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Adrienne Adams (politician)

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Adrienne Adams
Adams in 2022
Speaker of the New York City Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 5, 2022
DeputyDiana Ayala
Preceded byCorey Johnson
Member of the New York City Council
from the 28th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 30, 2017
Preceded byRuben Wills
Personal details
Born
Adrienne Eadie

(1960-12-09) December 9, 1960 (age 64)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationSpelman College (BA)
WebsiteOfficial website

Adrienne Eadie Adams (born December 9, 1960) is an American politician serving as Speaker of the New York City Council since 2022. A Democrat, Adams represents the 28th district. She is the first woman elected to the district, and the first African-American elected as Council Speaker.[1]

Adams was first elected to the City Council in 2017, to complete the term of her expelled predecessor, Ruben Wills.[2] Her district includes the Queens borough neighborhoods of Jamaica, Rochdale Village, Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park.[1]

Early life and education

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Adrienne Eadie was raised by "two proud union workers" in Hollis, Queens – a truck driver for UPS, and a cook for Rikers Island. She attended St. Pascal Baylon Elementary School, Bayside High School (Queens), briefly York College (CUNY), and received a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Spelman College.[1][3]

Career

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Pre-Council

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Before holding elective office, Adams worked professionally in corporate executive training, human capital management, and child care training. During 2012–2017, she was a three-term chairperson of Queens Community Board 12.[1] She was appointed to the Queens Public Library Board of Trustees in 2015,[4] and appointed to Governor Andrew Cuomo's Local Planning Committee (LPC) for the Jamaica Downtown Revitalization Initiative in 2014. She once served as co-chair of the Jamaica Now Leadership Council, established in 2015.[5]

In 2016, Adams ran unsuccessfully for New York State Senate against incumbent James Sanders Jr.[3]

New York City Council

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Adams won her 2017 City Council primary with 39% of the vote (3,499 votes). Her opponent Richard David got 32% of the vote (2,822 votes) and her other opponent Hettie Powell received 29% (2,589 votes). Adams went on to win the general election with 86% of the vote.[2] During her first term she was elected by her colleagues in the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus to serve as co-chair of the caucus, and at various points also served as chair of the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, and Dispositions, and later chair of the Committee on Public Safety.[1]

In January 2022, the New York City Council elected Adams as Speaker. She is the second politician from the borough of Queens to serve as Speaker (Peter Vallone Sr. was the first Speaker). She is the third woman and the first Black person to serve as Speaker.[6] Her election was a political defeat for newly elected mayor Eric Adams, a fellow centrist Democrat and high-school classmate but no relation, who had privately been trying to win support for rival Speaker candidate Francisco Moya.[7][8]

Speaker Adams has declined to take up legislation opposing conversion of the health insurance of most NYC municipal retirees to Medicare Advantage, in place of traditional Medicare with Medigap supplemental coverage. New York politicians, retirees and their former unions have been divided on the budget-cutting conversion to Medicare Advantage since Mayor Bill De Blasio and the Municipal Labor Committee first proposed it in 2021. Court challenges were continuing into 2025.[9][10][11][12]

In December 2024, Speaker Adams and 30 other Council members approved a modified version of Mayor Adams's zoning reform proposal called "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity". Promptly signed by the mayor, the bill authorized the construction and conversion of an estimated 80,000 additional housing units in New York City over 15 years.[13][14] Nevertheless, Speaker Adams and Mayor Adams have increasingly diverged on issues facing the city, especially regarding budget priorities, criminal justice policies, and commissioner appointments.[15][16]

New York City Council members are limited to two consecutive four-year terms, so Adams is ineligible for re-election when her second term concludes at the end of 2025. For her successor in the 28th district, she has endorsed her chief of staff, Tyrell Hankerson.[17]

Personal life

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Adams is a longtime member of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York,[3] the NAACP, and the National Action Network. She is also an active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[1] Her blended family includes her husband Joseph J. Adams, four adult children, and eleven grandchildren (as of July 2023).[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Biography – Adrienne E. Adams". New York City Council. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Adrienne Adams". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c McDonough, Annie (January 10, 2022). "Meet New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams". City & State New York. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  4. ^ "BP Katz Appoints Adrienne Adams and Eli Shapiro to the Queens Library's Board of Trustees" (Press release). Office of the Queens Borough President. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015.
  5. ^ Lewis, Rebecca C. (February 12, 2018). "Meet the new class". City & State New York. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  6. ^ Kim, Elizabeth; Bergin, Brigid; Cruz, David (December 17, 2021). "Adrienne Adams on Cusp to Win City Council Speaker Race After Lone Rival Concedes". Gothamist.
  7. ^ Mays, Jeffery C.; Glueck, Katie (December 17, 2021). "A Black Woman Will Lead New York's City Council for the First Time". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Max, Ben (December 11, 2021). "As Eric Adams Allies Push Francisco Moya, Coalition Forms Behind Adrienne Adams for Next City Council Speaker". Gotham Gazette. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Lewis, Caroline (December 21, 2024). "NY's highest court sides with NYC retirees in Medicare Advantage fight. Adams isn't giving up". Gothamist. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  10. ^ Sommerfeldt, Chris; Bamberger, Cayla (June 24, 2024). "UFT pulls vital support for Adams administration's controversial Medicare Advantage plan". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 30, 2024 – via Yahoo.
  11. ^ Irizarry Aponte, Claudia (August 28, 2023). "Retirees Crash Adams Event to Blast Medicare Advantage". The City. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  12. ^ Sommerfeldt, Chris; Gartland, Michael (June 22, 2023). "NYC labor boss threatens to pull endorsements for Council members resisting Mayor Adams' Medicare Advantage plan". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 22, 2025 – via Yahoo.
  13. ^ Evelly, Jeanmarie (December 6, 2024). "How Each NYC Councilmember Voted on City of Yes for Housing". City Limits. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  14. ^ "Mayor Adams Signs Legislation to Build Critically-Needed Housing, Address Sewer and Flood Infrastructure Concerns" (Press release). City of New York. December 18, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  15. ^ Mays, Jeffery C. (January 30, 2024). "Adams vs. Adams: New York's Top Democrats Clash on City's Path". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  16. ^ McDonough, Annie (August 1, 2024). "Some of the most contentious fights between Eric Adams and Adrienne Adams". City & State New York. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  17. ^ Dawson, Athena (September 13, 2024). "Chief of staff for Council Member Adrienne Adams, Tyrell Hankerson launches campaign for District 28 seat". QNS.com. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  18. ^ González-Ramírez, Andrea (July 17, 2023). "How New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams Gets It Done". The Cut (New York). Retrieved October 24, 2024.
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Political offices
Preceded by Member of the New York City Council
from the 28th district
2017–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Speaker of the New York City Council
2022–present
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