By Mary Alice Miller
One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn’t belong: Eric Adams, Laurie Cumbo, Letitia James, Hakeem Jeffries, and Walter Mosley. The Fab Five of Central Brooklyn served their constituents well and earned their career trajectories.
Adams moved from State Senate to Brooklyn Borough President, then Mayor. Former Council member Laurie Cumbo became New York City’s first Black Commissioner of Cultural Affairs. Letitia James moved from City Council to NYC Public Advocate and then New York State Attorney General. Hakeem Jeffries went from the New York State Assembly to Congress, where he is in line to become Speaker. And Walter Mosley went from Assembly to NYS Secretary of State.
Among the Fab Five, Adams is the only one to implode, based on his own actions and the company he kept.
Adams endeared himself within the Black community when he spoke of what propelled him to join law enforcement: he was injured by police as a result of youthful transgressions.
He began his career in law enforcement in the New York City Transit Police, which later merged with the New York City Police Department. Adams retired from NYPD with the rank of Captain after 22 years of service. During that time he was a member of and served as president of the Grand Council of Guardians, an association that advocates for the interests of Black officers.
In response to the election of Rudy Giuliani, Adams later co-founded the highly respected 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, a group of active duty and retired NYPD employees who addressed police relations with the Black community by speaking out against police brutality, racial profiling and police misconduct.
Behind the scenes, Adams was one of the signatories of the incorporation papers for the National Action Network, led by Rev. Al Sharpton.
It was during this time that Adams began openly talking about his goal of running for mayor.
Citywide support from the Black community coalesced when just as he was preparing to retire from NYPD with the rank of Captain, the Internal Affairs Bureau investigated Adams for criticizing Mayor Michael Bloomberg on television. He was found guilty for speaking in an official capacity.
In retirement, Adams ran for New York State Senate representing the 20th district in Brooklyn, where he served four terms from 2006-2013. It was there where chinks in Adams’ swagger began to emerge.
As a freshman state senator, Adams joined other legislators requesting a pay raise for New York’s lawmakers, who had not received a raise since 1999. Admittedly, although they ranked third-highest in pay among state lawmakers in the United States, the pay at that time was not enough to support lodging and other expenses in Albany and their home districts. But he displayed a glimpse of crassness when during a floor speech advocating for an increase in pay for legislators, Adams declared, “Show me the money.”
During a short Democratic majority in 2009-2010 that saw an embarrassing leadership crisis after 40 years of Republican control of the Senate, Majority Leader Malcolm Smith was displaced by a coalition of 30 Republicans and two Democrats, Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate. Republican Dean Skelos was voted Majority Leader. The Senate was paralyzed by a 31-31 tie until Espada was selected new Majority Leader.
After all of this, Adams was one of a handful of the New York Senate who voted in February 2010 not to expel Senator Hiram Monserrate from the legislature after he was convicted of assault for a domestic violence incident against his girlfriend. Espada, Smith, and Skelos were later convicted and sentenced on separate unrelated charges.
In 2007 NYS issued requests for proposals for a racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. A series of developers bid for the project, some with investor ties to then Governor Paterson or former Congressman Rev. Floyd Flake. By 2010, Adams became Chair of the Senate Racing and Wagering Committee. After Paterson announced Aqueduct Entertainment Group as the winning bidder, an investigation commenced regarding the selection.
A state inspector general report found that Adams played a behind the scenes role in the selection, alleging that he leaked information on the bidding process, solicited campaign funds from potential bidders, and attended the victory celebration for AEG’s awarded contract. The entire affair was referred to the United States Department of Justice, which took no action. The Genting Group ultimately built Resort World Casino NYC at the site.
We all know the scandals during Adams’ mayoral administration which caused his approval rating to drop precipitously from a high of 63% at the beginning of his term to below 20% at the end: receiving luxury travel and other perks from Turkish individuals while Brooklyn Borough President, pressuring the FDNY to open a Turkish consular building without a fire inspection, and the Trump administration’s Dept. Of Justice dropping bribery, conspiracy, fraud, and two counts of soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations charges. The Adams re-election campaign was denied matching funds related to campaign fundraising.
Ultimately, Adams may be judged by the company he keeps.
Tracey Collins, Eric Adams’ longtime girlfriend, retired from her position as a senior advisor in the NYC Dept. Of Education Division of School Leadership after allegations emerged that she had a no-show job.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin was indicted for accepting bribes, including $50,000 in cash directed to her son’s account, while serving as Chief Advisor to the Mayor of the City of New York. Lewis-Martin is allegedly to have conspired to steer city contracts for asylum seeker shelter sites for preferred property owners and to help fast-track permit approvals for a karaoke bar in Queens.
She allegedly conspired to have the New York City Department of Transportation withdraw its approval for a street redesign of McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn, which would have included new, protected bike lanes. In exchange, Lewis-Martin allegedly received cash and other perks.
Lewis-Martin, her son Glenn Martin II, and the Deputy Commissioner for Real Estate Services at the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (and former State Senator) Jesse Hamilton allegedly conspired to fast-track development projects and steer City contracts on behalf of real estate developer Yehiel Landau in exchange for renovations on a property owned by Lewis-Martin and a home owned by Hamilton. Hamilton resigned after the indictment.
Admittedly, Adams initiated policies that benefitted the city: garbage containers to deter the city’s rat population, City of Yes aka City for All zoning changes that would increase housing development, and a dramatic increase in M/WBE contracting with the city.
There were many who had high hopes that Adams would serve a second term as mayor, something denied to NYC’s first Black mayor David Dinkins. Mayor Dinkins was challenged with issues beyond his control. Adams and his cohort walked a thin line of ethics.