The Co-op and Condo Insider

A New York Story: Mayor Eric Adams on Co-ops, Safety, and the Future of our City

• Esquire Enterprise Solutions • Season 1 • Episode 9

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0:00 | 36:55

When Mayor Eric Adams joins us on the Co-op and Condo Insider podcast, he brings something remarkably rare among elected officials - actual lived experience as a co-op owner and board member. 

The conversation weaves through Adams' compelling personal journey from Brownsville and South Jamaica, Queens, to City Hall. Raised by a resilient single mother working three jobs, Adams overcame childhood dyslexia that went undiagnosed until college. His educational path through public schools, including being bused to Bayside High School, exposed him to diversity beyond his neighborhood for the first time – an experience that shapes his educational policies today.

As mayor, Adams has focused intensely on public safety, declaring it "the prerequisite to prosperity." He points to record decreases in shootings and homicides while acknowledging ongoing challenges with random acts of violence, mental health crises, and repeat offenders. His "upstream approach" includes innovative programs like dyslexia screening in schools (noting that 30% of Rikers inmates have learning disabilities) and employment pathways for formerly incarcerated individuals.

Perhaps most transformative is Adams' personal health journey. After a devastating diabetes diagnosis threatened his vision and caused nerve damage, he discovered plant-based nutrition. "Within three weeks, my vision returned," he shares, explaining how this experience led him to expand lifestyle medicine programs throughout the city's hospital system.

On housing – the crisis touching every New Yorker – Adams proudly notes his administration has broken records in affordable housing production. His "moonshot goal" of 500,000 housing units over the next decade includes 426,000 already zoned or in development – exceeding what the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations accomplished in 20 years combined.

For co-op and condo owners specifically, Adams expresses concern about unfunded mandates like Local Law 97, questioning whether enough consideration has been given to affordability impacts on working-class homeowners. "We need to examine how these rules that we make in the sterilized environment of a legislative chamber impact working class people on the ground," he reflects.

Join us for this insightful conversation with a mayor whose personal experiences deeply inform his policy approaches and whose vision for New York embraces both technological innovation and basic human needs. From co-op boards to City Hall, Eric Adams offers a uniquely grounded perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing our city.