Mayor Adams Off To A 'Good Start' With 61% Approval, Poll Finds

NEW YORK, NY — Mayor Eric Adams is off to a "good start" with New Yorkers, according to a new poll.

A poll released Monday from Marist College found that 61 percent of New Yorkers approve of the job Adams is doing as mayor and only 24 percent disapprove of his performance so far.

A similar majority of residents, 62 percent, had a favorable view of the mayor, who is in his third month in office.

"Mayor Adams has broad appeal at this early point in his administration," said Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. "Unlike his predecessor [Mayor Bill de Blasio], Adams is not coming across as a polarizing figure to most city residents."

The news wasn't all good, though.

Pollsters noted that most New Yorkers surveyed still didn't have strong feelings one way or another about Adams — only 16 percent strongly approved and 8 percent strongly disapproved of the mayor, according to the survey.

Only 47 percent of city residents thought that Adams is changing New York City for the better, while 8 percent believe he is changing it for the worse and a whopping 34 percent believe he isn't having an impact on the city, the poll found.

Though, as Miringoff noted, Adams seems to be less polarizing than de Blasio in his early days, some of his poll results were similar to the former mayor.

In his early days in office, around 39 percent of registered voters rated de Blasio as "excellent," compared to 40 percent who thought Adams was in the excellent category.

The numbers underperformed some earlier predecessors. Michael Bloomberg, Rudy Giuliani and David Dinkins all saw 50 percent or more of voters rating them as excellent in early poll data, the researchers said.

Adams positive ratings extended to his handling of the pressing issues facing the city, including crime, the coronavirus pandemic, public schools, and the relationship between police and the community, according to the poll.

Here's a closer look:

• The Issues
  • 64 percent approve of how Adams is handling the coronavirus pandemic.
  • 61 percent approve of how he is handling the relationship between police and the community.
  • 55 percent approve of how Adams is handling the public schools.
  • 53 percent approve of how he is handling crime.

• Qualities of a Mayor
  • 72 percent of city residents say Mayor Adams understands the problems facing New York City.
  • 66 percent think he cares about people
  • 64 percent report he is a good leader for New York City.
  • 55 percent say Adams is making New York City a safer place to live.

• Direction of the City
  • 49 percent of city residents think New York City is moving in the right direction
  • 43 percent report it is moving in the wrong one.
  • (When last asked in October 2017, 46 percent thought the city was on track, and 43 percent thought it was off track. 11 percent were unsure)
  • 79 percent of residents citywide are optimistic that the city has turned the page on the coronavirus pandemic. 18 percent are pessimistic.