Two weeks ago, Eric Adams held one of the most powerful positions in American government. On Monday, he stood amid Times Square’s towering neon billboards, hawking a new city-themed crypto token.
For another man, it might have been a humbling change of position. But Mr. Adams, the former mayor, was all smiles as he preached the benefits of the blockchain and promised he would not be taking any profit — for now.
“Oh, I missed you guys, and ladies,” he told a gaggle of reporters, before spinning off topic to dig at his successor’s “big mistakes”; to talk up business opportunities in far-flung capitals; and to reflect on his salable expertise on services like trash collection.
The appearance, his first since leaving office on Jan. 1, only ended because he had to catch a flight, first to Dallas, then Senegal, where he said more opportunities awaited.
If Mr. Adams, 65, was New York City’s most unconventional mayor in memory — a working-class former police officer whose taste for luxury helped land him under federal indictment — the early signs suggest his post-mayoralty will be no different.
In just the last two weeks, he has socialized with a Saudi prince in Dubai, visited the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo and repeatedly blasted his successor, Zohran Mamdani, for reversing some of Mr. Adams’s pro-Israel policies. That criticism broke from an unspoken tradition of ex-mayors giving deference to their successors.
Many of the details of Mr. Adams’s business transactions remain obscure, including his partners in the crypto project. But his emerging priorities are clearer: to burnish his reputation, tweak his successor and pay off a mountain of debt related to his legal case — not necessarily in that order.
“I will not be taking 9-to-5 salary jobs,” Mr. Adams said on Monday. “I’m going to be working for Eric Adams.”
Mr. Adams is not the only Mamdani adversary lining up his next pursuits. Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is wrapping up a deal to host a weekly show on WABC, a conservative talk radio station where he was a frequent guest during his unsuccessful campaign for mayor.
The new show, first reported by The New York Post, would give Mr. Cuomo a regular platform to promote his brand of centrist Democratic politics and, presumably, take aim at Mr. Mamdani, whom he has described as a far-left radical.
John Catsimatidis, the Republican billionaire who owns the station, said he was not planning to pay Mr. Cuomo, but wanted to help give him a boost after his defeat. The two sides have yet to decide on a time slot.
“We feel very bad what happened, and we love New York,” Mr. Catsimatidis said. “He wants to stay relevant and stay in touch with the citizens of New York.”
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, suggested the former governor was eager to continue speaking out on issues from “the scourge of antisemitism to public safety and the future of cities and urban America.”
But so far, it is Mr. Adams who has struck a far more head-turning profile.
A few hours after attending Mr. Mamdani’s inauguration, he boarded an Emirates flight to Dubai with a long-term romantic partner, Tracey Collins. In addition to the Saudi prince, he was seen socializing with a handful of wealthy Israeli and Uzbek businessmen.
He dined with Eleonora Srugo, the real estate agent and reality television star, and posed for a social media post with Amir Marashi, an Iranian-born, New York-based gynecologist and women’s health advocate whose specialties include vaginal rejuvenation.
Mr. Adams also kept a close eye on New York City. He has posted frequently to register his disapproval of, for example, Mr. Mamdani’s decision to reverse the city’s adoption of an expanded definition of antisemitism that equated some forms of anti-Israel criticism with antisemitism, and to criticize some of his appointments.
“Everyone needs their grace period, but no one gets a grace period on hate,” Mr. Adams said on Monday.
Mr. Mamdani declined to respond to Mr. Adams’s criticisms at a separate event.
Mr. Adams’s interest in crypto is not new. As mayor, he took his first paychecks in cryptocurrency. He is close friends with Brock Pierce, a billionaire crypto investor. And Mr. Pierce and other industry figures helped bankroll his re-election campaign before he abandoned it last fall.
Mr. Adams, who made a commitment to Israel and fighting antisemitism a cornerstone of his term, pitched his new token as a way to raise funds to fight antisemitism, “anti-Americanism” and “teach our children how to embrace the blockchain technology.”
The token website suggests there will be one billion in circulation. Mr. Adams said that he would steer the proceeds for a portion of them toward nonprofits working on those causes. He said he would not take a salary or any payment, at least at first.
“NYC Token is a next-generation cryptocurrency inspired by the relentless energy and innovation of New York City,” the project’s website says. “Built on cutting-edge blockchain technology, we’re creating a decentralized financial ecosystem that’s as ambitious as the city itself.”
Still, Mr. Adams struggled at points to describe the project in detail. At the event and in a separate interview on Fox News, he repeatedly and incorrectly called his new product “New York City Coin.” It is a token, not a coin.
The token’s website, which prominently features Mr. Adams, invites visitors to “buy now.” But as of Monday evening, all the links appeared to be broken.
The former mayor said he was exploring other lines of business, as well, including on a trip through Africa this week. (Frank Carone, Mr. Adams’s former chief of staff, is involved in some of the pursuits.)
“I’m realizing that a lot of the services we have in New York, even trash pickup, you’re not seeing those services across the entire globe,” Mr. Adams said. “I’m going to help cities and countries.”
All of it may raise questions about Mr. Adams’s future residency. In the past, he has expressed an interest in retiring in a variety of foreign cities, rather than the Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, home he owns.
But two people familiar with the matter said the former mayor plans to keep a base in New York City and wants to rent an apartment in Manhattan, preferably with a view.
The mayor himself tried to dispel any questions on Monday.
“I am not going anywhere,” he said.
Nicholas Fandos is a Times reporter covering New York politics and government.
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