New York
What Does Eric Adams’s Exit From the Democratic Primary Mean for Voters?
Here is what to know about how the mayor’s decision could affect the mayoral primary.
Which Democrats are still running for mayor?
Nine Democrats are challenging Mr. Adams, though none are as close to unseating the mayor as Mr. Cuomo, whose ample name recognition and high-powered fund-raising have fueled his rise to the top of the primary field in nearly every survey of the race. Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens and a social-media-savvy democratic socialist who is building a base of new and younger voters, is the next highest-polling candidate. He is still well behind Mr. Cuomo.
Other Democrats running in the primary include the city comptroller, Brad Lander; the City Council speaker, Adrienne Adams; the former comptroller, Scott Stringer, and the state senators Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie.
How will ranked-choice voting factor into the race?
This is New York City’s second mayoral election under ranked-choice voting, a system in which voters can select up to five candidates in order of preference. The system is being used only for the primary, so Mr. Adams, once a critic of ranked-choice voting, will avoid it now that he is running as an independent and will be on the ballot only in the general election. In November, the candidate who wins a plurality of votes will be the next mayor.
Progressives, led by the Working Families Party, had encouraged their supporters not to rank Mr. Cuomo or Mr. Adams in the Democratic primary. Now that Mr. Adams is eschewing the primary altogether, the groups are recalibrating their approach. The D.R.E.A.M. movement — an acronym that once stood for Don’t Rank Eric or Andrew for Mayor — is now focused solely on blocking Mr. Cuomo’s momentum, renaming itself Don’t Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor. The Working Families Party, too, has plans to coalesce behind a single candidate ahead of the general election.
Who will Mr. Adams run against in November?
The mayor will face the winner of the Democratic primary alongside Curtis Sliwa, the sole Republican candidate, and Jim Walden, a centrist lawyer also running as an independent.
The Working Families Party is also likely to run a candidate in the general election. The group is taking steps to run a place-holder candidate to preserve its ballot line until its leaders decide on a plan after the winner of the Democratic primary is confirmed.
Has something like this happened before?
This is not the first time that Mr. Adams has shifted political parties, even as he says he will remain a registered Democrat. The mayor was a registered Republican during the 1990s and considered running on that line earlier this year.
New York City politicians have a long track record of changing their party affiliation for political gain. In 1950, Vincent R. Impellitteri, who was serving as acting mayor, won an upset independent bid after failing to win the nomination of the Manhattan Democratic machine, known as Tammany Hall.
Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg left the Democratic Party in 2001 to run for mayor as a Republican and won. He changed his party affiliation to independent during his second mayoral term, running on the Republican and Independence party lines in 2009, before switching back to being a Democrat and running in the party’s 2020 presidential primary.
Earlier, John V. Lindsay, in 1971, changed from Republican to independent before switching to the Democratic Party. Mr. Adams, clearly aware of this legacy, claimed to quote Mr. Lindsay in his Thursday video, saying, “I have made mistakes.”
Jeffery C. Mays contributed reporting.
This is the inside of a psychiatric unit on Rikers Island. It’s the morning of Aug. 25, 2022. And soon, this inmate, Michael Nieves, will attempt to commit suicide by cutting his own throat. He’ll bleed out for 10 minutes as officers stand by and wait for medical help. But Michael Nieves is just one of many cases of preventable harm on Rikers Island that ultimately led a federal judge to strip control of the jail from the City of New York in May. Soon, an independent manager will be appointed. After almost three years of filing Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits, The New York Times has now obtained videos of incidents that contributed to this decision, including that of Nieves. They take us inside Rikers, a place rarely seen by the public, and show serious lapses in the care of inmates. A long-serving member of an independent oversight body, who we’ll hear from later, told us that the case of Michael Nieves is characteristic of the problems inside the jail. Here’s what happened. It’s around 11:30 a.m., and a search of Michael Nieves’s cell fails to turn up a shaving razor he was given to use in the shower that morning. Capt. Mary Tinsley, the supervisor in charge, instructs Officer Beethoven Joseph, whose body camera footage we see here, to take Nieves for a body scan to see if he is hiding the razor. But Tinsley grows impatient with Nieves. Officers close the door and walk away. This is one of a series of mistakes that play out. These officers are trained to work with severely mentally ill detainees like Nieves, a once-gifted student who was later diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia disorders. Like most inmates on Rikers, Nieves was awaiting trial and had not yet been convicted of a crime. He was arrested on burglary and arson charges in 2019, but was deemed unfit to stand trial and held in forensic psychiatric