Adrienne Adams, the first Black leader of the New York City Council, said on Wednesday that she would join the already crowded race for mayor with less than four months before the June primary.

She is hoping to position herself as a principled and scandal-free alternative to the incumbent, Eric Adams, and the race’s presumptive favorite, the former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

With little name recognition outside of New York’s political circles and an unproven ability to raise large sums of money quickly, Ms. Adams is already at a disadvantage.

So I was ready to put my mental fighting gloves on as I approached a building superintendent who was blasting the sidewalk ahead of me with a hose.

The new police commissioner would be joining an administration that has been rocked by at least four federal criminal investigations, including one that forced the resignation of Mr. Caban. And the new leader’s time could be short: Mr. Adams is facing what could be a difficult re-election campaign next year.

But numerous Democratic leaders, including the state attorney general, Letitia James, urged Ms. Adams to run. The pressure from the group of Black women, labor and civic leaders grew as Mr. Adams’s legal and ethical troubles mounted and it became clear that Mr. Cuomo, who resigned in disgrace after a series of sexual harassment allegations,ph444 casino was about to enter the race.

“New Yorkers can’t afford to live here, City Hall is in chaos, and Donald Trump is corrupting our city’s independence. It’s time to stand up,” Ms. Adams said in a statement announcing her candidacy. “I never planned to run for mayor, but I’m not giving up on New York City. Our city deserves a leader that serves its people first and always, not someone focused on themselves and their own political interests.”

Ms. Adams, whose Council district covers a section of southeast Queens, will kick off her candidacy Saturday afternoon at Rochdale Village, a sprawling middle-class co-op complex in Jamaica, Queens. The choice of locale is representative of how Ms. Adams will try to build her base, hoping to target Black and Latino women.

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