Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams enters mayoral race

NEW YORK - Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams officially entered the 2021 mayoral race Wednesday with an announcement on FOX 5 NY morning program, Good Day New York.

Rumors became reality when Adams said he was running for the mayor of the City of New York because he wanted to turn "pain into purpose."

"Now, I believe, is the time when this city is going through a painful moment, a dark moment," said Admas. "We are going to turn that darkness, not into a burial, but a plan. We are going to rise up. That's why I'm announcing today that I am running for mayor of the City of New York. I believe in this city, I love this city. The people of this city know me and most importantly I know them. This is a moment and a journey that we are going to go on together."

The retired NYPD captain and former state senator repeated a message during Good Day New York that he shared on social media a day earlier.

"I remember as a child having difficult times. Carrying a garbage bag full of clothes to school because my mother felt we would be thrown out and she didn't want us to be embarrassed and not have a change of clothing. I am a blue-collar person."

Adams enters a crowded field of Democratic candidates, among them: NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer; former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia; civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley; Bed-Stuy native Dianne Morales; Council Member Carlos Menchaca; Veterans’ Services Commissioner Loree Sutton; former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan and Citigroup executive Ray McGuire.

Adams told the NY Daily News earlier this week that he plans on hiring an "efficiency czar" and wants to re-purpose and streamline data the city already collects to "de-silo" various parts of the city’s vast bureaucracy.

FILE - Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams speaks on the steps of New York City Hall. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)