He was the "get stuff done" guy. That was the whole pitch. When Eric Adams took the stage in Times Square just after midnight on January 1, 2022, he didn't just bring the usual political platitudes; he brought a literal metropolitan swagger that New York hadn't seen in decades. A former NYPD captain who had been beaten by cops as a teenager—talk about a movie script. He promised a city that was both safe and just. Honestly, it felt like he might actually pull it off for a minute there.
But then the wheels started coming off in ways nobody quite expected.
Fast forward to January 2026. Eric Adams is no longer the mayor. He’s out. Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic Socialist, just moved into Gracie Mansion. If you’d told a political pundit in 2021 that the city’s second Black mayor would be a one-term incumbent who dropped out of his own reelection race after a federal indictment, they probably would’ve laughed you out of the room. Yet, here we are.
The Record Most People Ignore
Politics is a weird business because people usually only remember the scandals. They forget the actual work. During his four years, Eric Adams NYC mayor actually moved the needle on things that had been stuck for generations.
Take the "City of Yes." Most New Yorkers hear "zoning reform" and their eyes glaze over, but Adams pushed through the most aggressive housing changes the city has seen in fifty years. We’re talking about a plan projected to create roughly 80,000 new homes. He didn't just talk about the housing crisis; he physically changed the rules of the city to fight it.
And the rats. You can’t talk about Adams without the rats. He appointed the city’s first "Rat Czar," Kathleen Corradi, and basically declared a literal war on rodents. He started the "Trash Revolution," forcing businesses and eventually residential buildings to put garbage in actual bins instead of just throwing leaking bags on the sidewalk. It sounds small. It isn't. If you’ve ever tripped over a mountain of trash on 7th Avenue, you know that was a massive shift in how the city actually functions.
Crime is the big one, though.
🔗 Read more: Recent Obituaries in Charlottesville VA: What Most People Get Wrong
Adams ran as a public safety mayor, and by the time he left office at the start of 2026, the numbers were actually on his side. Murders were down. Shootings were way down—hitting record lows in 2025. He flooded the subways with cops. People complained about the cost, but for the first time in a while, the average straphanger felt like someone was actually watching the platform.
Why Eric Adams NYC Mayor Still Matters
So if the crime was down and the housing was up, why did it all fall apart?
It was the "company he kept." That’s the simplest way to put it. From the jump, the Adams administration felt like a tight-knit circle of old-school Brooklyn loyalists. That loyalty became a liability. By 2024, the FBI was basically a permanent fixture at City Hall. They raided the homes of his top advisors. They seized his phones on the street.
Then came the federal indictment in September 2024.
He was the first sitting NYC mayor to be charged with a federal crime. Prosecutors alleged he’d taken illegal campaign contributions and high-end travel perks from Turkish officials. Adams pleaded not guilty. He stayed defiant. He told everyone he wasn't going anywhere. And for a while, it looked like he might survive it.
The Trump Twist
Here is where the story gets truly bizarre. After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, things took a turn. In early 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice—under the new administration—instructed federal prosecutors to drop the charges against Adams.
💡 You might also like: Trump New Gun Laws: What Most People Get Wrong
The case was dismissed with prejudice in April 2025.
It was a legal miracle, but a political disaster. To the progressive base in New York, the "cozying up" to the Trump administration was the final straw. His approval ratings, which had already tanked to the 20% range, never really recovered. He tried to run for reelection as an Independent after dropping out of the Democratic primary, but the momentum was gone. He eventually withdrew entirely in September 2025.
The Ghost of the Administration
Even now, with Mamdani in office, the shadows of the Adams era haven't vanished. Just this week, in mid-January 2026, federal prosecutors charged Anthony Herbert—a former senior official in the Adams administration—with bribery.
The allegations are classic New York "pay-to-play" stuff. Kickbacks for funeral home directors, bribes for security contracts in public housing. It’s a reminder that while the mayor himself walked away from his charges, the culture of his inner circle is still under the microscope.
Real Lessons from the Adams Era
If you're looking for what to take away from the Eric Adams NYC mayor years, it's not just a "cautionary tale" about corruption. It’s more complex than that.
- Execution matters more than optics. Adams was great at the "announcement," but the follow-through often got mired in bureaucracy or legal drama.
- The "Outer Borough" base is real. Adams won because he spoke to the working-class voters in the Bronx and Brooklyn who care about crime more than they care about Twitter fights. Any future mayor who ignores that group will lose.
- Independence is a double-edged sword. Adams tried to be a different kind of Democrat—pro-police, pro-business—but in the end, he found himself without a party to protect him when the heat got turned up.
The city is different now. The "Trash Revolution" is still rolling. The bins are still on the curbs. The "City of Yes" housing is being built. But the man who started it all is watching from the sidelines, a reminder of how quickly "swagger" can turn into a legal defense fund.
📖 Related: Why Every Tornado Warning MN Now Live Alert Demands Your Immediate Attention
If you want to understand the current state of NYC, you have to look at the "Mayor-elect" plans for 2026. Mamdani is already moving to roll back the involuntary commitment policies Adams championed for the homeless. He's looking at a different approach to the migrant crisis, which saw over 200,000 people arrive during Adams' tenure.
The transition is jarring. We went from a cop who loved the nightlife to a socialist who wants to overhaul the entire system. New York always swings like a pendulum. Right now, it’s swinging as far away from the Adams era as possible.
What to watch for next:
Track the progress of the "City of Yes" housing developments in your specific borough. These projects are the most lasting legacy of the Adams administration and will dictate NYC's affordability for the next decade. If you're a renter, keep an eye on whether the new administration maintains the streamlined permitting processes established under the previous City Hall leadership.
Check the NYPD's quarterly crime data for 2026. Adams left with crime at historic lows; the big test for the new administration is whether those numbers hold without the aggressive, police-heavy tactics that defined the last four years.