Many New Yorkers just want their city to be orderly, functional and fun again after two years of plague and social disorder. Its new mayor, Eric Adams, has promised to do so.
The question is whether the Democrat who vowed to bring New York back to its “swagger” will be able to gain momentum in the face of repeated setbacks.
Adams’ optimism remained high even as he marked 100 days as mayor on Sunday by going into quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.
Adams, 61, contracted the virus after a typical busy week for himself and his time in office: He had attended the Gridiron dinner in Washington, attended a gala in New York, posed with Robert de Niro at a film festival, had attended the Yankees’ opening game and a host of events at the state Capitol.
“I’m going to keep trying to be as visible as possible as we get through COVID and a lot of the other crises that we’re facing,” Adams said Monday, vowing to return to his busy schedule after recovering from the virus.
In his first 100 days in office, Adams has projected aggressive confidence in pursuing policies aimed at combating an image of New York City as plagued by the pandemic and beset by rising crime.
He has dropped many of the precautions related to COVID-19 and is reluctant to bring them back, even as cases of the virus have risen steadily.
He has ordered homeless encampments to be removed from public spaces, despite complaints from activists that the raids are inhumane.
Despite objections from progressives, Adams, a former police captain, brought back the NYPD’s anti-gun unit, disbanded by the previous mayor, saying that with better oversight it will shed its past reputation for excessive use of strength.
Critics say Adams is adopting the worst tendencies of previous mayors, known for their heavy-handed approaches to policing and social services.
Adams says he doesn’t like chaos, as “Saturday Night Live” noted in his first days in office. Instead, he seeks to harness the dynamism of the city.
“That’s what I think our failure in the city is all about. … We’ve thrown our hands up and said this city is not manageable. That’s not true,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, before testing positive for the virus. COVID-19 test.
He said he starts each morning by poring over a series of spreadsheets filled with data on his top initiatives.
Inspecting his efforts to clear the tents and makeshift shelters set up by the homeless, Adams scrolls through hundreds of color-coded rows listing individual encampments reported to the city, some of which have been reported. by the mayor himself.
Check to see if the entrances are shaded blue by someone from your administration, indicating that municipal workers have posted notices that they are going to clean up the area. Check that the blue entries later become yellow, coded as “cleanup successful”. If many days go by and the colors don’t change, he makes a call to find out why.
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At a news conference last month, he said the city had cleared 239 encampments in its first 12 days. Although the city did not provide data on the number of people living in the camps, only five accepted offers to move to a shelter.
Adams said he thinks the number will grow, as it has with efforts to reach the homeless on the subway system.
The mayor also reviews daily spreadsheets that compile data on crime, the city’s extensive transit system, affordable and supportive housing units, and hiring and promotions in his government.
He likened himself to an airplane pilot who sits down and checks his instruments before taking off, calling the city “complex machinery.”
“You have to constantly inspect what is expected, or suspicious,” Adams said, using one of his favorite catchphrases.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, state legislator and Brooklyn Borough President-elect, had to deal with relentless crises in his first month in office.
A fire ripped through a high-rise apartment building, killing 17 people; a baby was injured by gunshots; two police officers were fatally shot while responding to a call; a woman was pushed to her death in front of a subway train by an unknown person.
“Outside of 9/11, I don’t know if another mayor has been swamped by so many things at once,” Adams said.
Crime, which has increased in cities across the United States, has become one of their main concerns.
It is by far the thorniest issue Adams has ever taken on, said Jon Reinish, a Democratic political strategist in New York City. But 100 days is still early, Reinish said, and a better barometer of progress would be one year of government.
“I think he has done well so far, but Rome was not built in a day,” he said.
New York City’s elected public defender Jumaane Williams, a progressive Democrat who serves as the city’s ombudsman, praised Adams for partnering with him on issues such as food insecurity, black maternal health and the jobs of summer for young people But he said he worries about too much emphasis on surveillance and not enough attention to mental health.
Adams, who is black, says he spoke out about racist and unfair practices in the department when he was an officer. He says police can learn from past mistakes while using new tools like body cameras for accountability, but the city also can’t go back to the days of high rates of violent crime.
“I know I don’t want to go back to violence or abuse. Some people just talk about not going back to the abuse,” she said.
Critics have also said that Adams’ actions to clear homeless encampments are short-sighted, especially as some homeless people say they don’t feel safe in city shelters and that there isn’t enough affordable housing for them. provide a long-term solution.
“It seems to me we’re doing the latter first,” Williams said.
Adams argues that it is inhumane to allow people to sleep rough and defends his plan by pointing to a city law that guarantees the right to a shelter space for any homeless person in need.
But he also notes that when a campsite is cleared, “it’s amazing how visually, it just changes the mindset of your neighborhood. And that’s part of the goal. Because we are dealing with a real problem and the perception of a problem.”
Perception, he said, is also why he posts photos and videos on social media of himself shoveling snow during blizzards or is seen meeting people all over town and visiting restaurants, nightclubs and glitzy events.
“We have to get the city going again and a lot of New Yorkers are starting to do that. And they need to see me in the process,” she said. “As I deal with crises, I also have to be on that red carpet. Because Broadway is an important economic engine for our city.”
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