Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
“We’re So Damn Boring Now”: Eric Adams Talks Making NYC Cool Again, Gives Stephen Colbert Bag Of “Weed”
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 17, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 17, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Mayor-elect Eric Adams took a break from late night celebrations to stop by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night, where he talked about... his love of late night celebrations. “This is a city of nightlife. I must test the product,” Adams said, noting he stopped by three hotspots on election night. “We used to be the coolest place on the globe. We’re so damn boring now. We have to be among the people enjoying life. I want the cross-pollination of our energy and diversity of this city.”
Reminding everyone that he has an incredibly weird relationship with sleep, he added with koan-like zen, "If you're going to hang out with the boys at night, you have to get up with the men in the morning. I'm up at 5 a.m. every morning."
While some New Yorkers might take umbrage with Adams incorrectly declaring that NYC is boring now—only boring people get bored, Mr. Mayor-Elect—the NY Post ate it up, gushing about his first-ever appearance on Colbert. However, the interview was mostly filled with rehashed campaign talking points, Desmond Tutu quotes, and promises to "redefine" the police department.
"I'm going to tell my police officers I have your back, so do your job, but darnit, if you don't understand the nobility of public protection, you're getting out of my department," he said. "You will not use that job to abuse people...we have to redefine policing and what it means in our country and our city. And I'm going to get it right. We're not going to be heavy-handed. We're going to show how we can have a partnership between police and community. I know we can get it right."
Later, Colbert asked Adams where he falls as a progressive on a scale of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Joe Manchin. Adams, once again, took credit for being progressive before the term progressive was popular, but he also claimed he couldn't be boiled down to just one political ethos, because man is truly the most mysterious of all creatures.
Read More: Who's A True Progressive? Lately, The Answer Is Almost Everybody
"Long before people discovered this term called progressive, we were leading the way, and what progressive is all about," Adams said. "So I don't want people to put me in a box. There are some things I'm conservative thinking about, moderate thinking about, ultra-left thinking about, that is who I am. I tell New Yorkers and Americans, don't let people define you. I know who I am, I don't need any title. I'm Eric Adams."
At the end of the segment, Adams gave Colbert a gift bag that contained a blanket, t-shirt, a mock bag of weed, and tickets for the entire audience to see Broadway musical Chicago.
Tagged
late show with stephen colbert
late night tv
stephen colbert
television
tv
eric adams
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Ever wish you could get paid to walk through a stranger’s house? ‘The Scout’ is for you.
A new film focuses on the strange career of a location scout in New York City.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Sep 26, 2026
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
See the entire lineup for the weekend when the city opens its doors.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
See the entire lineup for the weekend when the city opens its doors.
By
Hannah Frishberg
A massive MTA archive ended up in a Virginia warehouse. A Brooklyn man brought it home.
By
Hannah Frishberg
How a Harry Styles pop-up in the East Village led to a nearby bookstore owner's arrest
By
Sonia Rao
NYC’s creative workers are increasingly self-employed, report says
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .