What Black Voters Are Saying About Eric Adams Since His Indictment

NEW YORK — He danced to gospel-tinged music as the churchgoers sang in unison. The crowd cheered as he told a story about growing up poor in Queens, about 6 miles from the church event Monday evening.

The pastor singled him out in his prayers, saying, “Help him, Lord, during this challenging time.” And when the mayor left the stage, his departure was greeted by a shout from the audience.

“We love you, Eric Adams!” a woman said.

Since his indictment last week, Adams has frequently sought refuge and support from his strongest backers: Black and brown working-class New Yorkers drawn to his message of faith, charm and empathy.

He appeared at a Harlem senior center Friday; at an AME church in Queens on Saturday; a Presbyterian Reformed church in the Bronx on Sunday; and at Aliento de Vida Church in Corona, Queens, on Monday, where gatherers celebrated “An Evening of Faith With Mayor Adams.”

And it was here that pockets of New Yorkers could be found who had not soured on the mayor since a five-count corruption indictment accused him of soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations from the Turkish government.

Latricia T. Davis, 58, a former correctional captain who said she voted for Adams three years ago, said the indictment did not change her intention to vote for him again.

“It does not stop my support for him,” said Davis, the woman who shouted her love for the mayor at the church. “We’ve all had some challenges. We’ve all had some situations that we may not be most proud of.”

Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, seems to recognize that he will need voters like her to help save or extend his mayoralty. On the morning his indictment was unsealed, the mayor surrounded himself at a news conference with Black supporters, including the Rev. Herbert Daughtry and Hazel Dukes, the president of the NAACP New York State Conference. The event, however, was disrupted by protesters, some of them Black, who called on Adams to resign.

His hopes of finishing his first term and winning reelection next year could depend on support from Black voters, who have been at the center of the mayor’s coalition and who account for roughly 30% of Democratic primary voters.

In the days after the mayor’s indictment, The New York Times visited five neighborhoods across New York City where Adams has enjoyed broad support and conducted more than two dozen interviews. Roughly half of those interviewed defended the mayor or believed he was being unfairly targeted. Many still expressed disappointment in him and worried about the city’s future.

In South Jamaica, Queens, where the mayor grew up, Akahnni Delgado, a 25-year-old mail carrier, said over the weekend that he was frustrated that Adams appeared to have behaved recklessly, and he was concerned that the mayor had not learned his lesson.

“He should resign,” Delgado said. “Or who’s to say he wouldn’t do it again and do it another way?”

Older voters were more likely to defend the mayor. As Stephanie Bloodsaw, 54, a human services worker, caught the bus in Queens, she said she thought the mayor was being treated unfairly, comparing his treatment with that given to former President Donald Trump, who has been charged in several criminal cases and convicted in one.

“Donald Trump has all these felonies and they’re letting him run for president?” she said.

“What’s the difference?” she asked, pointing to the shade of skin on the back of her hand and lifting her eyebrows.

Michael Totten, 65, a retired firefighter who owns Lock and Roll Locksmith in Queens, said he was proud when Adams was elected and shared many similar life experiences with him.

“I was sad that he was indicted,” he said. “I hope he fights it right to the end.”

Totten said he saw an ugly connection between the treatment of Adams and David Dinkins, the city’s first Black mayor. Adams has often compared himself to Dinkins and said they faced unfair discrimination.

“Both guys are stand-up guys,” Totten said. “Dinkins was undermined. The same thing’s happening to him,” he said, referring to Adams.

Kevin Sealy, 63, who works for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and said he went to high school with the mayor, said he voted for Adams and liked that he was a centrist. But he said the indictment was concerning.

“When you hear so many of his top officials and advisers are resigning and getting investigated, you begin to think something is going wrong,” he said.

Sealy took issue with the idea that Adams was similar to Dinkins.

“David Dinkins wasn’t indicted,” Sealy said.

A poll from December suggested that even as the mayor’s poll numbers fell to record lows, Adams kept a relatively positive rating among Black voters. Only 28% of white voters approved of the mayor, compared with 48% of Black voters. There has not been any new polling since the indictment.

As a lifelong New Yorker, Adams has deep ties to many neighborhoods. He was born in Brownsville in Brooklyn and raised in South Jamaica in Queens. He was a police officer for 22 years and then served as a state senator and Brooklyn borough president.

Adams often says, “I’m not new to this, I’m true to this,” to remind New Yorkers about his long-standing ties to various constituencies. The mayor also has close ties to faith leaders and frequently visits churches and speaks about his faith. He often says that God told him he would be mayor.

Susan Green, a parishioner at the Greater Allen AME Cathedral in South Jamaica, where the mayor appeared Saturday, said she worked on his campaign for Brooklyn borough president and was surprised by the indictment.

“Stay and fight the charges,” she said. “Innocent until proven guilty. That’s what’s great about America.”

Nicole Ottley, a minister who attended the service in South Jamaica, said she voted for Adams and liked his background in the Police Department. She does not think he is guilty.

“I’m more angry to see people pressuring him to step down,” she said. “I think it’s very irresponsible, it’s wrong.”

Some Black elected officials have called on Adams to resign, while others are taking a wait-and-see approach. The City Council speaker, Adrienne Adams, stopped short of urging him to resign, but expressed concern about his ability to manage the city.

Christopher Banks, a City Council member from East New York in Brooklyn, said the mayor should step down. The mayor’s legal problems could have a negative impact on his district, he said, which is grappling with poverty, gun violence and a rise in stop-and-frisk policing.

“Obviously he has the right to due process, but I think elected officials are held to a higher standard,” he said.

Joanna Allen, 62, a member of the Changing Lives Christian Center in East New York, which Adams visited recently, said she had supported the mayor and now believed he should resign. She said she did not think prosecutors would charge him without sufficient evidence.

“I was just very disappointed to hear what’s going on, and it’s a real shame,” she said.

Kathryn Price, 39, a secretary who lives in South Jamaica, said she thought Adams had been doing a good job as mayor, but she was worried about his ethical issues.

“I think once he took the job, he should’ve known all the rules and ethics,” she said. “He should’ve been more careful, especially in this city.”

Bernadelle Boateng, 21, a recent college graduate who attended the Bronx church service where the mayor spoke, said she believed Adams should stay in office, at least for now.

“I think he should continue to lead now until, you know, things are a little bit more resolved, because we need a leader in the moment,” she said.

In Harlem in Manhattan, Amin Shabazz, 67, said he had voted for Adams and was heartbroken. The amounts of money that the mayor was accused of accepting were relatively small, he said, and the allegations could have been worse considering what other politicians have been convicted of doing.

Shabazz said he still believed that Adams was a “good man,” but he said he could not vote for the mayor again and believed he should resign.

“He wouldn’t be able to be effective,” he said. “That’s gone.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .