'Hope Is Walking Into City Hall': Eric Adams Vows To Make City Government Better On Whirlwind First Day As NYC Mayor
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Saturday was a whirlwind day for New York City's new mayor, Eric Adams.
In addition to responding to a police officer who was shot, he rode the subway to work, called 911 to report a crime and told New Yorkers that his first 100 days will be dedicated to something he called "GSD" -- getting stuff done.
As CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer reports, when Eric Adams casually strolled into the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica, Queens, he was visiting the scene of the crime that scarred his life -- the place where he was arrested and beaten by cops as a teenager.
"Today, the demon is off my back," he said.
He used the visit as a symbol to promise New Yorkers a new day in policing.
"There's a noise out there that you can't have public safety and justice. They are wrong," Adams said.
He said his NYPD will be different than the Bill de Blasio NYPD.
"Cops did not feel encouraged to deal with the quality-of-life issues. You can't run a city where people can walk into a store, take whatever they want off the shelves and walk out and no one is responding. That's not acceptable," Adams said.
WATCH: Eric Adams Sworn In As New York City's 110th Mayor --
He may have taken the oath of office just after midnight, but Adams was up bright and early on his first day on the job. The former NYPD transit captain walked to the subway just after 7:30 a.m. in his Bed-Stuy neighborhood with no noticeable NYPD security detail.
"Whenever I'm riding and I'm around the media, I just feel so safe," Adams said.
He later explained he plans to move around the city with a much lighter security detail.
"I can't continue to say to New Yorkers, 'My city is safe.' I need to symbolize that also," he said.
But once a transit cop, always a transit cop. When Adams spied a street fight, he jumped into action and called 911.
On the train, he got a hug from a constituent and handed a mask to someone without one. It was clear he had spent a lot of time on subways. Who else but a former cop can ride without holding onto a pole?
When he got to City Hall, he had a simple message for New Yorkers trying to dig their way out of ongoing struggles with crime, poor schools, racial injustice and the ongoing pandemic.
"Not only am I physically walking into City Hall, but hope is walking into City Hall," Adams said.
After holding his first meeting with his senior staff, Adams gave his first address, telling New Yorkers that while he faced great challenges he was committed to fixing the dysfunction that has plagued the city.
"That changes today. I promise you one thing, New York. I will make our city better every day by making our city government better every day ... It means weeding out the waste and eliminating the inefficiencies. It's about accountability," he said.
Speaking of accountability, he laid out the theme for his first 100 days.
"GSD -- get stuff done," he said.
WATCH: Eric Adams Delivers First Address As Mayor Of New York City --
Job one is dealing with the pandemic.
"Despite COVID-19 and its persistence, New York is not closed. It is still open and alive ... New York can and should be the center of the universe again," Adams said.
Adams said he would be guided and was inspired by the words of two of his predecessors -- David Dinkins, who called the city a "gorgeous mosaic" and vowed not to lead by dividing, and Ed Koch, who said New York would prevail even though it was on the edge of bankruptcy. He did not mention Bill de Blasio.
Adams also signed a series of executive orders to uphold the city's vaccine and mask mandates.
