Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Mayor Adams’ charges are gone. Will his reelection campaign gain enough steam?
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Apr 3, 2025
Modified Apr 3, 2025
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 .
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Apr 3, 2025
Modified Apr 3, 2025
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
This column originally appeared in The Politics Brief, our new weekly newsletter on the people, power and policies that shape New Yorkers' lives .
Sign up to get the full version where you can ask questions, share news tips and weigh in on the conversation. Hits inboxes on Wednesdays.
For Mayor Eric Adams, it was the best imaginable news in an otherwise miserable year: On Wednesday, a judge ruled that his federal corruption case would be dismissed for good, putting an end to an indictment that has left him on political life support.
Adams has always insisted that he did nothing wrong. Following the decision, he held a brief press conference at Gracie Mansion where he said the “baseless” case “should have never been brought in the first place” and promoted a book by President Donald Trump’s FBI director, Kash Patel.
But will the dismissal of the charges – which forever link him to Trump and an unprecedented intervention by the Department of Justice – translate into vindication? Adams declared he'd run as an independent Thursday, but he will still have to face the winner of the Democratic primary in November.
The mayor didn’t take reporters’ questions on Wednesday, but as he bounded up the steps of Gracie Mansion, he declared, “I’m going to win.”
Political experts say otherwise.
“Eric Adams has been a nonfactor in the mayor’s race. He will continue to be a nonfactor,” said Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist who is not working on any of the 2025 mayoral campaigns.
Indeed, Adams has been in the single digits in multiple polls. And his approval ratings are at a historic low. A Quinnipiac University survey in March found that 72% of Democrats said Adams should resign.
“Donald Trump might be more popular with New York Democrats than Eric Adams is,” Yang said. “That’s how bad it is.”
Basil Smikle, a former Democratic strategist who teaches at Columbia University, said the mayor cannot “unring the bell” when it comes to his indictment. Smikle said Adams’ reluctance to criticize Trump — a stance that puts him at odds with many of his opponents — is even more problematic.
“It’s not insurmountable,” Smikle said, “but it’s a lot of ground he has to cover politically in a short period of time.”
Before the ruling, Adams had sent mixed signals about his commitment to run for a second term. He hasn’t held any campaign events and he’s seen a steep drop in his fundraising. At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, he refused to say whether he planned to file petitions to get on the ballot for the Democratic primary and then Thursday declared he would run as an independent.
But Adams also delivered his most caustic criticism yet of Andrew Cuomo, a front-runner with plenty of his own political baggage. Polls show the former governor with a comfortable lead against a crowded field of Democrats, but opponents are repeatedly attacking him over his handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and other policy decisions.
Adams accused Cuomo of being out of touch.
“Ask him when was the last time he was on the subway alone,” Adams told reporters. (The mayor is certainly no stranger to the subways. Just last month he reminisced about riding the A train to visit a “shorty in Rockaway.”)
The mayor’s jabs at Cuomo were a reminder that Adams can be an effective campaigner. But will it be sufficient to defeat Cuomo, who is running on a similar moderate platform centered on public safety?
“Andrew Cuomo is a deluxe supercharged version of Eric Adams,” Yang said. “The best version of Eric Adams is not the one standing before us today.”
This story has been updated to reflect that Adams is now running as an independent.
We want to hear from you
Does the dismissal of the mayor’s charges change how you plan to vote? We'll share responses in next week's newsletter. (Sign up!)
This week in New York politics
- This was Mayor Adams’ first order of business after a federal judge dismissed his corruption case.
- Cuomo may have burned some bridges with city officials while he was governor. Will that hurt his mayoral campaign?
- Tesla operates a state-owned factory in Western New York. Will the state stop the company from resigning their agreement?
- Should drivers with speeding records have “speed limiters” on their cars? Some lawmakers think so.
- The Working Families Party voted late Saturday to endorse a slate of four left-leaning Democrats. See whom.
- New York state is on track to prohibit students from using their smartphones during the entire school day. This is where the bill stands.
- Listen: Brian Lehrer spoke with Andrew Marantz, staff writer at the New Yorker and author, about how the left can connect with young men after the presidential election showed the demographic heavily favoring Trump. Listen here.
Tagged
new york city
Politics
eric adams
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
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 .