As the opening notes to Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind” blared throughout the theater at Hostos Community College in the Bronx Wednesday, Eric Adams walked onto the stage.
The New York City mayor flashed a thumbs up as he made a lap around the stage, before stepping to the podium, where he held aloft a piece of paper that read: “NYC is rated greatest city.” The packed crowd rose to its feet and cheered.
“Crime is down, jobs are up,” Adams said, an often repeated slogan. “Every day, we are delivering for working-class New Yorkers.”
In his third State of the City since taking office, Adams projected optimism, both around his administration’s accomplishments to date and its vision for the future. The tone belied the mood around Adams in recent months, as his approval rating has plummeted amid the migrant crisis and a series of controversies, including the FBI investigation into his 2021 campaign’s ties to Turkey.
The latest round of negative headlines around Adams has come from his ongoing feud with Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker, and Jumaane Williams, the public advocate. Adams vetoed a pair of criminal justice bills championed by the duo, but the speaker says she intends to override Adams’ veto.
The speaker was in attendance Wednesday and received a shoutout from the mayor early in his speech.
“Speaker Adrienne Adams, I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Adams said, as the camera panned to the speaker. “I love you too,” she mouthed.
The mayor did not spend much time on the migrant crisis during his speech, instead choosing to highlight less politically-charged issues. He touted several initiatives in line with the new “green economy,” which he said would create 400,000 new jobs by 2040. He condemned unlicensed smoke shops.
And he proudly offered an update on the city’s rat problem.
“By removing those mountains of black bags on the sidewalks, our city closed down the rat buffet once and for all. And as a result, we are seeing major reductions in rat complaints citywide,” Adams said. “That’s right — the rats hate it. They are moving on and moving out."
He also proposed creating a new city agency to regulate package deliveries and increase the number of affordable housing by using public land.
