Ex-cop Eric Adams appears set to become New York's next mayor

Ex-policeman Eric Adams was on track Tuesday to become New York's next mayor after the city's elections authorities released new results showing he had maintained his lead in the Democratic primary.

The 60-year-old Brooklyn borough president claimed victory after the Board of Elections said he held a lead of one percentage point over nearest rival and fellow moderate Kathryn Garcia.

The elections board website showed Adams on 50.5 percent, with 403,000 votes, and Garcia, a 51-year-old former sanitation commissioner, in second place on 49.5 percent with almost 395,000 votes.

The board, which has made mistakes in the past and which was forced to recount some results last month, did not say how many absentee ballots were left to count.

It is not due to release final official results until the middle of this month.

The Associated Press news agency called the election for Adams but Garcia did not immediately concede and several local media remained cautious.

"While there are still some very small amounts of votes to be counted, the results are clear: an historic, diverse, five-borough coalition led by working-class New Yorkers has led us to victory

If confirmed the winner, Adams will take on Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in November's mayoral election.

Since New York is a Democratic stronghold, the Democratic candidate is virtually guaranteed to win.

They will have to steer the Big Apple through its post-pandemic recovery.

Adams ran on a public safety platform after a surge in crime in New York, as in most major US cities, since last summer.