NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — In his first interview with 1010 WINS following his Tuesday night victory, Mayor-elect Eric Adams described his election as a "big win for New Yorkers."
"[For] New Yorkers who are in places where they feel a level of uncertainty, if it is a dishwasher, if it's a person who is going to school at night, if its a person with a learning disability, my story is the narrative of everyday New Yorkers ... one of their own is becoming the mayor of the city of New York," Adams said.
The 61-year-old former NYPD captain who has said public safety is a top priority told 1010 WINS that his administration will concentrate on police manpower — arguing officers should be riding the subway rather than "congregating by token booths."
"We are going to do what we did do in the early 80s and early 90s," he said. "I want my officers riding the trains looking on the platforms stepping out the [train] cars ... we're going to have a physical presence to deal with the perception and the reality of fear both of which are dangerous."
The outgoing Brooklyn borough president said he also wants to bring the private sector, corporate training to the NYPD to build better leaders and pledged to appoint a female NYPD commissioner — a first for the city.
"We have some great experts in the private industry that can train leadership — what it means to be a leader and how to move your troops to the right direction," Adams said.
Once in office, Adams said he would continue to meet with gang leaders in an effort to reduce crime, which has allowed him to discover that many suffered from learning disabilities and other inequalities.
"If we want to solve problems we have to be close to the people who understand the problems," he said.
From removing the city's bureaucratic reach on restaurants and businesses to helping small businesses, Adams said he believed the city should not be getting in the way of "empire" growth and stressed the need to bring back employees with public safety in focus.
"It's imperative that we start with a one or two day week and then work into finally a five day week to get people back into those office spaces because that feeds our financial ecosystem," he said.
Ultimately, Adams vowed to be the most "approachable and visible" mayor in history.
"I'm a 24 [hour], seven day a week person and I'm going to do that as a mayor but they are going to see me at every neighborhood of this city," he added.
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