#Eric Adams pitches NYC’s Asian community as primary nears

Mayoral candidate Eric Adams made his case to Asian-American New Yorkers on Sunday — boasting of his deep ties to the community and pledging to stop anti-Asian violence if elected to lead City Hall.

“I’ve walked these streets with you so many times. I did not just discover you. I am not a new friend,” Adams told a crowd in Flushing.

“I am an old friend. When newcomers come, they have to find their way around Flushing. I don’t have to have a GPS to move around Flushing.”

The tough-on-crime ex-cop promised to keep the community safe amid an alarming rise in ant-Asian hate crimes since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“We will stop anti-Asian violence. We will not allow that in our city,” Adams said at 41st Avenue and Main Street.

“As a black man, I know firsthand what it is to live under bigotry and racism and violence.”

Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing), who endorsed Adams, lavished praise on the Brooklyn borough president and former state senator.

“He’s the most qualified candidate to be the next mayor. He has the passion, he has the experience, has the energy, he has the leadership skills,” said Koo of Adams.

“He understands your city. He has been serving us for a long, long time as a public servant.”

Adams faces an uphill climb in gaining Asian American support ahead of the June 22 Democratic mayoral primary.

Andrew Yang — the son of Taiwanese immigrants who has previously polled neck and neck with Adams in some polls of the race — has earned endorsements from Asian elected officials like outspoken Gov. Andrew Cuomo critic Assemblyman Ron Kim and former comptroller and State Sen. Jon Liu‚ the first Asian New Yorker to be elected to a citywide office.

He has also spoken out repeatedly about anti-Asian attacks and his own experiences with racism in the city.

But Adams insists he’ll do well with the community — and took a shot at unnamed naysayers.

“It’s so important for me to win this community,” Adams said.

“Others believe that they are going to come in and separate our long relationship. We have one word for them — no you will not.”

Meanwhile Sunday, Yang spoke to the congregation of a church in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, where he pitched his policies aimed at reducing poverty.

“I’m running for mayor to make New York City the anti-poverty city,” he said at Clarendon Road Church.

“There is so much pointless suffering in our communities.”

Later in the day, Yang visited with a Sikh community in Queens, and capped a busy day by attending the College Point Memorial Day car parade.

And Kathryn Garcia — who has enjoyed a major bump in the polls since her New York Times editorial board endorsement — spent her Sunday speaking with a NYCHA tenant association president in Williamsburg.