LG pick Adrienne Adams campaigns in her native Southeast Queens
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Adrienne Adams, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, campaigned on her home turf in Jamaica on Thursday with Governor Kathy Hochul. Eagle photo by Gabriela Flores
By Gabriela Flores
Former community board chair and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams returned to her home turf in Southeast Queens on Thursday – now as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
With elections a little over two months away, Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul campaigned in Jamaica on Thursday as part of the governor’s ongoing bid for reelection, which includes Adams as her running mate.
The former Southeast Queens councilmember was visibly emotional during her return to District 28, where she represented South Jamaica, South Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village and South Ozone Park until 2025.
“There is no place closer to my heart than Southeast Queens, where I live in the same home I raised my children for over 35 years,” Adams said in a statement to the Eagle. “Every day, I open my front door and see the same things my neighbors see, and that has empowered me to fight on their behalf for years – whether it was serving as the first woman ever to represent District 28 or as the first Black speaker of the NYC Council.”
“Last night was truly a full-circle moment to be surrounded by the love of my community,” she added.
Before sharing a ballot line with Hochul, Adams planned to step out of the political arena after a historic tenure with the speaker’s gavel and after her late bid for mayor fizzled.
In an interview with the Eagle on her way out of the Council, she said she was looking forward to “just getting back to being Adrienne.”
She said Thursday that she didn’t expect a call from Hochul to join her on the gubernatorial ticket, thrusting her back into politics faster than she had planned.
“I didn't ask for it, but it happened at that moment because it was for me,” said Adams, noting the “timing was right.”
“And all I could say was, ‘Kathy, let's go’,” she added.
In Jamaica, the Western New York-raised governor lauded her Queens-born pick to join her in Albany.
“You know her story, you know why she's here, you know why New York needs her,” said Hochul. “I cannot wait to roll up our sleeves starting in January and really continue to transform the state of New York with Adrienne Adams as my partner.”
South Queens natives and a slew of the elected officials joined Hochul and Adams while they opened a new field office on Sutphin Boulevard, including Councilmembers Lynn Schulman, Shekar Krishnan and Linda Lee, Assemblymembers Nily Rozic and David Weprin, State Senator John Liu and Representative Grace Meng.
Councilmember Ty Hankerson, Adams’ successor in the district she affectionately dubbed the “Great 28,” lauded Hochul and his predecessor and former boss.
“Queens voters want to know that someone is listening, that they have the ear of whoever is in the seat, and in this case, that is our Governor Kathy Hochul,” Hankerson told the Eagle. “I believe that with Adrienne Adams by her side, not only does it give Queens just that leg up, but it puts us in the right direction.”
“We have a number of concerns that are going on, whether it be public safety, housing, child care, and so with this dynamic duo at play I believe that we'll be able to address those things in a more speedily way,” he added.
Jean Randolph-Castro, a longtime Southeast Queens resident who currently serves as a member of Queens Community Board 12, said seeing Adams’ impact on D28 over the years influenced her support for the Hochul-Adams campaign.
“This is our hometown girl, Adrienne Adams, who has done so much for the whole of Queens, all of New York, and she’s a hard worker,” Randolph-Castro said. “She earned her seat.”
Polls predict Hochul ahead of Bruce Blakeman, her Republican opponent who serves as the county executive for Nassau County. Blakeman was endorsed by President Donald Trump earlier this month.
According to a recent poll by Siena University, Hochul holds a ten-point lead over Blakeman – a margin slim enough to potentially cause her trouble in November.
During her first campaign for a full four-year term in 2022, after succeeding a scandal-plagued Governor Andrew Cuomo, Hochul beat GOP candidate and then Long Island Congressmember Lee Zeldin by six points, despite polls projecting a double-digit lead.
On Thursday, Hochul slammed Blakeman’s support of Trump and stressed the need for Democrats to secure the majority in congress this November, and make Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents Brooklyn, the speaker.
“I believe that the path to taking back America goes through the House of Representatives, and the path to the House of Representatives goes right through New York,” said Hochul. “We will make Hakeem Jeffries the next speaker.”
“So I am so looking forward to election night this year,” she added. “But there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then.”
In her statement to the Eagle, Adams reiterated hopes that Southeast Queens will continue the support they gave her in city office in her bid for Albany.
“[I know] Southeast Queens has my back in the fight to be New York's next Lieutenant Governor as we work together to defeat Bruce Blakeman and elect Democrats up and down the ballot statewide,” she said.
Early voting for the general election runs from Oct. 24 through Nov. 1. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
