New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the police when he saw three men fighting during his commute to his first day on the job, according to footage of the incident.
While waiting for a subway train and talking to reporters on Saturday, Adams, a Democrat, saw three men fighting near the Kosciuszko St. J train stop in Brooklyn. He called 911 to report an “assault in progress,” footage shows.
By the time police arrived on the scene, two men had left and officers spoke to the remaining alleged offender, according to local reporters.
“Once a transit cop always a transit cop,” Adams said at around 8 a.m. when he called 911. When punches were being thrown, he said, “Here we go. I knew it was only a matter of time, that’s why I kept looking at it.”
During his campaign for mayor, Adams ran on a message that he would increase policing amid a surge in crime in New York City over the past several years.
“I ran on a very clear message: My city will not be unsafe,” he said in November. “And that is what we’re going to do. Clear plan. Putting in place a plainclothes, anti-gun unit. That will happen, and this city is going to be safe.”
Adams, himself a former NYPD officer, was sworn-in as mayor just moments after the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Day on Saturday.
“Some will continue to say that we must choose between public safety and human rights, but we can have both,” he said during his first address. “That is why I am going to put more resources into stopping violent crime while I work with Commissioner Sewell to bring reform to our police department.”
But Adams was criticized by some for announcing an executive order that continued former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s policy mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for private-sector employees.
“The first Executive Order will continue the existing state of emergency orders put in place by the previous administration,” he wrote on Twitter. “The second order will extend the Key to the City order, which requires proof of vaccination for several indoor settings.”
During an interview on Sunday with ABC News, Adams suggested that he would mandate vaccines for city workers next.
“That’s our next move and decision,” he told the network. “We’re going to examine the numbers. If we feel we have to get to the place of making that mandatory, we’re going to do that. But we’re encouraging them to do it now.”
