New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he will now run as an Independent candidate in the November mayoral election.
In a video posted on his personal X handle, the mayor said he will forgo running as a Democrat and will not be part of the June 24 primary election.
"When New York is worried about their bills at the kitchen table, or feeling unsafe on the subway platform, they don't expect a political party to help," Adams said. "They want leadership from a person who understands their struggle and their story. There isn't a liberal or conservative way to fix New York, but there is a right and wrong way."
Adams, who made the announcement a day after his federal corruption case was dropped by a judge, said the case took too long to wrap up. Despite collecting over 25,000 petition signatures so he could run in the Democratic primary, Adams said it was impossible to run an effective campaign.
The mayor also had some regrets.
"I know that the accusations leveled against me may have shaken your confidence in me and you may rightly have questions about my conduct," he said. "And let me be clear, though the charges against me were false, I trusted people I should not have and I regret that."
Adams said the city is better served by independent leadership, "not leaders pulled by extremists on the far left or far right."
