Healthy Eating in Schools

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eric Leroy Adams was born in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn on September 1, 1960, the fourth of six children for his mother Dorothy, a house cleaner and cook, and his father Leroy, a butcher. Growing up in a working-class household in South Jamaica, Queens, Eric showed an early interest in computers, but was drawn to public service at the early age of 15 after he and his brother were beaten badly by police officers; the violent encounter would later motivate him to pursue a career in law enforcement, a decision reinforced by mentors like Reverend Herbert Daughtry and Jitu Weusi.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following a public school journey capped by his graduation from Bayside High School, Eric went on to earn an Associate in Arts degree in data processing from the New York City College of Technology, a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Marist College. Eric paid his way through his collegiate studies through a number of jobs, including work in the mailroom of an accounting firm, as a mechanic, and as a clerk in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eric graduated from the New York City Police Academy in 1984 as one of the highest-ranked students in his class. After initially serving with the New York City Transit Police Department, he was transferred to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) with the merging of the city’s police forces. During the course of his 22-year law enforcement career, Eric served in the 94th Precinct (Greenpoint), 88th Precinct (Clinton Hill and Fort Greene), and the 6th Precinct (Greenwich Village and West Village), where he retired at the rank of captain. As a member of New York’s Finest, Eric made the kind of life-and-death decisions that reflect insight, expertise, and poise under fire, earning him a reputation for going above and beyond the call of duty.</span></p>