Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who left office with low approval ratings in December, announced Friday his intent to run for Congress in a newly established district that stretches from Lower Manhattan to his home in Brooklyn.

The former mayor, 61, has been publicly exploring a run this week after a draft of a new New York state congressional map was released Monday. De Blasio announced his run Friday morning on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” hours prior to the map’s finalization.

“The polls show people are hurting, they need help, they need help fast, and they need leaders who can actually get them help now and know how to do it,” he said. “I do know how to do it from years of serving the people of this city, so today I am declaring my candidacy for Congress.”