Former City Comptroller Scott Stringer dropped off his Democratic primary petitions Thursday, officially marking his second attempt to be mayor of New York.

"This is not my first rodeo, I've done it before," Stringer told reporters.

His pitch to voters: “I think they want someone who’s a street fighter who understands government — that’s what I bring to the table.”

It’s been four years since the mayoral campaign of 2021. The city was still in COVID quarantine. The Democratic Party was more progressive and focused on racial justice after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

At a Brooklyn memorial for Floyd in 2020, Stringer at the told the crowd: “It’s time to defund the NYPD now in the name of George Floyd.”

Now, he’s vowing to hire 3,000 more cops and reform the department to prevent police officers from quitting.

It was a different time, Stringer says.

“We also need to have a mayor who understands what is prudent today that may have been less prudent, a different set of issues, a long time ago,” Stringer said recently. “I’m not going to litigate 2021. I live in 2025.”

To recap what happened in 2021, Stringer was a leading progressive in the Democratic Party with the support of young progressive lawmakers and the left-wing Working Families Party.

A woman who had worked on his past campaigns alleged that Stringer had repeatedly groped her 20 years prior. Stringer denied it.

“This isn’t me,” he said during a news conference at the time. “I didn’t do this.”  

Stringer lost his endorsements and on Primary Election Day, Stringer got 5.5% of the vote — fifth place — in the first round of ranked choice voting, ultimately losing the race.

“Things are different now after four years of corruption, lack of progress in so many different areas,” Stringer said.

Today, Stringer focuses less on being a progressive in good standing and more on the policy and management chops he honed during his political climb from Manhattan’s west side to citywide as comptroller.

“People want a manager, they want someone who has a big record of competent leadership but they also want a mayor who can solve the big problems,” he said.  

Major policy proposals from Stringer include a new system to better track quality of life complaints, reforms to keep police from quitting and recruit more cops, and extending the school day to help working parents.

During his first run for mayor, Stringer would say he would “manage the hell out of this city.”

He still uses the line today.