: In his media availability on October 15, 2024, Mayor Eric Adams emphasized the ongoing efforts to ensure public safety in New York City, highlighting a significant decrease in subway crime and the launch of the Partnership Assistance for Transit Homelessness initiative aimed at connecting unhoused individuals with essential services. He announced the appointment of Chauncey Parker as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, noting his extensive law enforcement experience, and introduced Mona Suazo as his deputy, praising their dedication to public safety. The mayor also discussed recent investments to improve drinking water safety and reiterated the importance of collaboration among various law enforcement agencies to combat gun violence. The session concluded with Adams responding to questions regarding city leadership and community issues.
Transcript: Mayor Adams Holds In-Person Media Availability
Mayor Eric Adams: A smaller group this week. First of all, good afternoon. Good to see folks. Before we open up to any questions, I say it over and over again each week. It’s about keeping New Yorkers safe. And it’s what the New York City Police Department, with their amazing team, continues to do every day.
And as I indicated over the last two weeks, while most of the conversations and questions have been on the investigations and the likes, I need my deputy mayors doing their jobs. Once things normalize more, they will be back here sitting down, dealing with some of the items that are important to all New Yorkers that we hear every day. But I want to make sure I answer whatever I can as we move forward from week to week.
Every day we work to make this city safer and more and keeping New Yorkers safe, particularly in the subway system. Really, please. January we had that peak in crime, a spike in crime, I should say. And since then, nine straight months of decrease in subway crime. New York City is the safest big city in America. My goal is to make New York City the safest city in America. But in our subway system, we have witnessed a 5 percent year to day decrease in crime. And we’re going to continue to do the right things to keep our cities, our subway safe. It’s the lifeblood of our system and our city. You hear it over and over again.
And not only that, we want to treat those with severe mental health illness. That’s what we hear all the time when I’m on the system. Riders talk about those who are riding a subway system. And clearly they’re dealing with severe mental health illness. And we’re focusing on that. In late August, we launched our Partnership Assistance for Transit Homelessness initiative. Code term PATH. PATH brings together members of the NYPD Transit Bureau, the Department of Homeless Services and New York City Health and Hospital to connect New Yorkers living unsheltered in the subway system with shelter and care.
No one should be using the subway system as a place where they are living. That just should not happen. And it’s not going to happen. In the last two months, these teams have engaged with over fifteen hundred unhoused New Yorkers. And we’ve connected more than 500 of those New Yorkers to service, including shelter, meals and medical help. This initiative builds on the success of Governor Hochul and I partnered early in the administration with our operation, our plans in the subway safety plan. 7,800 New Yorkers living in the subway system. We were able to cycle to shelter and place 640 of them in permanent affordable housing. Difficult work to do, but we’re getting it done.
And affordability. We also want to look at the amazing work of the Biden administration and how we were able to secure $48 million investment funded to deal with lead and privately owned water service lines. Many of us, you know, we do it in a public owned service line to get out lead. But many people don’t realize in the privately owned lines is something we have to remain concerned about. And this is put money right back in the pockets of those homeowners. The program will save eligible property owners at least ten thousand dollars on replacement costs and will prevent lead exposure for their families. A major impact for children when you have lead exposure.
This builds on our efforts to protect our drinking water. We have the best drinking water, it’s healthy, but we have to stay on top of to make sure we maintain our system. Two billion dollars we put in the Delaware Aqueduct repair and just a continuation and extension of making sure that our water is safe.
So I want to make an appointment announcement. I’ve watched him for many years and how he has carried out his duties. And Chauncey Parker is going to be appointed to the deputy mayor of Public Safety. Chauncey has been a leader in this area for over 40 years of law enforcement experience to run our Public Safety apparatus. We have taken a different approach on public safety in the city, and we include every aspect of it. And Chauncey has already played a major role in how he goes about bringing all of the federal, state and local law enforcement entities together. Really proud to have him.
He was the deputy under Deputy Mayor Banks. And now to elevate him to this position, it continues to say what I’ve been saying over and over again. Our bench is deep. We had nine, nine requests to fill this position from outside of the agency. People wanted to come in and continue to do the work that Deputy Mayor Banks did. We looked over all of them and clearly Chauncey is the best person for the job. Lifelong public service where I spent his career working on all levels of government, building bridges. What we believe that is needed now. He’s also a former director of criminal justice and was commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, as well as former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York.
