Borough President Eric Adams is the first guest on Brooklyn Magazine: The Podcast

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Eric Adams has a unique perspective on 2020—seasons of social and political unrest after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many other unarmed Black citizens at the hands of the police.

The Brooklyn borough president is the inaugural guest on Brooklyn Magazine: The Podcast, hosted by myself, the editor-in-chief of the new Brooklyn Magazine. Every week we will feature prominent—and soon-to-be-prominent—Brooklynites in conversation as we explore our vast and diverse borough through the lens of culture, community and commerce.

Brooklyn was the epicenter of Black Lives Matter protests in New York. For Adams, it’s personal: At age 15, Adams and his brother were beaten severely by police in their Brownsville neighborhood. The experience drove him to join the NYPD with a desire to reform the force from within.

After 22 years on the force, he retired as a captain, served as a New York state senator (2007-2013), and was elected Brooklyn borough president in November 2013 (and reelected in November 2017).

Adams has been a highly visible and occasionally controversial figure in Brooklyn this year in particular. He’s been front and center with protesters, advocating for police reform. We’ll talk about that, plus growing up in Brownsville in the 1960s and how a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes in 2016 changed his life for the better.

Adams, who officially announced his candidacy for mayor last month, also takes a pop quiz we cooked up on Brooklyn trivia. Give a listen to hear how he does.