Eric Adams, the winner of the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, vowed Wednesday to guide the city to a new era of safety and prosperity.

�New York is going to show America how to run cities,� Adams said on �CBS This Morning.� �Because I know how to run this city. I know how to lead.�

Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, bested a large Democratic field in New York�s first major race to use ranked choice voting. Results from the latest tabulations showed him leading former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia by 8,426 votes, or a little more than 1 percentage point.

The Associated Press called the race for Adams based on mail-in ballot results in the June 22 primary that were added to the vote count Tuesday.

Garcia conceded Wednesday and congratulated Adams as did Maya Wiley, a civil rights attorney who was in third place in the primary vote tally.

Adams will be the second Black mayor of the nation�s largest city if he wins the general election in November.

Adams, 60, is a moderate Democrat who opposed the �defund the police� movement while acknowledging the reality of abuse such as he himself faced as a teenager when he was beaten by officers.

�I was arrested, I was assaulted by police officers,� Adams said on CBS. �I didn�t say, �Woe is me.� I said, �Why not me.� I became a police officer. I understand crime, and I also understand police abuse, and I know how we can turn around not only New York, but America.�

Asked what he would say to officers who are angry about calls to defund their departments, Adams said, �I say to my officers, �If you don�t want to be on the street any more, then get off my streets.� I don�t want to hear someone say, because they don�t like what government is doing, you�re not going to protect my public. No.�

He promised, �I�m going to have the finest officers. I will have their backs, but they�re going to have the backs of the people of this city.�

With Democrats outnumbering Republicans 7 to 1 in the city, Adams will be heavily favored to defeat Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election.

(AP)