We’re proud of his appointment, but also want to round out his appointment with Mona Suazo. Mona. Mona is going to be his deputy. Mona is just, you know, when you think about who works and operate behind the scene to just GSD, get stuff done. Mona is amazing. And I think I call them a dynamic duo. They say we already do. We’re going to continue to be dynamic in the work that we’re doing. She has 19 years experience in NYPD exemplifying a steadfast commitment to public safety.
She has worked as a citywide immigrant woman liaison and she has connected New York, diverse New Yorkers to immigrant populations with essential services. And she has worked with victims of human trafficking, something we want to really lean into. And she has collaborated closely with survivors and advocates are so important for both of them to continue the work that we were doing. And it’s a great transition.
Mona was operating under Deputy Mayor Banks, and she’s going to continue some of the great things that we have been doing there. But Chauncey is taking the helm and I’m really excited about what he’s going to be. I want to turn it over to Chauncey before we open the floor to questions.
Deputy Mayor Chauncey Parker, Public Safety: Thank you so much, mayor. So excited and grateful for this opportunity. In my almost 40 years of working in criminal justice, I think the most important thing I’ve learned is what is your North Star? And that is the power of partnership, how we are always so much stronger and better when we work together. In fact, it’s the only way to go forward.
And just two of the projects that I’ve worked on under the mayor’s leadership really demonstrate that. And one is when the mayor took office almost three years ago, he said as a North Star for the city to end gun violence. And one of the key components of that is called the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership. And that was an experiment of what would happen if all federal, state, local law enforcement, all of us work together and laser focus on the very, very small number of people who drive gun violence in New York City. A handful of people. But they’re out on gun violence and then they get arrested for another gun violence. We really need to work. We have to work together. We’ll be stronger. We’re going to be better if we work together.
So this was an experiment. And it is a partnership that has over 25 different agencies. All the DA’s, all the federal agencies, state partners, jails, prisons, everybody is working together side by side. So this experiment this morning, we had our 760th meeting in a row. Every morning at 10 a.m. this team comes together and reviews this small number of people. Today it’s one person but meets that description. But it’s vital to the safety of the city to achieve the mayor’s North Star of ending gun violence that we work as hard as we possibly can when those people hurting people most come through the criminal justice system.
That is a model for, there’s nothing like it anywhere in the country. I don’t think there’s anything like this anywhere in the world. 760 days, all these different partners come together, look at the same map at the same time and work together to achieve that North Star of ending gun violence.
A second initiative very much like that is the mayor’s Saturday Night Lights program. It’s a very simple idea that in our most underserved communities, gyms should not be closed on Saturday night. That’s the time when young people are most vulnerable, according to the data, that they’re most vulnerable and yet these gyms can be closed across the city. So with the mayor’s investment, there are 140 gyms every Saturday night year-round whether it’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, whatever that sport is, but it never closes all year long and that’s Saturday Night Lights.
And that same principle that the mayor has of the power of partnership is where we are applying and will continue to apply and even more apply to the partnerships or any public safety challenge we face, whether it’s probation. Probation, one of our key agencies that Mona and I oversee, absolutely critical. Where people are at the crossroads, they could go one way or the other, absolutely critical that we’re as strong as possible with that. Fire Department, everything from response times and how we can work to reduce that time for that life-saving work that the Fire Department does and beyond that.
For the Department of Corrections, to make sure we’re doing everything possible to make sure our officers and the people who are in custody, that they’re safe. It’s all about partnerships. And NYCEM, our emergency response, to make sure we have coordinated emergency plans and they’re the best possible and we keep testing and keep pushing to make them stronger and stronger. And finally, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, that’s really the laboratory where crime strategies, public safety strategies are designed, are implemented, and they’re evaluated.
And so those key agencies that Mona and I work with very, very closely will be our North Star, is to do everything we can, form these partnerships, and as you say, mayor, to get things done for the mayor and for the city. So with that, Mayor, we’re so grateful for this opportunity, and we’re going to go off and get some stuff done. Thank you.
