New York City Comptroller Brad Lander announced Tuesday that he will run for mayor in the 2025 Democratic primary, challenging incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.

Lander made the announcement through a video posted on his social media channels, framing his campaign as a call for stronger, more effective leadership as the city grapples with issues of affordability, safety and quality of life.

“This city, we fall in love with it over and over again. Everyone on every block deserves that feeling,” Lander said. “But why does a city that means so much to so many have leadership that delivers so little for so few?”

Lander, who has served as comptroller since 2022, criticized the Adams administration on key challenges, such as affordable housing, fair wages and improved public services.

“We travel too long to work too many hours, to make too much rent, to worry so much and feel so unsafe,” Lander said in his announcement. “It’s time for strong, experienced leadership that delivers real results.”

During an appearance on “Mornings On 1” Tuesday—his first since announcing his candidacy—Lander reiterated his stance, saying, “New Yorkers are hungry for a safer, more affordable, more livable and better run city. Mayor Adams promised to get stuff done, but he's not getting the things done that really matter to New Yorkers.”

Lander said, if elected, he would work to tackle major quality-of-life issues, including homelessness, affordable housing and public safety at the start of his term.

“On day one, I'll get busy ending street homelessness of severely mentally ill people in New York City. That's one of our safety challenges, and we'll have a safer and a more humane city. We've done audits of [the city’s shelter] program, and it showed we're just moving people around, sweeping them from corner to corner or from hospital to jail and back to street. I'll make sure we get people into stable housing and produce the safe and humane city that New Yorkers are really hungry to live in,” he said.

Meanwhile, he assured that his policies would not require any increase in taxes, noting that his time as comptroller has given him a thorough understanding of the city’s financial standing.

“What we found in those audits is we're already spending a lot of money on services for people who are sleeping on the street, rather than connecting them with stable housing opportunities that in many cases we already have. So, we'll show how we're going to pay for every plan we put out. We don't need to increase taxes. What we need to do is demand better management to deliver more results for the resources that we're spending,” he said.

Lander’s candidacy adds to the already growing list of Democrats looking to challenge Adams’ reelection prospects, including former City Comptroller Scott Stringer and New York state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, D-Prospect Lefferts Gardens.

In his video, Lander poised himself to be a leader of unity and resilience, saying, “Some say we have to give up on what makes New York City special to point fingers to demonize each other, but I say we’re in this together. And together, we can write the next great chapter on the sidewalks of New York.”

Before becoming comptroller, Lander had served on the New York City Council since 2009, where he represented multiple Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Boerum Hill, Borough Park and Park Slope.