Mayoral Hopeful Eric Adams on Schools, Development, Policing and More

The Brooklyn Beeps chalks the city’s troubles up to dysfunction. Winning the race will require defining that term, and outlining a plan to defeat it.

Eric Adams’ mayoral campaign is rooted in a diagnosis of dysfunction. The former cop and two-term borough president launched his race for City Hall last week with a thinly-veiled shot at the current occupant of that office: “People talk about the ‘Tale of Two Cities,’” he said. “But we need to acknowledge that the dysfunctionality of government is the author of that book.”

No one would deny that New York City’s public sector has fallen short: Cases in point include NYCHA’s handling of lead, the violence plaguing city jails, the delays getting kids the devices they need to learn online during the pandemic. Whether dysfunction is the exception or the rule is a matter of some debate: The schools did reopen with very little COVID-19 infections, after all, the city quickly set up a system to provide free food to many thousands of New Yorkers and the social-services agency figured out a way to move its operation almost entirely online. 

Either way, the presence of dysfunction is just one part of the sales pitch for someone running for mayor. The other part is what to do about it. That was the focus of the conversation Adams had this week with WBAI’s Max & Murphy Show.

Listen below as we quiz Adams on policing, education, development, climate change, health, his political philosophy and more.

Brooklyn BP Eric Adams on his Candidacy for Mayor