Eric Adams knew Mayor David Dinkins as a friend, mentor and inspiration. Adams was a New York City police officer for 22 years before entering politics, and witnessed first-hand the anti-Dinkins police riots in 1992. 

10,000 off-duty officers mobbed and occupied City Hall and demanded Dinkins' resignation after he called for a Civilian Complaint Review Board and after the Mollen Commission was seated to investigate NYPD misconduct. 

The crowd was egged on by Dinkins' political opponent, Rudy Giuliani. Yet, Dinkins was the mayor who greatly increased the presence of police on New York City streets.

Adams talked about the overtly racist nature of the riots, called against the city's first and only Black mayor, and about why Crown Heights has long been the first thing mentioned when Dinkins' name comes up. But he speaks to a side of Dinkins many never knew: his deep affection for the children of this city, and how important it was that kids were fed, housed and educated under his watch.