New York City Mayor Eric Adams took a shot at his self-described democratic socialist opponent on Thursday as Adams launched a fierce reelection bid as an independent. “I’m so proud to be here, to say to the people of the City of New York, I am seeking reelection to be your mayor of the City of New York!” Adams told a cheering crowd from the steps of City Hall on Thursday. Adams was elected as a Democrat in 2021, but he is running as an independent in the wake of low approval ratings and federal corruption and bribery charges that were dropped in February. Zohran Mamdani, 33, is the member of the Democratic Socialists of America who stunned Democrats this week when he declared victory in the party’s mayoral primary for New York City on Tuesday. He is a New York state assemblyman representing Queens. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo had been expected to walk away handily with the Democratic nomination, but now he, too, is considering running as an independent. “This is a city not of socialism,” Adams said Thursday. “I’ve been to socialist countries. This is a city where you can come as a dishwasher, and you can own a chain of restaurants. This is a city where you can be a cab driver and then become a doctor. This is a city where you can go from homelessness to building houses. This is a city where you can be a young person who is dyslexic, a young person who was rejected, and eventually to be elected the mayor of the City of New York,” the mayor told the crowd. “There’s no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There’s dignity in giving you a job, so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve. This is not a city of handouts. This is a city of hands up. We’re going to lift up the City of New York,” Adams said. Mamdani has proposed expensive policies including rent freezes, government-run grocery stores, free buses, free city universities, free child care, increasing New York City’s minimum wage to $30 an hour, and investing $65 million in transgender drugs and surgeries. Adams has already directly attacked Mamdani. “He’s a snake-oil salesman,” Adams said of Mamdani on Fox News on Wednesday. “He would say and do anything to get elected.” “I’m not interested in Twitter politics. I’m interested in getting the trash picked up. I’m not interested in slogans. I’m interested in the solutions. I don’t work with special interests. I work for the people,” Adams said. “I wasn’t born into power and privilege. I was born into struggle. Always knew what struggle was, and if you’re going to be a mayor of people who are going through a lot, you must be a human being who has gone through a lot.” Protesters across the park attempted to disrupt Adams’ announcement rally, shouting and calling him a “criminal.” “You can call me all the names you want, but I’m going to answer to only one: Mayor Adams,” Adams said. Adams currently controls New York City’s $115 billion budget and 330,000 city government workers. Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, the volunteer group dedicated to crime prevention on New York’s subways and streets, won the Republican nomination for mayor. The general election for mayor will be held on November 4.