NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Mayor Eric Adams celebrated Good Friday by recommitting himself to his faith, New York City and “our shared efforts to give all New Yorkers a chance to succeed.”
On his public schedule, City Hall classified the reason for the mayor’s 10:15 a.m. visit to Rikers Island as meeting with detainees. But in addition to holding space with the group of 11, Adams joined the men in baptism in the prison chapel.
“You know my journey. I went from being arrested to being elected mayor,” Adams wrote in his post commemorating the event. “For the first time in their lives, they had a mayor who does not look down on them but rather sat side-by-side with them as we recommit ourselves to the right path.”
Photos from the baptism show Adams having his feet washed, holy water poured over his head and standing with the pastors in prayer.
The baptism was performed by Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, and Rev. Herbert Daughtry, pastor of Brooklyn’s House of the Lord Pentecostal Church.
In a post regarding the baptism, the civil rights leader offered a message to detainees: “One Can Be Redeemed, Resurrect Yourself to Overcome Any Past Misdeeds,” Sharpton wrote.
Adams met the men through Fatherless No More, a prison ministry program that aims to rehabilitate incarcerated men.
On Tuesday, Adams visited Rikers Island and met with a group of 12 men before their own baptisms with the program.
“Sometimes it takes faith to get back on the right track and I am proud to help them mark a new beginning,” Adams said.
Rikers Island, long plagued by issues of violence and neglect, remains the subject of a legal battle that could result in a federal takeover of the prison, much to Adams’ disapproval.
In a radio interview for “The Breakfast Club” that aired Friday morning, Adams acknowledged his Tuesday visit to Rikers and his ongoing relationship with the prison.
“I’ve been on Rikers Island more than any mayor in the history of the city talking with inmates and correction officers to turn around what’s happening on Rikers Island,” Adams said.