Eric Adams, the outgoing New York City mayor, was asked on Friday during an ABC interview at Gracie Mansion what advice he has for Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect.
“You’re the mayor now, and it can’t be merely listening to the extremism of his party, like the Democratic Socialists of America, who never governed anything,” Adams told Bill Ritter, of the network. “You are now the mayor. You have to make tough decisions, and if you believe that you could just push those decisions to the side, it’s not going to happen.”
The mayor told ABC that it was “smart” for Mamdani to say he would retain Jessica Tisch as commissioner of the New York City Police Department.
“She’s doing a good job. Under all my commissioners, crime has gone down, under all of them. Let’s clearly understand that. So, me keeping an eye on the police department has been successful,” he said.
“She loves the city, and I think she’s going to bring a level of expertise,” he added. “But you’re going to see a lot of my staffers, he’s going to ask them to stay, because we ran the city well.”
Ritter asked Adams if he was “trying to block” Mamdani, citing the mayor’s hiring of 5,000 new police officers and the executive orders that he signed recently barring city officials from boycotting Israel and protecting New Yorkers from harassment at houses of worship.
“No,” Adams said. “I’m trying to protect my legacy.”
“Do you know how many products we get from Israel that save the lives of people in this country?” he said. “I spent years building up a relationship with the tech companies and the startups and Israel companies.”
“I believe houses of worship should be protected,” Adams added.