Mayor Adams: Proactive and reactive, that’s the way to go. Marathon is coming up. I’ve been doing extra miles on my treadmill in the office just in case, you know, just in case. Deputy mayors are all going to be running. I think the only one that’s not running is Ana, D.M. Almanzar, but I’m excited about Meera and Maria. I don’t know if Meera has an injury, but they’re all looking forward to running.
Why don’t we open up for a couple of questions? Oh, and Fabien. You know, look how Fabien is trimmed down. You know that? Trimmed down, you know, doing his running. Every time he calls me, he says, I’m going for one of my long runs. Did you do your 20 miles yet?
Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy, Communications: 24.
Mayor Adams: Wow. Love it. How are you, Marcia?
Questions: Good. So it seems that almost every person who has had their phone confiscated by the federal officials has either retired or resigned except Ingrid Lewis-Martin and Jesse Hamilton and a few others. I wonder if you’re accepting or expect to accept any more resignations?
But also given the fact that you’re talking about keeping the streets safe and you just appointed a new deputy mayor for Public Safety, I wonder how your campaign or your efforts to find a new full-time police commissioner are going.
Mayor Adams: Well, first of all, there is a full-time. Even interim is full-time. And we’ve always stated when we make appointments like we just did with the deputy mayor, we will announce them. That’s probably one of the most consistent comments I’ve made. Every day Commissioner Tom Donlon is doing the job that needs to be done.
As we just announced a decrease in crime, as we just announced what we’re doing around the mental health removed from our subway system. When people are in the job, they should do the job. And that is what he’s doing, and that’s what I expect of him. And if there’s any changes, we’re going to come to this podium and make an announcement. Until then, Tom Donlon is the interim police commissioner.
Question: Other people who’ve had their phones confiscated, do you still have confidence in them? Do you still expect them to do their jobs every day? Or do you think that maybe it’s time for them to step aside as well?
Mayor Adams: I think that whomever is employed by the City of New York is going to do their job, and I expect that of them as well. You know, when I no longer have confidence in people, I’m going to ask them to leave.
Question: Yeah, it’s a non-investigation question. Can you take some of that? Elizabeth Street Garden, once again, the city served the eviction notice on October 2nd, which I guess means they have 14 days to vacate. Is it going to be padlocked?
And now there’s also a council member, Chris Marte, has introduced some kind of alternative, saying that there’s other areas that they could use and save the garden. Where does all that stand? Are you entertaining Marte’s proposals at all? Or is the garden going to be padlocked and kicked out?
Mayor Adams: No, no one is going to be kicked out. In fact, people are going to be kicked in. 100 percent senior affordable housing. And we’re going to have a garden space there as well. And it was believed that there was no other green space in that area, which is not true. I took a visit down there.
I cannot get it any clearer. And we need to wrap our heads around 1.4 percent vacancy rate. Our seniors, when I do my senior town halls at the senior adult centers, I hear over and over their fear of not being able to afford to live in the city. We have to house New Yorkers. And the garden is a beautiful place, but there’s a greater beauty to be able to house New Yorkers.
And I look forward to when we open those 15,000 square feet of public space. And when we’re able to open the seniors’ housing is what I’m looking forward to. I understand the compassion that’s attached to the garden. But what’s attached to me the most is getting New Yorkers housed. And everywhere we go, we hear the same thing. Housing is a right, but not in this space or that space. Housing must be a right in every space in the city.
Question: Mr. Mayor, on your latest campaign finance filings, just a handful of questions on that.
Mayor Adams: We’re not doing a handful.
Question: Okay, but let me ask. Will you keep raising money even though you say you’ve kind of maxed out? Will you keep raising money in preparation for the potentiality that the CFP will not give you matching funds? Number one.
I was also wondering about some donations that are identified in the indictment that federal prosecutors say were straw donations. I’m seeing in the latest filings that you have not returned them. Are you going to return them?
On the expense side, there’s no expense, no payments to Brianna Suggs in this cycle. Is she still working for the campaign? And if so, in what sort of role? Why is she not getting paid? Lastly, on Frank, what type of role is Frank Carone going to play with the campaign? It was reported earlier today he’s not going to chair it. So just want some clarity on what exactly he’s going to do.
Mayor Adams: Great, thanks for that. Vito Pitta is the campaign attorney. Reach out to him for those questions that you just asked. He’s the campaign attorney.
Question: If he touches one of those questions, are you going to keep raising money?
