As New York City Mayor Eric Adams approaches the end of his first year in office, this week we asked readers to grade the mayor on his performance so far.

“Grade?… No, he doesn’t get an A. I give him a D, that’s right. He just talks a lot and does nothing. I’d like to see him stop the crime. Get the community and pull people together and let us build a bigger and brighter city. Stop all this smoking [of weed] wherever you go…in the park, I know it’s the law! Yeah, in the hallways and buildings, man. Let’s get real here. I know he added additional police, but I only see one or two, and crime is not going down.”

James Macklin,

Norwood 

“I would give Mayor Adams a C. It’s great that he wants to help people with mental illness. Unfortunately, getting them off the street is part of the problem. The other part of the problem is rent is too damn high, and that’s the real issue. We have an equally amount of crazy people that have housing as well as equally crazy people that don’t have housing. The only thing is you see the craziness when they’re homeless. He hasn’t been addressing the real problems of homelessness and mental illness.”

Anne Leighton,

Norwood

“I’m disappointed in the state of our city after just one year. Mayor Adams claims to support first responders, yet we saw thousands of first responders lose their jobs due to the mandates. We need to get everyone back to work and get the city running smoothly again. We need a real plan to resolve crime, mental health, and homelessness. I hope to see some turnaround in the next few years.”

Arthur Roldan

Staten Island

“The mayor gets a D+. I know the mayor doesn’t have control over bail reform, but we, as parents, are concerned about public safety shortages at all of the city agencies which can be a potential danger to constituents in low and high-income neighborhoods. Staff the agencies with people who come with experience. We need the mayor to work, and less partying. I hate to say this, but the mayor did inherit the former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s issues and now, he has to work to reverse the damage which he can’t do with staff shortages.

The one good thing he’s done is finally removing the homeless and mentally ill. I am concerned about the police shortages because of police officers quitting and putting in for early retirement. The hospitals are already filled to capacity. I’m hoping that a plan is in place to treat the mentally ill accordingly. The ones with serious mental issues should be in a facility to receive the best care. Unfortunately, these facilities have been shut down and we need to revamp them. The city currently has over 60,000 homeless and that’s a ‘state of emergency.’ The city should be ashamed as to how we let it get so bad.”

Lattina Brown,

Longwood

“I would give Mayor Adams a B or B+. As a mayor coming out of the COVID pandemic, it has been amazing to witness his leadership throughout the city. From galvanizing a resurgent class of blue-collar New Yorkers and working-class community, to his ability to encourage the city to return to work, you have to admit he’s on task. Say what you want about Mayor Adams, but you can’t knock his effort. You may disagree with his approach, but you can’t disagree with his constant effort to stay present.

When the subways became unsafe, he brought more enforcement, as well as an altered approach to addressing the mental illness in the transient community. As cannabis has influenced current affairs, he brought in Dasheeda Dawson to become the founding director of Cannabis NYC. The relationship with the NYPD, FDNY and city workers in general was a bit hampered through the vaccination pressures throughout COVID. However, I think things are steadily improving.”

Marques Payne,

Riverdale

Editor’s Note: For details of the mayor’s latest approach to tackling the mental health crisis, click here. 

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.