If you walked through Times Square this week, you might have caught a glimpse of a man who, just a few months ago, held the most powerful local office in America. He wasn't surrounded by the usual NYPD security detail. No black SUVs. No press corps hanging on his every word about "swagger" or "the center of the universe."
Instead, Eric Adams was there to pitch a cryptocurrency.
Yeah, you read that right. The man who led New York City through the tail end of a pandemic and a migrant crisis is now a private citizen with a "NYC Token" that lost most of its value within 24 hours of its launch. It’s a surreal sight. To understand how we got here—how we went from the "Nightlife Mayor" to the first sitting mayor in modern history to be federally indicted—you have to look at the spectacular rise and the even more chaotic fall of Eric Adams.
The Nightlife Mayor and the Federal Hammer
Eric Adams didn't just walk into City Hall; he strutted. He was the blue-collar guy, the former captain who took on the NYPD from the inside, the vegan who swore he’d fix the city's "dysfunction." For a while, people bought it. He was everywhere. Zero Bond, Rao’s, the Met Gala. He made New York feel like it was open for business again.
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But while Adams was out partying, federal investigators were working.
The bombshell dropped in late 2024. Bribery. Fraud. Soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The feds alleged that Adams had basically been "groomed" by Turkish officials since his days as Brooklyn Borough President, accepting free luxury travel and illegal cash in exchange for political favors—specifically, fast-tracking the Turkish consulate building’s fire safety approvals.
He pleaded not guilty. He claimed it was political targeting because he’d been loud about the federal government’s failure to help with the migrant crisis. Honestly, for a minute there, it looked like he might survive it. When Donald Trump took office for his second term in 2025, the DOJ actually dropped the charges. The case was dismissed with prejudice in April 2025. Adams called it a "total vindication."
The Fall of the Independent Campaign
You’d think a dismissed indictment would be a green light for a second term. Adams thought so, too. He left the Democratic Party—mostly because the local party leadership had already moved on—and decided to run for re-election as an independent.
It was a disaster.
His approval ratings were in the basement, hovering around 26%. New Yorkers weren't just mad about the legal stuff; they were tired. Tired of the "swagger" talk while subway safety felt hit-or-miss and housing costs kept climbing. By September 2025, the writing was on the wall. The money dried up. The polls were brutal. Adams pulled out of the race, eventually throwing his support behind Andrew Cuomo.
But the "Cuomo Comeback" didn't happen either. New York was ready for something completely different. That’s how we ended up with Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist and former assemblyman, taking the oath of office on January 1, 2026.
What about the others? (Bloomberg, de Blasio, and Rudy)
It’s easy to get tunnel vision with Adams, but the "Former Mayor" club in NYC is a weird, high-powered, and sometimes tragic place to be right now.
Michael Bloomberg: Still the Quiet King
While Adams is trying to sell crypto, Michael Bloomberg is basically running his own private nation-state. As of early 2026, he’s worth something like $109 billion. He’s not out there chasing headlines; he’s funding climate initiatives and serving as the chair of the Defense Innovation Board. He is the personification of the "Manager Mayor" who never really stopped managing.
Bill de Blasio: The Academic Life
Bill de Blasio has largely stepped back from the front lines of NYC drama. He’s spent time as a fellow at Harvard and NYU, teaching and talking about the "Tale of Two Cities." He left office with low approval ratings, but in hindsight, his Universal Pre-K program remains one of the most successful policy implementations in the last twenty years. He seems content to be a pundit rather than a player.
Rudy Giuliani: The Legal Nightmare
Then there’s Rudy. It’s hard to believe this is the same guy who was "America's Mayor" after 9/11. By 2025, he was nearly broke, facing a $148 million defamation judgment from two Georgia election workers. He’s been disbarred. He’s been found in contempt of court multiple times.
In a weird twist of fate, just this month, Giuliani managed to settle some of those legal battles, allowing him to keep his Florida condo and his Yankees World Series rings. But the legacy is shattered. If Bloomberg is the success story and de Blasio is the polarizing academic, Giuliani is the cautionary tale.
Why the Eric Adams Legacy is So Complicated
What most people get wrong about Adams is thinking he was just a "show horse." He actually did move the needle on some things. He reintroduced the plainclothes units to target illegal guns. He pushed hard for a zero-tolerance policy on subway homelessness.
But his administration was a revolving door of deputies. You couldn't keep track of who was in charge of what. Between Sheena Wright, Maria Torres-Springer, and a handful of "interim" officials, the leadership felt shaky even before the FBI started knocking on doors.
The Lessons for the Mamdani Era
So, what does this mean for New York now? Mayor Zohran Mamdani is currently trying to pivot the city toward "equity-driven leadership." It’s a massive shift from the Adams approach. Instead of focusing on "swagger" and the elite social scene, the focus has moved to rent freezes and public power.
But the ghost of the Eric Adams era still haunts City Hall. The migrant crisis hasn't magically disappeared. The tension between the NYPD and the Mayor's office is still thick. The city is still expensive.
If you want to understand the current state of NYC, you have to look at these four men:
- The Tycoon (Bloomberg): Who proved you can run the city like a company.
- The Progressive (de Blasio): Who proved you can change the social fabric but struggle with the optics.
- The Enigma (Adams): Who proved that personality only gets you so far when the feds are watching.
- The Activist (Mamdani): Who is currently trying to prove that the "old way" of doing business in New York is dead.
Actionable Insights for New Yorkers
If you're living in the city or just following the chaos, here’s how to navigate the post-Adams landscape:
- Watch the crypto space: If you see "NYC Token" or anything associated with the former mayor's new ventures, be extremely cautious. The initial rollout has been flagged by experts as a potential "rug pull."
- Engagement Matters: The Mamdani administration is big on "community-driven leadership." If you’ve felt ignored by City Hall for the last four years, now is the time to show up to your local precinct or community board meetings.
- Track the Rent Guidelines Board: One of the biggest shifts in 2026 is the push for more aggressive rent freezes. Keep an eye on the RGB hearings this spring; they will be a litmus test for how much power the new administration actually has.
New York doesn't stop for anyone. Not for indictments, not for new mayors, and certainly not for "NYC Tokens." Eric Adams is a private citizen now, but the city he left behind is still trying to figure out exactly what happened over those four wild years.
Next Steps for Readers:
- Check your local council member’s stance on the upcoming "Public Power" initiatives.
- Review the new Department of Finance guidelines if you are a small business owner navigating the post-Adams regulatory shifts.