Mayor Adams: Vito Pitta is the campaign attorney.
Question: You can’t say if she still works for you?
Mayor Adams: Vito Pitta.
Question: You can’t say if she still works for you?
Mayor Adams: Go ahead, next. How are you?
Question: So first question, so I guess it was a little bit on that as well. I guess what is your opinion on the Campaign Finance Board considering using matching funds? And then I was just also hoping you could touch on the health commissioner leaving. And then the third question, a little bit related to the police commissioner and just a lot of the breaking news.
Do you feel frustrated at all at times about City Hall kind of losing the messaging a little bit? I mean, you have a lot of news reports about resignations coming out before you guys have a chance of saying something. Are you growing frustrated about the leaks that are coming from your office? And would you hope that you guys can maybe get ahead of some of these reports before they happen?
Mayor Adams: First, Vito Pitta, anything dealing with the campaign. That’s the attorney. Frustrated. You can’t get frustrated in this business. We have 300 and something thousand employees. A leak could come from someone that photocopies the memo. A leak can come from a person who’s cleaning an office and read on the stuff. All of you have sources. You know, all of you have people you contact with. And so if you get frustrated by every little thing, you’ll never get anything done. If you don’t keep your mind on the main thing, you will never be able to do the main thing.
So people want to call you and say, I got a tip. You know, September 1st is Eric’s birthday. You know, say happy birthday to him. Let him go ahead and do it. You can’t get caught up in all of this stuff. Focus. So much happens in this city that if you get distracted by the minor things, you won’t do the main thing. So, no, it doesn’t frustrate me at all. If people want to call you and give you a tip on something, they have a right to do that. There’s no law that says you cannot give someone a tip. There’s a law if you break the law in giving out information that you should not be giving out. But it doesn’t frustrate me.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: I’m sorry.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: You know, I don’t get into the, you know, the personal urgencies that my personnel is experiencing. And he has a personal urgency that he thought he could hold out longer, but he wants to address. And I respect that family.
My theme and my rule is family first. This stuff is always going to be here. But you better take care and focus on your family. When people sit down and tell me, Eric, I got to take a long-term leave. I got to resign. I have to leave to deal with something. If it’s your family, family first. And this is a family first scenario.
And we got a bench. We have a couple of people in the pipeline we’re speaking with and communicating with. We’ll fill a position. There’s a deep bench in this city, and there’s a deep bench in this administration. We have people who want to work for the city. How are you?
Question: I wanted to follow up on the question about Dr. Vasan.
Mayor Adams: Yes.
Question: Did he make you aware that he had this potential emergency that could come up? Like, had you been aware that there was something that he was dealing with that he might …
Mayor Adams: Yes. He was very forthright. He was very honest. And he loved the work that he was doing. What Dr. Vasan has done is just really changed the game around these important healthcare issues, from mental health, from Teenspace, from cycling that’s out of COVID. You know, he has been a real champion for the people of this city, and he’s a great American story.
And what his family has gone through, I remember needing the police to go protect his home when people were harassing his family, throwing eggs at his family over the vaccine mandate. You know, Dr. Vasan went through a lot. And he, you know, our families sacrifice when you’re going through this. Can you imagine explaining to your children while you walked them inside, why someone is calling you names and throwing eggs at your family? You need a police protection? I mean, that’s traumatizing.
But he stood in there. He stood in there. He didn’t surrender. And he has given this city his all, and I cannot thank him enough. And we will fill a position with one of the people on the bench. How are you?
Question: Good, thanks. Just on the campaign, not a legal question, but can you just describe or sort of explain, are you still raising money? Are you still holding fundraising events? Like, just what is your basic sort of strategy at this point? Are you actively soliciting donations?
Mayor Adams: Well, you know, many of your articles highlighted the money that others raised. But, you know, we were at the max, you know. And so we were pivoting shifts. We had just a small amount to raise. And so based on whatever is required, I always step up to the plate to do what is required. And if there’s a requirement for me to do something else, I’m going to step up to the plate and do that.
I believe in accomplishing missions, and that’s what you’re seeing. You see the success of the city. A lot of people thought, hey, you know, the city is going to crumble, the city is going to fall apart. Still decreasing crime, still rolling out excellent initiatives, still educating our children, still doing the great things that we started January 1st, 2022. And I’m going to adjust based on the circumstances in front of me all the time.
