PERSON OF THE YEAR 2021: Eric Adams
reaches the top of the heap in New York
SCHNEPS MEDIA STAFF
The Gracie Mansion
wasn’t easy. Eric Adams
overcame the trauma of
being a victim of police
brutality as a child in
Queens in order to pursue
a career in law enforcement.
In 1995, he
co-founded 100 Blacks
in Law Enforcement
Who Care as an advocacy
group against police
brutality and racial
profiling; the organization
held seminars for
young Black New Yorkers
on how to properly
avoid confrontation
with police.
During his two
terms as Brooklyn borough
president, Adams
proved to be a champion
for the borough,
with a hands-on style
to governing. When the
borough and the city
were hit hard by the COVID
19 pandemic, Adams
set up a mattress in
his Brooklyn Borough
Hall office so he could
directly answer the call
for help in leading the
area through the health
crisis.
Adams even overcame
the challenge of
diabetes, which at one
point had left him temporarily
blind. He dramatically
changed his
diet and put the debilitating
disease into remission,
and in doing
so, became a champion
for plant-based diets in
the city.
Then Adams made
the biggest career move
of his life in the fall of
2020, declaring his candidacy
for what’s often
described, in a normal
Caribbean L 20 ife, JANUARY 21-27, 2022
year, as “the second
toughest job in America”:
being mayor of
New York City.
‘Swagger’ and being
‘radically practical’
“This campaign was
for those who have
been betrayed by their
government,” Adams
recalled at his victory
speech on Nov. 3 after
winning the mayoral
election. He had run
on a moderate progressive
platform, seeking
to pull the city back
together following the
strained pandemic
years with a mixture of
what he would later call
“swagger” and being
“radically practical.”
As one example, Adams
said he wanted to
address both the horrific
conditions on Rikers
Island and expand
community resources
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
to help combat violence.
But he’s also been quick
to call for reforms to
stop violent criminals
from returning to the
streets.
“The best-anti-violence
measure is a job,”
Adams said at his victory
speech. “We can’t
Mayor Eric Adams at the top of the Empire State Building on Jan. 18, 2022.
FILE PHOTO
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams with Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, who also heads the Kings County
Democratic Party
FILE PHOTO
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams speaking at a Borough park event.