Democratic National Committee representatives are going out on the town with Mayor Eric Adams.

“We’re going to spend the next few days showing the entire delegation why there’s no other place like New York City,” Adams said. “When a curtain rises in New York, it rises in America.”

What You Need To Know

  • DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and delegation are visiting New York City to see convention space, hotels and more

  • If NYC wins bid, event would be centered at Madison Square Garden

  • Adams and Hochul say NYC has the amenities and the values that the DNC needs

In competing to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden, Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul are having the DNC test the product: Manhattan’s restaurants, arts scene and nightlife, as well as its convention space, hotels and mass transit.

They argued it’s everything the DNC needs for the thousands of delegates and members of the news media who would descend on the city.

“We know how to hold big events. No one does it like New York,” Adams said.

Speaking Thursday at the Javits Center, where the city proposes secondary convention events would take place, Hochul touted the Democratic party’s values are New York values.

“We value our diversity,” she said. “We welcome people from all over the world. The Statue of Liberty is that symbol.”

“It’s always great to be in the city that never sleeps,” DNC Chair Jamie Harrison said enthusiastically. “And many of you who’ve attended conventions know that people do not sleep during conventions.”

The convention would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity for the city.

While Adams and Hochul stressed they believe it would coincide with the city’s comeback, there are questions about whether New York’s struggles with crime could hurt its bid.

The mayor said convention-goers would be protected.

“No one has the manpower that we do in the New York City police department,” he said. “We’re the best police department on the planet.”

“All of these cities that we are visiting right now, I feel very confident that our visitors will be safe, that they’re going to do everything that they can,” Harrison said.

New York City is competing against Chicago, Atlanta and Houston for the bid. Atlanta and Houston are in states considered swing states crucial to the Democrats.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine contended the city reflects the energy and passion Democrats need to win.

“We wouldn’t be a finalist if they were only looking at swing states,” Levine said.