The title of “Person of the Year” is bestowed upon the individual who dominated the headlines and/or profoundly influenced New York City over the course of the year. Eric Adams clearly earned that title in 2021.
The 61-year-old Brooklyn native and former cop made history in 2021 by becoming the second Black New Yorker elected to the city’s highest office. His fate was sealed in this heavily Democratic city back in June, when he won an extremely competitive Democratic primary. The next few months on the campaign trail produced no surprises; it wasn’t a matter of if Adams would win, but by how much. In November, the then-Brooklyn borough president was officially elected as mayor in the general election in a landslide victory over his Republican rival, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