facilities before being sent back to Rikers. Nieves had a long history of suicide attempts. And even though officers suspect he has the razor, he is left alone for 12 minutes while they search the cell of another inmate. Then Joseph returns, followed by Tinsley. She radios for help. The scene is disturbing, but we’re showing it briefly to illustrate what the officers could see. Nieves has cut his neck and is bleeding heavily onto the floor. Pressure needs to be applied to the wound immediately, and he needs to get to a hospital. At first, Nieves doesn’t respond. And the officers and Captain Tinsley don’t intervene. Officer Joseph faces a complex situation. Jail guidelines do not clearly say he should treat a severely bleeding wound. And officers are advised to use caution when they might be lured into danger. But state law does require him to render care in life-threatening situations. It’s unclear if he recognizes it as such. No one enters the cell. Instead, they offer Nieves a piece of clothing. Five minutes have passed. Officer Joseph asks about the bleeding. Eight minutes have passed. Nieves slides down to the floor. Officer Joseph shows concern, but remains by the door. After 10 minutes, the medics arrive on the ward and enter the cell. But there’s been a communication breakdown. The medics aren’t aware that Nieves is bleeding profusely, and they don’t have the right supplies. As they spring into action, the medics berate the correction officers. As medics render aid, Officer Joseph goes to review his notes and talks with another staff member. About an hour after Nieves was found bleeding, over a dozen medics, staff, and E.M.T.s are treating him on site. Shortly after, he was taken to a nearby hospital, declared brain dead and removed from life support five days later. “This was preventable.” Dr. Robert Cohen is a member of the Board of Correction, which monitors Rikers, and agreed to speak about the jail and the Nieves case in a personal capacity, not on behalf of the board. He retired shortly after this interview. “He should not have been left alone once they believed that he was in possession of a razor. By policy, he should have been taken immediately to the body scanner.” “He was bleeding to death. The correction officer should have gone into the room, assessed what was going on and should have applied pressure to the area where the blood was coming from.” A city medical examiner found that the officer’s inaction contributed to Nieves’s death, but that he could have died even with emergency aid. The state attorney general’s office therefore declined to charge the officers. Their report also found that the officers lacked clear protocols and might not have had training on severely bleeding wounds. It recommended that officers be required and trained to act in these situations in the future. Dr. Cohen says that what happened to Nieves is characteristic of chronic problems inside Rikers. “Since I’ve been on the board, these deaths have happened multiple times. Jason Echevarria swallowed a number of soap balls. He was screaming all night long. Jerome Murdough was put in a cell where there was a heating malfunction, baked to death. Mercado had diabetes. He was trying to get help. He never received insulin. Nicholas Feliciano hung himself. Seven officers were completely aware of this, and they did nothing — 7 minutes and 51 seconds passed. He did not die, but he has severe brain damage.” Nieves’s death occurred two years into the Covid pandemic, a time when Rikers was facing acute challenges and a staffing crisis that watchdogs say led to a spike in preventable deaths. “Many deaths over the past five years and the reports of deteriorating conditions were instrumental in moving us to the point right now where the judge is going to take over the island with an independent manager.” But even after that happens, New York’s next mayor will be tasked with trying to close Rikers. The original plan was to replace it with smaller jails and in four New York City boroughs by 2026. But after years of delays, here’s what those sites look like today. They’re nowhere near done. Oversight bodies, and even the former Manhattan U.S. attorney, have said that Rikers remains unsafe for detainees. The Department of Correction told The Times that a new medical emergencies curriculum is still being developed. A spokesperson for the Correction Officers Union said they followed regulations and have been vindicated. And the Captain’s Union, which represented Captain Tinsley, said she also followed protocol. Nieves was one of three brothers. His family is now suing the city.
Two hours later, they were exhausted — and exhilarated.
The candidate leading each neighborhood in the first round
Queens
Brooklyn
Bronx
Manhattan
Staten
Island
Zohran Mamdani, an upstart state assemblyman from Queens, was on the brink of winning Tuesday’s Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. While results were not yet final, Mr. Mamdani leaped ahead of a crowded field thanks to a surge of turnout in gentrifying neighborhoods, and strong support from Asian and Hispanic enclaves.
Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, also ran up large vote tallies in the affluent brownstone-lined blocks of Brooklyn, in the diverse blocks of Upper Manhattan and in areas with substantial South Asian populations in Queens.
His main rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, had hoped to reassemble Mayor Eric Adams’s winning 2021 coalition of Black, Hispanic and Orthodox Jewish voters, but instead lost ground in some of those communities.
