NYC Mayoral Race – The Next Episode

A revealing book, Adams Albania flight, and an upcoming Zohmentum Bed Stuy town hall

By Nayaba Arinde
Editor-at-Large
Incumbent Eric Adams withdrew from the mayoral race two weeks ago, but he is still making headlines. After speaking glowingly about his former Senate colleague at the street renaming of Hon. Bill Perkins Way in Harlem on Saturday, Adams flew to Albania on a four-day trip, but not before responding to last week’s Our Time Press article featuring Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

Last week, Williams told Our Time Press, “When Mayor Adams was elected, there was real promise and potential to make progress on issues where New Yorkers broadly agree — and where a previous version of this mayor claimed he did. Sadly, his tenure has been marked by an inability to self-reflect or course-correct after sustained and continued bad decisions, squandering potential and ensuring that the second Black mayor in our city’s history will, once again, not have a second term — overshadowing any real achievements along the way.”

Adams responded, telling Our Time Press, that as of “January of 2022, when I first got in office Jumaanee was attacking me. So one cannot say he attacked me due to something I did as mayor. He was attacking me at the start and never stopped. So it is difficult to believe anything he said. He did not have that energy during Bill’s mayoralty. I did more for Black and Brown people than any mayor in history.”

In response, Williams told the paper “For clarity, I was one of the few people (if not only person) on the left who, in hindsight, regrettably ranked Eric Adams during the last election. I, and many others, worked to give New York’s second Black mayor a lot of grace, sadly he continually chose to abuse that grace.

His administration has repeatedly relied on lies and misinformation, and this is just the latest example. Anyone can look at my record with Mayor de Blasio and see that I held him accountable — as part of my job. I hoped that the Mayor would’ve used his final months to focus on redemptive words and actions, but it appears he’s intent on leaving office in the same detrimental way he governed throughout his tenure.”
Meanwhile, last week, news broke that Adams’ former girlfriend, Jasmine Ray, had written a tell-all about their relationship, which happened a decade ago.

Knowing each other since his days as Brooklyn Borough President, Adams later gave her a $160,000 job as the director of the Mayor’s Office of Sports, Wellness, and Recreation.

Released on Sunday, October 5, 2025, her self-published e-book is titled “Political Humanity, a Memoir of Love, Legacy, and New York City Politics.”
While Adams said nothing publicly, a source alleged to Our Time Press, “She showed him the book before the press saw it, so he already read it.” This, as there have been some rumblings that there are other folks in the community attempting to convince Adams to return to the campaign. Ray said he is “Resolved,” and Adams himself told Our Time Press, “I have done this for forty years. Time to enjoy life.”

MSNBC analyst and Columbia Professor Basil Smikle told Our Time Press, “I think voters have moved on at this point. Unless there’s any legal jeopardy, he’s not in much danger of any political consequences.”
Current November 4th mayoral contenders include frontrunner Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, Democrat and Independent-line former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

“This could not have been scripted any better,” John Jay College Adjunct Professor and Black Star News publisher, Professor Milton Allimadi, told Our Time Press. “When he was a candidate, Adams said he would create opportunities for Black and Brown New Yorkers who are in business. Some were even tempted to believe he would do what the great Marion Barry did in DC, where the mayor pushed legislation that required 35 percent of contracts go to Black and Brown, and a strong middle class was created.

That’s why even after the drug scandal, Barry won another term later. Our people are forgiving so long as you deliver. When Barry died, President Obama sent a condolence note. In New York, what did we get under Adams? No Black middle class, but instead stop and frisk went up.”

Adams faced five federal indictments last year. President Donald Trump has spoken about how he made them go away, widely reported in exchange for support of his controversial immigration policy. The charges had included bribery, corruption, and questions about his many pre-mayoral office trips to Turkey, and his alleged urging as Brooklyn Borough President to then Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro, that the 35-story glass tower in midtown Manhattan, the Turkevi Center, receive a Certificate of Occupancy despite documented reservations. Numerous reports indicate that, with many potential voters, he appears to have had difficulty shaking off the Trump connection.

As for this week’s Eastern European trip, Adams may have telegraphed his intention this past summer. On June 21, 2025, speaking on a proposed Albanian Day parade at a cultural reception at Gracie Mansion to the “200,000 strong Albanians [who] live in New York City,” Adams declared, “We will make it happen, and we will ensure that it is one of the finest parades that you will see…From Little Albania in the Bronx to Little Albania in Queens, you have grown and you have a strong foothold, and your political strength is unprecedented. I say to you, thank you for making this city what it is.”

He told the gathering, “And my son, I’m so jealous of him, he went to Albania and participated in one of your concerts.”
This spring, Adams’ son, aspiring rapper Jordan Coleman, 29, competed in the Albanian version of American Idol and released a Balkans travel-inspired EP.
His dad said, “I can’t wait until I get to Albania and enjoy the beautiful rivers and seas and mountains and all that you have to offer.”

On Tuesday, Adams, on his closed-to-the-press,“official visit” to Albania, was scheduled to meet with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and Minister of Defense Pirro Vengu. The Mayor’s office said that the four-day trip is to “foster business relationships for the city, not to explore any ambassadorships or future job opportunities.”

Back in New York, with four weeks to go before the General Election, Mamdani is preparing to appear in a town hall at Restoration Plaza in Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 14th.
With “over 50,000 volunteers who paved the path to our victory in the primary to keep the momentum flowing,” Mamdani is hitting the streets hard, laser-focused on picking up each and every stray vote.

Lekha Sunder, Zohran Deputy Communications Director told Our time Press, that, having attended events in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, “He is absolutely engaging with the Black community.”
Sliwa visited Brownsville on Tuesday, as his campaign announced that he has received the endorsement of controversial former NYC mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Educator and author Allimadi concluded, “It’s fitting that Mamdani, a candidate who speaks for the working class and dares to challenge the kind of capitalism on steroids that’s taken over New York and this country, is poised to become mayor.”0