Mayor Eric Adams cut the ribbon on his new Brooklyn campaign office Thursday as he ramps up his re-election bid in a crowded general race.
Dozens of enthusiastic supporters gathered outside the modest, Old Mill Basin office — situated between a smoke shop and a Chinese restaurant — which was plastered with signs that read “Re-Elect Eric for Mayor” to celebrate the opening.
“Why Brooklyn?” Adams asked the crowd on Avenue T, near East 58th Street, “Because Brooklyn is the place I was born … it was the place that shaped and made me.”
Former aides, municipal union reps, and even the mayor’s brother, Bernard Adams, were among those in attendance at what the campaign said would be the first of several offices it will open across the five boroughs.
It was the second notable event for Hizzoner’s re-election bid this week.
On Tuesday, Adams — who is running in the November race as an independent after opting not to vie for the Democratic nomination — got a boost from scores of city faith leaders at an endorsement event in front of City Hall, where one pastor took shots at frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.
But Adams was also dealt a blow Wednesday when the city’s Campaign Finance Board — which matches candidates’ fundraising 8-1 with public dollars — again denied him access to the funds.
Adams and the CFB have been locked in a standoff since December as the regulatory board has repeatedly barred him from the program, citing suspicions of the mayor’s 2021 campaign violating the law and an alleged refusal by the current team to provide information requested as part of its probe.
A recent poll showed Adams grabbing a mere 7% of votes in the upcoming election, losing a substantial amount of support to fellow independent candidate ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mamdani, the Democratic nominee.
But Adams, the former Brooklyn borough president, took a fighting stance Thursday.
“They counted us out in 2021. We were 13 points behind Andrew Yang, and they counted us out,” he said.
“They thought that we couldn’t win. But I knew something that no one else knew. I knew the people.”
Adams also brushed off the latest snub from the CFB when speaking to reporters following the unveiling.
“Denial’s never stopped me, I’m not distracted, I’m grinding,” he said.
