Party Mayor, PhD.
Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday his No. 1 goal after leaving office will be to get a doctorate – as the lame duck politician boasted about “great offers” for his next job.
Hizzoner riffed on his post-City Hall plans at an unrelated press conference, telling reporters he’s planning to work to “improve cities across the globe” and write a book in addition to heading back to school.
“I hope you guys didn’t think I was just going to disappear,” Adams said.
Adams didn’t say where he planned to enroll or what he’d study, but he already holds a bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in public administration from Marist University.
“I want to go back to school. Number one, I’d like to get my doctorate,” Adams said.
“I want to spend time focusing on my book and getting it done, and I have several attractive offers to do that,” Adams added, before teasing a forthcoming documentary too.
Hizzoner, who has been rumored to be lobbying for an ambassadorship with the Trump administration, teased that he may be going overseas after moving out of Gracie Mansion.
“Many of you know my love for travel,” said Adams, who was indicted last year on federal corruption charges for taking business class plane ticket bribes from the Turkish government last year.
“I’m looking forward to improving cities across the globe,” Adams said, adding “many people” want him to “do things” in other countries.
“I don’t want our city to slip into a state that we’re witnessing in Europe and across the country,” Adams said, reiterating comments he made Tuesday, about “extremist behavior” in Europe. A spokesperson mentioned London and Paris but didn’t provide any specifics at the time.
The mayor, elected as a Democrat, skipped a party primary in June in the fallout from his corruption charges were launched during the administration of former President Joe Biden but dropped when President Trump returned to office this year.
The politician nicknamed “The Party Mayor” had racked up $3 million in unpaid bills for his legal defense, according to his last public disclosure in spring.
Adams briefly ran for re-election as an independent but dropped out of the general election race in the face of dismal poll numbers and difficulty raising money against Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
Hizzoner went off about the next chapter in his career after beginning his monologue by shooing away his spokesperson.
“I will call on who I want to call on,” Adams told the staffer.
“This has been a great experience, and I think that we should share what we have accomplished,” Adams said.
The mayor wrapped up by noting that he’s leaving the city “far better than what we inherited.”
“So, I hope I answered the questions that you had, and if I didn’t, as a mayor that is moving forward, I can just bounce,” he said as the song “Empire State of Mind” by Jay Z blasted on the PA system — a tune that has become his go-to music when addressing the media.
However, after a few seconds the music abruptly stopped and the mayor didn’t “bounce.” Instead, he took a question from a reporter, who asked if Adams would remain local come January.
“I’m going to remain local here in local politics and local solutions. You can do a lot outside of government that you can’t do in government,” he said.
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