
my mother, Dorothy,
who raised me and my
five siblings as a single
mother. I brought
my mother’s portrait
to my swearing-in ceremony
in Times Square
to pay homage to her
memory. My life’s
journey ref lects a lesson
she taught me at
a young age: being in a
dark place isn’t always a
burial — for me, it was a
planting.
Q.) What has been the
most difficult challenge
in your career to date?
Could you talk about
how you responded to
it and how it shaped
your leadership skills?
Adams: The COVID-19
pandemic has been one
of the most challenging
periods in our city’s
history. When the first
wave hit New York in
the spring of 2020, my
staff and I immediately
were on the ground to
deliver supplies, such as
food and PPE, to frontline
workers and hardhit
communities. It was
an important reminder
for me that leaders, like
generals, don’t lead their
troops from the back; they
lead them from the front.
Q.) Would you describe
the greatest accomplishment
you’ve made in
your career to date, besides
being elected
mayor?
Adams: My greatest accomplishment
is being
a father to my son, Jordan.
Q.) Describe the three
biggest challenges
you’re facing as
mayor and how you’re
going to address
them in the next 100
days.
Adams: My main priorities
right now are
beating back the surge
in COVID cases and
building an equitable
recovery, keeping our
schools open and safe,
and upholding public
safety. We have already
hit the ground running
to Get Stuff Done for New
Yorkers.
Q.) Four years from
now, when you’re up
for re-election, where
do you see New York
being? And beyond the
next four years, where
do you see your future
going?
Adams: It’s too early to
discuss the future. I’m
living in the here and
now, and focused on delivering
for the people of
this city each and every
day.
PHOTO BY PAUL FRANGIPANE
After the George Floyd protests of 2020, then-Borough President Adams helped paint one of the borough’s two Black
Lives Matter murals.
FILE PHOTO
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams speaking at a Boroug park event.
FILE PHOTO
Borough President Adams saluting the Arab American community at Borough Hall in 2018.
COURTESY NYC MAYOR’S OFFICE
Eric Adams rose through the ranks of the NYPD and became an outspoken
advocate for Black law enforcement officers.