Adrienne Eadie Adams (born December 9, 1960) is an American politician serving as Speaker of the New York City Council. A Democrat, Adams represents the 28th district, and is the first woman elected to the district. Adams was elected in 2017 to fill out the remainder of the term of her expelled predecessor, Ruben Wills. Her district includes the

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

borough neighborhoods of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, Rochdale Village, Richmond Hill and

South Ozone Park South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is just north of John F. Kennedy International Airport, between Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east. Adja ...

Early life and education

Adams was raised in

Hollis, Queens Hollis is a residential middle-class neighborhood within the southeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. While a predominantly African-American community, there are small minorities of Hispanics and South Asians residing in the ...

. She attended St. Pascal Baylon Elementary School,

Bayside High School (Queens) Bayside High School is an American public high school located in the Bayside neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. It is administered by the New York City Department of Education. Performance Bayside is one of the highest per ...

, and received a bachelor's degree in Psychology from

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman rece ...

Career

She was a three-term chairperson of

Queens Community Board 12 The Queens Community Board 12 is a local government in the New York City borough of Queens, encompassing the neighborhoods of Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Baisley Park, Rochdale Village, South Jamaica. Queens Community Bo ...

. Previously, Adams has been an appointed member of the

Queens Public Library The Queens Public Library (QPL), also known as the Queens Borough Public Library and Queens Library (QL), is the public library for the borough of Queens, and one of three public library systems serving New York City. It is one of the largest li ...

Board of Trustees, and appointed to Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...

’s Local Planning Committee (LPC) for the Jamaica Downtown Revitalization Initiative. She once served as co-chair of the Jamaica NOW Leadership Council. Adams previously ran for New York State Senate against James Sanders Jr.

New York City Council

Adams won her 2017 primary with 39.17% of the vote (3,499 votes). Her opponent, Richard David, got 31.59% of the vote (2,822 votes) and her other opponent Hettie Powell received 28.98% of the vote. (2,589 votes). Adams went on to win the general election with 85.97% of the vote. During her first term she was elected by her colleagues in the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus to serve as co-chair of the body, 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. Adams was elected Speaker of the New York City Council in January 2022. She is the second politician from the borough of Queens to serve as Speaker ( Peter Vallone Sr. was the first City Council Speaker of New York City). She is the third woman to serve as Speaker and the first Black person to serve as Speaker. Her election was a defeat for newly elected mayor

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York ...

(no relation), who had privately been trying to win support for rival Speaker candidate

Francisco Moya Francisco P. Moya (born January 9, 1974) is an American politician from Corona, Queens. He has served in the New York City Council from the 21st district since 2018. He served in the New York State Assembly from the 39th district from 2011 to 20 ...

Personal life

Adams is a long time member of the NAACP and the

National Action Network The National Action Network (NAN) is a not-for-profit, civil rights organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton in New York City, New York, in early 1991. In a 2016 profile, '' Vanity Fair'' called Sharpton "arguably the country's most infl ...

. She is also an active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

References

External links

Council Member Adrienne Adams
''official site'' , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Adrienne Living people Speakers of the New York City Council New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from Hollis, Queens Bayside High School (Queens) alumni Spelman College alumni Women New York City Council members Politicians from Queens, New York 1960 births