#The tasks that lie ahead for Eric Adams after winning Democratic mayoral primary

Eric Adams’ much-deserved victory in the Democratic primary for mayor came because he understood what his opponents didn’t: If city residents don’t feel safe, nothing else matters.

Now, with a victory in November’s general election anticipated, he must put those words into action as New York City’s 110th mayor.

He has promised to reinstitute the NYPD gun unit, get weapons off the streets and curb the surge in shootings and murders. He must hold fast against Albany legislators and the DAs who believe no crime deserves punishment. As both a former cop and agitator for change, he brings a common-sense approach to policing, aiming to rebuild the trust of the community while not vilifying police officers, as so many “defund” Democrats do.

New York City is poised to bounce back from the lost year of the pandemic, but only if its government keeps the streets safe and clean and gets out of the way as businesses rebuild.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is leaving as he came, selfish and deluded. He’s spending every dime of federal aid, burning away cash on pet projects and donors, doing nothing to shore up New York’s finances for years to come — or even help the mayor who follows him. De Blasio will go down in history as one of the worst leaders Gotham has ever had, and we can only hope he scurries off to Boston and never comes back.

Adams will need to halt what wasteful spending he can. Hopefully, Scott Stringer will succeed in his efforts to rein in de Blasio’s endlessly extended “emergency” powers to stop Blas from doing even more damage on his way out the door. De Blasio believed the only economic growth worth bragging about was an increase in government employment and spending — private industry be damned. Adams understands that companies can move somewhere else; it’s imperative we keep them here.

Crisis after crisis has been ignored these past eight years. Adams has a chance to fix them. Black families in Queens are crying out for better schools. Let’s get a chancellor who actually cares, pushes to lift the charter cap, and stops believing that the answer to educational inequality is making sure smart kids can’t be challenged. The mentally ill homeless can be treated, rather than left to sleep on the floor of Penn Station. Restaurants and small businesses can be encouraged, rather than regulated and fined to the brink of bankruptcy. There’s a better way for New York; we know there is.

So congratulations, Mr. Adams. And good luck. The work starts soon.