During the 2021 mayoral campaign, it was surprisingly difficult to answer a simple question—where did Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams live? Adams's own explanations varied. He had “moved into” Brooklyn Borough Hall during the early days of the pandemic, to underscore his commitment to serving the borough’s residents during an emergency. But he also disclosed that he owned, or had a share of ownership, on a few different properties: a co-op in Prospect Heights, a rowhouse in Bed-Stuy, and a condo in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where his partner lives.
These questions about residency ultimately culminated in a bizarre tour of the basement apartment in Bed-Stuy where Adams said he, and not his son, lived. But close observers noted that the fridge was filled with meat—something noted vegan Adams would never touch. (Further wrinkle: now that the mayor’s eating habits have fallen under the even more intense glare of the city’s ravenous media class, we’ve pretty firmly established that the mayor isn’t actually a vegan, and enjoys branzino from time to time.)
That tour brought us no closer to the question of where the mayor lived. Did he actually live in New Jersey? His tax returns also offered no clear answers. That apartment where he claimed he lived during the legendary basement tour? On Adams’s returns for the few years prior to 2021, he indicated that he spent zero days living in it. (Claiming to not live at the townhouse actually saved Adams on his tax bill). Adams later chalked that discrepancy up to a “mistake” by his former accountant, who was going through some housing troubles of his own.
Adams demurred for much of this year on whether, in line with previous mayors who released their taxes to the public, he was going to share his much-delayed 2021 tax returns. At long last, he sent out his taxes to the media today—potentially settling the matter of where he lived during 2021. Except, he didn’t really.
According to Gothamist, the taxes list Brooklyn as Adams’s place of residence, and now includes rental income from tenants living in the Bed-Stuy townhouse. In his 2021 tax form, Adams reported pocketing $24,600 in rental income before deductions, while spending only $400 on repairs and zero dollars on supplies. Adams did not release any further amended taxes for the previous years, which might have cleared up where he spent his time before the harsh light of winning the mayor’s race shone on him.
City Hall told Hell Gate that in 2021, Eric Adams lived in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Currently, Adams’s residence is Gracie Mansion, where he intends to live for the foreseeable future, and definitely not in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Ultimately, this ends where many things do when they involve Eric Adams, somewhere unresolved and neither 100 percent truthful nor seemingly all that important. It’s better to look at the end result of what he’s accomplished rather than get caught on these details, because that’s all part of the game. Wouldn’t you rather have people talking about where you might live, and the state of your taxes, than what else you and your friends are getting into?