Neighborhoods where Eric Adams won
The areas where the current mayor won in the 2021 Democratic primary are outlined.
Queens
Brooklyn
Bronx
Manhattan
Staten
Island
Mr. Mamdani, who campaigned on addressing New York’s affordability crisis, performed stronger than his rivals in areas where a majority of residents are college graduates, as well as in middle-income and higher-income neighborhoods. He won most areas with a majority of Asian residents and was modestly outpacing Mr. Cuomo in majority Hispanic areas.
Mr. Cuomo, 67, had more support in areas with a majority of Black residents and in areas where a majority of residents are low-income. There were some exceptions, most notably Mr. Cuomo’s strong performance on the Upper West and East Sides in Manhattan, where Mr. Mamdani struggled to win over an older, wealthier electorate, which includes a sizable segment of Jewish voters.
How candidates fared with groups of voters
Based on results in precincts where each group is a majority.
| Precincts with… |
Andrew Cuomo |
Zohran Mamdani |
Brad Lander |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher income residents
24% of precincts |
30% | 42% | 20% |
| Middle income residents
49% of precincts |
37% | 47% | 7% |
| Lower income residents
24% of precincts |
49% | 38% | 3% |
| More college graduates
27% of precincts |
28% | 45% | 19% |
| More white residents
29% of precincts |
34% | 39% | 19% |
| More Hispanic residents
16% of precincts |
41% | 48% | 4% |
| More Black residents
15% of precincts |
51% | 34% | 3% |
| More Asian residents
4% of precincts |
36% | 52% | 5% |
| More renters
70% of precincts |
33% | 47% | 11% |
Mr. Mamdani, who would be the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, won the largest vote share in gentrifying neighborhoods like Ridgewood in Queens and Greenpoint in Brooklyn that are home to groups of young, left-leaning voters. Voters in Jamaica Hills, a Queens neighborhood home to a sizable South Asian population, also chose Mr. Mamdani by a large margin.
Mr. Cuomo’s efforts to court the Orthodox Jewish vote paid off. Borough Park and Midwood in Brooklyn were two of his top-performing neighborhoods. He also won large margins in the less dense, coastal communities of Far Rockaway and Bayswater in Queens, far from Manhattan.
Brad Lander, the city comptroller, was in third place overall. The cluster of neighborhoods in Brooklyn where Mr. Lander fared the best — which include Park Slope, Cobble Hill and Windsor Terrace — are all neighborhoods where Mr. Mamdani won most of the votes. That could ultimately benefit Mr. Mamdani under the city’s ranked-choice voting system, because the two men cross-endorsed each other and encouraged their supporters to rank them both.
The system allowed voters to list up to five candidates on their ballots. If their top choices are eliminated, their votes will be transferred to candidates who are lower on their ballots next Tuesday.
Each candidate’s top five neighborhoods by vote share
Zohran Mamdani
| Neighborhood | Pct. | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Ridgewood, Queens | 80% | 7,030 |
| Bushwick, Brooklyn | 79% | 14,164 |
| East Williamsburg, Brooklyn | 75% | 2,586 |
| Jamaica Hills, Queens | 74% | 1,458 |
| Greenpoint, Brooklyn | 72% | 7,583 |
Andrew Cuomo
| Neighborhood | Pct. | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Borough Park, Brooklyn | 80% | 6,577 |
| Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn | 76% | 236 |
| Midwood, Brooklyn | 72% | 9,160 |
| Far Rockaway, Queens | 72% | 2,489 |
| Bayswater, Queens | 72% | 522 |
Brad Lander
| Neighborhood | Pct. | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Park Slope, Brooklyn | 35% | 7,330 |
| Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn | 34% | 1,689 |
| Cobble Hill, Brooklyn | 32% | 1,199 |
| Columbia St. Waterfront District, Brooklyn | 31% | 355 |
| South Slope, Brooklyn | 30% | 632 |
Adrienne Adams
| Neighborhood | Pct. | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Springfield Gardens, Queens | 17% | 891 |
| Laurelton, Queens | 16% | 506 |
| St. Albans, Queens | 15% | 828 |
| Jamaica, Queens | 14% | 1,381 |
| Cambria Heights, Queens | 14% | 425 |
Assuming he prevails in the primary, Mr. Mamdani will face a general election in November that has the potential to be unusually competitive. Mr. Adams is seeking a second term, this time as an independent. Curtis Sliwa, a Republican, will be on the ballot, along with Jim Walden, a lawyer and independent. Mr. Cuomo also still has the option to pursue a third-party fall campaign.
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