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Mayor Adams has a message for NYC's next mayor: 'Don’t f— it up'
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Oct 1, 2025
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Adam Gray/Getty Images
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Oct 1, 2025
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Mayor Eric Adams may have surrendered his long-shot re-election bid, but in at least one way, he is leaving office as he entered: quotable and unbridled.
In one of his first public appearances since declaring he would end his mayoral campaign, Adams on Wednesday delivered an indirect parting shot to Democratic nominee and front-runner Zohran Mamdani during a briefing at NYPD headquarters. The mayor and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said shootings and subway crime dipped to historic lows during the first nine months of the year.
“This city is in good shape, and we need to make sure we don't go backwards,” he said, without naming Mamdani. “And let me say in the words of Bloomberg when I became mayor, 'Don't f--- it up.'”
His remarks suggested a combative mood as he reckons with his final three months in office and the prospect of being succeeded by a left-leaning candidate who is ideologically opposed to him on many issues, particularly the role of police in public safety. The comments were also part of Adams' larger attempt to redefine his legacy in office, which been plagued by scandal and allegations of corruption.
Adams ticked off several policies where he and Mamdani have differed, like the long-planned closure of Rikers Island and how to handle 911 calls involving people with mental health issues. Criminal justice advocates have repeatedly accused Adams of slow-walking the plan to close the troubled jail complex and replace it with borough-based jails.
Mamdani has publicly supported closing Rikers Island by the end of 2027, even though construction on the city’s new jails isn’t on track to be finished by then. He’s also said he would have mental health workers replace some of the work of police officers, which Adams says could endanger people.
“I am not confident that New Yorkers are going to continue this success that we have witnessed,” Adams said. “When you talk about safety, you have to be very clear, you have to be very focused. And I don't see that clarity.”
He added one of his political refrains: “Idealism collides with realism.”
The Mamdani campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adams declined to take questions that weren’t related to crime during Wednesday’s news conference. He’s still yet to endorse a candidate in the mayor’s race, though earlier this week he told a New York Post columnist he was “more inclined to [former Gov. Andrew] Cuomo.” Adams' former chief of staff Frank Carone told the New York Times that he plans to work on Cuomo’s campaign or a political action committee that supports his interests.
In another twist to what’s been a roller-coaster campaign, one of Adams' most eccentric supporters on Tuesday urged him to return to the race. Brock Pierce, the former child actor and cryptocurrency investor who in 2021 flew the mayor to Puerto Rico on his private jet, held a press conference saying that one of the mayor’s political action committees offered to refund him a $1 million donation. Pierce said he declined the gesture, saying, “I want New York City to draft him [Adams] back.”
Adams is also facing questions about a tell-all memoir from an ex-mayoral aide, Jasmine Ray, who claims she had a “secret relationship” with the mayor. Kayla Mamelak-Altus, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the two had briefly dated before Adams was elected mayor. Ray was hired by Adams in 2022 to run the Mayor’s Office of Sports and Recreation, a $161,000-a-year job that did not previously exist.
Adams ignored questions about the book, titled “Political Humanity,” following Wednesday’s news conference. Earlier in the day, Ray published an artificial intelligence-generated trailer for the publication. It’s slated to be released electronically on Sunday.
Tagged
Politics
new york city
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]
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