Eric Adams may be on track to becoming New York City’s next mayor but everyone isn’t sold on the former police captain’s dedication to the city.
Adams allowed local reporters to tour his home in Central Brooklyn on Wednesday after a Politico New York report raised questions about his residency, per NBC News.
“If I’m not at Borough Hall, I’m here,” said Adams to reporters while at his home. “Majority of my nights I sleep here.”
He added: “How foolish would someone have to be to run to be the mayor of the city of New York and live in another municipality?”
Questions were raised after a report revealed that the mayoral candidate had another property in Brooklyn and a co-op in New Jersey which he shares with his partner, Tracey Collins. Adams said the toured home was his main residence. Records revealed it was purchased in 2003 and the mortgage was satisfied in 2018.
Adams’ son Jordan, 25, joined him on the tour and said his job as a police captain made him “secretive and quiet.”
He added, “And my opponents, who trail me, they know where I’ve been,” said Adams as he wiped away tears. “It’s not a mystery where I am.”
He goes on to tell a story about a time when shots were fired at his vehicle with his infant son inside.
“My secrecy is my family. I signed up for this life. They did not sign up for this life.” He added that rented-out units in his properties supported his son’s college tuition.
But Adams’ critics weren’t convinced.
“You cannot simply have a cloud over the leadership of this city having to do with whether the rules of engagement have been followed,” his opponent businessman Raymond McGuire told the New York Daily News. “Nobody gets a pass in this city. Nobody should get a pass.”
The general election is not until November but whoever wins the June 22 primary is likely to be the next mayor of New York City.
As reported by theGrio, Adams has a lead on former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President and former New York Police Department officer, is ahead of his rival by six points, according to the Spectrum News NY1/ IPSOS poll conducted in late May and released Monday.
Per New York Post, Adams has the support of 22 percent of liberal voters compared to Yang at 16 percent.
As theGrio previously reported, the six other New York City mayoral candidate besides Adams and Yang are former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan; former NYC Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia; former Citigroup vice-chairman Ray McGuire; nonprofit executive Dianne Morales; New York City comptroller Scott Stringer; civil rights lawyer and professor Maya Wiley.
“Clearly, Eric Adams has the momentum in this race, driven by everyday New Yorkers who agree Eric can deliver a safer, fairer, more prosperous city for all,” Evan Thies, Adams’ campaign manager, previously said.
Additional reporting by Ny Magee
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!