Got yourself a dreaded case of the Mondays? Start your week off right by catching up on last week's episode of the Hell Gate Podcast. Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
On Sunday, Eric Adams officially dropped his bid for reelection as mayor of New York City. In his eight minute and 46 second-long announcement video, Adams descended a staircase in Gracie Mansion and took a seat, with a photo of his mother Dorothy Mae Adams-Streeter beside him and Frank Sinatra's "My Way" playing softly in the background. Then, he made a real-time attempt to defend his legacy as mayor, ticking off his achievements, dismissing his federal indictment as a case of being "wrongfully charged," and blaming an unfriendly media and ongoing Campaign Finance Board woes for his early departure.
"Although this is the end of my reelection campaign, it is not the end of my public service," Adams said. "I will continue to fight for this city…to make our streets safer, and our systems fairer. The quest for justice is far from over."
But in a bigger way, it's totally over. The man ordained by God to be mayor of New York City is throwing in the towel on his divine mission, a little over a month away from Election Day. And although the mayor spent the last few weeks chiding and dismissing reporters (including one of Hell Gate's very own) who asked him whether he'd drop his reelection bid, the writing has been on the wall for months: dismal single-digit polling, a slew of new and outrageous corruption charges against his close associates, and rumors about a Saudi Arabian ambassadorship on the line all signaled that Adams's time dining at the Table of Success would soon draw to a close.