Mayor Eric Adams came into office four years ago with a promise to bring stability and order to New York City, drawing on his law enforcement background to calm the city’s notorious disorderliness.

That vision hasn’t materialized.

Through nearly 100 interviews with aides, supporters, and detractors throughout Adams’s life and tenure, The Times Magazine discovered a mayor and city that are unhinged, their futures inextricably linked despite the residents’ varying opinions. Even before his indictment last fall on charges of federal corruption, Adams had come to embody New York’s everyday disarray, serving as a volatile leader during tumultuous times.

To maneuver through his personal crisis, many details of which have not been disclosed before, he aligned himself with a new president most of his constituents oppose – and is accused by federal prosecutors of using his constituents as leverage in talks with the Trump White House.

Key insights from our investigation:

Adams (and Trump) play the long game

President Trump, who shares a Queens origin with Adams, seemed to understand Adams from the outset. When the two met at a charity dinner in October, weeks before the presidential election, Trump privately embraced the mayor. A friend of Adams, former Gov. David Paterson, said Adams appeared contemplative afterwards, reacting to the unexpected possibility of the moment.

Before large-scale protests, Trump encouraged Adams to “hold on tough,” later publicly suggesting that both faced unjust treatment from the Biden Justice Department. Adams, a former Democrat who’d publicly criticized Trump’s “foolish actions” during the early days of the presidency, altered his tune post-indictment. He showed his support by dining with Trump in Florida prior to the latter’s inauguration, at which point Trump found a valuable ally in his hometown mayor.

Adams is a political chameleon

Adams has always been adept at political adaptation, easily shifting party allegiance as the political landscape changes. An interview revealed Tucker Carlson implying that Adams had been coerced into supporting positions he didn’t hold. Carlson mentioned Adams briefly mulled over attending Trump’s October campaign rally at Madison Square Garden.

“We always knew Eric leaned right,” the Rev. Al Sharpton pointed out. “He isn’t our kind of progressive.”

The migrant crisis stood as Adams’s first significant examination

City Hall’s handling of the surge in migrants became a cornerstone issue of Adams’s administration, shaping his relationships with two administrations. Amid claims of political betrayal by President Biden, the Trump White House later insisted Adams’s legal difficulties be dismissed to enable cooperative efforts with their immigration agenda.

Yet Adams’s immigration stance is more nuanced than commonly believed. He has personally welcomed asylum seekers upon their arrival in New York and stayed overnight in temporary shelters, yet also forewarned of the issue’s potential to “ruin” the city, amplifying anxiety about migrant crime rates.

Adams exhibits unwavering loyalty

“My responsibility is to look out for my people,” Adams has privately stated shortly after his primary victory, recognizing actions by his predecessors in a similar light.

As a result, he constructed a City Hall split between experts and loyalists, rather than solely on merit.

The repercussions have left City Hall in shambles, swaying aimlessly. By his fourth year, nearly all of Adams’s close advisors had departed amidst scandals and legal scrutiny, including his chief adviser, several police officials, and the schools chancellor. Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton highlighted, “Too many friends, too many issues, in too many influential positions.”

Adams has always intertwined his story with the city’s

Adams has frequently articulated to audiences, “I am you.” At his best, his life story of transformation from an unconventional youth to an officer to a mayor is closely woven with New York’s own narrative of struggle and endurance.

“The mayor’s demeanor should mirror that of the city,” Adams has stated, a reflection of himself: self-absorbed, sleepless, daring in approach, and facing complex crime issues. His legal troubles unfold against the narrative of a city seemingly losing its sanity, with the daily bizarre encounters – from subways to streets – unsettling New Yorkers.

Adams embodies New York. But it remains to be seen if New York will continue to be his.