Photo Courtesy of Eastern Pkwy-Brooklyn Now ADA Accessible Museum
New York City is saying goodbye to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, as former police captain and Democratic New York State senator Eric Adams was elected to New York City mayor on Tuesday, Nov. 2, defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa. His election to office marks the second instance of a Black person holding the mayoral position. While he does not take office until Jan. 1, Adams’ office will inherit a wide range of issues from former Mayor de Blasio, including concerns about crime, COVID-19 handling, environmental concerns and criminal justice reform. As such, it’s time for everyone’s regularly scheduled reminder that you shouldn’t stop being invested in politics just because a Democrat is in office. Let’s look at his policies.
Kicking off the U.N. climate summit COP26, Adams has made it abundantly clear that he supports cryptocurrency, the mining of which poses immense detrimental effects on the environment. For a city that has sworn to take action against climate change, including Mayor de Blasio’s previous plans to reduce New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions, the hypocrisy of Adams’ willingness to take his first three paychecks as mayor through bitcoin cannot be overstated.
Shifting towards COVID-19 handling, since the end of this pandemic is nowhere in sight, Adams has also suggested he wants to end mask mandates in schools, compared to former Mayor de Blasio’s stance on a slower approach to a transition back to normal. The new mayor says his office will “follow science” before taking any action, according to NBC. Around one million children have gotten their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday, Nov. 10, according to NPR.
The main controversy surrounding Adams’ election ties back to his time on the police force and what his plans to “reform police” mean for the future of the city. Following years of increasing backlash towards police in the wake of immense national systemic violence, Adams conducted his campaign under the notion that he wanted to change the system for the better from the inside, citing his own experiences with police brutality and his desire to reform the system that has proven time and time again that it will not and is not legally required to protect civilians.
Despite this, Adams has made it clear he finds controversial tactics such as “stop and frisk” policies to be an effective tool for police, though he’s promised not to allow the practice be used discriminately as it has been in the past. These are bold words from a man who testified against the unlawful use of such tactics in court, according to reports from CBS. Considering cops’ tendency to turn off or cover body cameras, one must wonder what kind of accountability Adams expects in these practices.
By extension, following a closed-door meeting with Black Lives Matter of Greater New York organizers, Adams has said he plans to support plainclothes, no-gun units to “keep the city safe.” Again, considering the frequency at which police abuse and kill civilians without guns, Adams’ assertion that “[his] city will not be unsafe” may seem baseless to those low income communities and communities of color who will face the brunt of this new wave of policing.
Adams’ election is a disappointment for many progressive and leftist groups, who hoped that the future of electoral politics would prioritize radical reform of the criminal justice system following calls for defunding or abolishing the police. While Adams seeks to find a balance between fighting crime and ending racial injustice in policing, many feel there is little to no hope in reforming a system that was built on the foundations of white supremacy and anti-working class sentiments.
Proponents of Adams’ policies will opt to use euphemistic language to discuss his inauguration. How could his administration pose a threat to environmental sustainability when he’s a vegan? How can his administration uphold some of the most historically violent and discriminatory police forces when he’s a Black man and a former cop? How could the police forces under his administration continue ableist violence when he himself has a learning disability?
As should be said with every passing election: It’s not enough to feel satisfied simply because our public officials are “more diverse,” as they uphold the systems that protect those in power at the cost of the wellbeing of our fellow citizens. We must never become so complacent that we feel like we “don’t have to worry about politics anymore,” the way so many people did following President Biden’s inauguration. If you think that what is going on in politics doesn’t affect you, you aren’t paying enough attention to how it affects others.
