On a cloudy Sunday afternoon in Flushing, Queens, Mayor Eric Adams’ mood seemed bright as he launched his first official re-election campaign event in the Chinese community. Framed by a vibrant pink dragon and joined by dozens of AAPI community and business leaders, most of whom are Chinese, Adams rallied supporters in front of the Flushing Library.
“We have a lot of work to do. We have been moving in the right direction. We’re going to continue that,” Adams said, vowing to continue efforts to reduce crime, support small businesses, and improve education. “We have done too much to go backwards. We can’t go backwards. We must move forward.”
“Four more years!” the crowd chanted.
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Nearly four years ago, Adams stood at the same location flanked by prominent elected officials like Congresswoman Grace Meng, former City Councilmember Peter Koo, and Councilmember Sandra Ung, who voiced strong support for his first mayoral bid. This time, however, those familiar faces were absent, along with some of Adams’ other early Chinese-American allies, such as the previous New World Mall co-owner and political influencer Tianji Li. Once referred to by Chinese-language media as the head of Adams’ Flushing campaign office, Li was a big donor and fundraiser for Adams’ 2021 campaign.
Sunday’s event was organized by Chinese American & AAPI for Mayor Eric Adams, led by Chinese community leaders, including Better Chinatown’s executive director Steven Tin, Manhattan’s Chinatown Democratic district leader Justin Yu, the president of the Fukien American Association Heng Chen, and the former president of the Chong Lou USA Association Dixon Mai. The group says it plans to host additional rallies in Manhattan’s Chinatown and Brooklyn’s Sunset Park later this month.
Many attendees at the rally told Documented they support Adams over other mayoral candidates, including – Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani – due to his experience, his perceived record on public safety, and his consistent outreach to the Chinese-American community. Recently, Adams has emphasized the drop in major crimes as a key achievement during his re-election campaign, but Documented’s earlier analysis showed that non-major crimes are at a record high in some neighborhoods like Chinatown, and many immigrant community members said they still feel unsafe living in NYC.
“I think he treats the Chinese American and AAPI community with respect,” said Tin, who has worked with Adams since his days as Brooklyn Borough President. “He takes a centrist approach, prioritizes the NYPD, education, and community safety — policies that are most suitable for the Chinese and AAPI communities,” he added, noting that safety, tourism, and the economy have improved under Adams’ leadership and “seem better than in other major U.S. cities.”
Even though former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who for now still stays on the ballot, running as an independent candidate after conceding the Democratic primary to Mamdani, is also seen as a moderate Democrat, Tin believes Adams has a stronger shot. “Cuomo had all the union support here, all the money support, and he lost by 12% [to Mamdani],” he said. “It’s common sense. Nothing against Cuomo.”
Some voters who said they prefer a centrist Democratic mayoral candidate echoed that sentiment. An He, a Chinese immigrant living in Flushing, said he aligns with Adams’ approach to federal immigration policy, while feeling that Cuomo was less collaborative with Trump. “I think he [Adams] emphasized cracking down on illegal immigrants with severe criminal backgrounds while welcoming new immigrants because NYC will benefit from a ‘demographic dividend.’ That sounds very reasonable to me,” said He. “Fighting against the federal government too much does no good to our city.”
Meanwhile, attendees at the rally expressed opposition to “far-left” candidates like Mamdani, despite primary election analyses showing that a wave of Asian votes played a key role in his groundbreaking victory, particularly in South Asian enclaves in Queens and Chinese communities in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Dissatisfaction with Mamdani may, to some extent, increase Adams’ chances of re-election. Although Adams struggled in the polls and with fundraising in March, his fundraising has since rebounded significantly after the primary election, supported by a coalition of business leaders and moderate Democrats aiming to prevent Mamdani from becoming the next mayor. A fundraiser earlier this week raised over $1 million in one night for him. However, the latest poll still shows his support rate at just 11%, even lower than his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa.
Also Read: Adams Kicks Off Campaign with Swipe at Mamdani: ‘Blue Collar vs. Silver Spoon’
Julie Li, a Flushing resident and community leader among people from Northeastern China, said she is a registered Republican but plans to vote for Adams in the general mayoral election this fall. “If I have to choose between Sliwa and Adams, I choose Adams because a Democratic candidate will win the mayoral election,” she said in Mandarin, adding that Republicans and Democrats should work together to “make New York City great again,” rather than “letting political disagreements tear the city apart.”
Li added that New York City is a complex city with a massive economy, and she didn’t believe Mamdani, whom she sees as lacking experience, was ready. “I’m definitely against the extreme left route,” said Li in Mandarin. She hopes Adams will continue to support the NYPD and believes more needs to be done to address social benefits fraud. “We should encourage people to work,” she said.
“I don’t think the Chinese American community is ready for a progressive mayor,” said Tin, “because basically, the Chinese are conservative and old-fashioned.” He added, “We deal with mostly people that are 30 and up… I could say on average, most Chinese American community organizations or leaders or families are not comfortable with a progressive candidate.”
Adams’ past corruption scandals involving the Chinese community did not seem to put a dent in his supporters’ confidence, although some Flushing residents told Documented they lost trust in him during the primary election.
“I know Adams is not perfect, but nobody is perfect,” said Li. “I think we should give him another chance.”
Tin went on to suggest that Adams’ missteps were due to loyalty rather than malice. “In Chinese, we call it ‘yiqi (义气)’ — you try to help people that helped you, but you forget to manage them the right way so they get out of hand,” he said. “So I think if you admit your mistake, then to me, I will give you a check.”
For Yu, the choice between Adams and Mamdani is stark. “It’s a choice between right and wrong,” he said in Mandarin. “As time goes by, people will see more clearly who is a better candidate. One is a dreamer. One is a problem solver.”
Yu acknowledged that Adams’ handling of homeless shelters has sparked opposition in areas like Southern Brooklyn, where the Chinese community has appeared to shift to the right in recent presidential and local elections. However, he praised Adams’ willingness to listen. “The shelter on 86th Street in Brooklyn still hasn’t broken ground. The homeless shelter on 91 East Broadway hasn’t been able to open yet. Adams played a role in that. He is willing to listen to us,” Yu said in Mandarin.
Yu also criticized Mamdani’s platform as unrealistic. “He advocated for free buses, but the MTA is about to go bankrupt. How can we afford free buses? He said a rent freeze for four years, but what about the increasing real estate tax and cost of living? Are you letting all the small property owners go bankrupt?”
For Yu, it comes down to this: “The victory of Adams is the victory of us.”