Question: Two questions. First, what can you tell us about how Jesse Hamilton, who had no experience in real estate, how it is he came to manage the city’s real estate portfolio? And secondly, just to follow up on Marcia’s question, why is Ingrid the apparent exception to the rule that all those who’ve had their phones seized by investigators no longer work for City Hall?
Mayor Adams: Those who had their phones seized or didn’t, no one took Dr. Vasan’s phones. Those who made a decision they wanted to do something else with their life, they did so. And those individuals were not told, for the most part, that you had to leave. They made a determination.
They want to do something else with their life. And that’s where we are. So there’s no exceptions. That is just the reality of it. And you should reach out to DCAS and find out the hiring protocol with Jesse. I know Jesse as an attorney and as a former state senator, and as a community advocate that helped people with housing issues for years. Jesse brought a lot to city and state government, and we were proud to have him as a team. The hiring, you should reach out to DCAS, the commissioner over there.
Question: Yes, Mr. Mayor. One thing you couldn’t put up on signs has been EMS response times. That has deteriorated and continues to deteriorate. They are going to be meeting with your team on Friday to try to get towards parity. They’ve been certified as a class action group, much like the Vulcans did many years ago. That resulted in a $94 million settlement. And I’m just not wondering why not pay it forward and deliver on your campaign promise and give them equity now and save some future mayor, who knows, maybe $200 million in accounting for inflation. I do have a second question. I’ll ask the second question now.
President Obama got some controversial response to a comment he made about possibility of African American men staying on the sideline of the election and not voting for Vice President Harris. Quote, part of it makes me think that while you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that. Do you have any response to that as someone who has clearly in your administration advocated for advancement of women, but you get out and about a lot? Is that an attitude that you’re hearing?
Mayor Adams: First of all, I have a great deal of respect for President Obama, what he has done for his country. He has not only shattered the glass ceiling, but he has allowed others to walk through the shattering of that ceiling. And I think you should direct your question to him. I don’t have an opinion on it. We just need to get out and exercise our right to vote. No matter what ethnicity you are, no matter what gender you are, exercise your right to vote. You can’t complain if you don’t vote. And that is my response to that.
[Crosstalk.]
Does it matter? Yes, it does. I made it clear who I endorsed. And listening to the directions of Lisa, I’m not going to get into campaign politics right now. So it does matter.
Answer with EMS. Listen, I cannot agree with you more. I’m a strong, strong believer in civil servants, public service in general, but specifically finding a real solution with EMS. I have an amazing commissioner there, and she’s negotiating these contracts like we’ve done with all of them. We’ve had an excellent ability to land a plane. Over 97 percent of our civil service contracts have been settled.
Some of them were 13 years outstanding, eight years outstanding. And so we’re going to find a fair decision for these men and women who are working hard. And I always felt that they were they should be treated with a greater level of respect from what I witnessed as a police officer.
[Crosstalk.]
Yes, it does. It does. Every second matters. And there’s a whole list. There’s a whole list of reasons that we’re having problem response time. A lot of people have not returned back to public transportation. After COVID, many people are not going back on. Many people are using different methods to get around. We need to get out of our cars, have a first rate transportation system so people can feel comfortable with that. But, yes, it is troubling. We want to bring down that response time. What’s going on, Katie?
Question: What’s going on? A lot unfortunately, I have a few questions for you. The first is, I know you were asked to…
Mayor Adams: Pick your top ones. Not your few. Pick your top questions.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Ingrid Lewis-Martin and Jesse Hamilton went on a trip to Japan, as you’re aware of, with a lobbyist who lobbied Jesse a few months earlier. And the Cushman Wakefield vice president, who is in charge of handling DCAS leases for landlords. Understanding this is a personal trip, how is something like that when there are clearly violations you accept? Do you expect senior staffers to at least vet these types of trips with you before they go on them, even if it is personal?
Is the corporation counsel still representing you on your sexual assault civil lawsuit? And I also wanted to ask, the feds reported that you forgot your six-digit passcode. I’m just curious, I know it’s been in the record of why you changed it, but have you made attempts to try to remember it? Is it someone’s birthday? You know there’s a lot of questions about it. I don’t know if you have a favorite six-digit combo that you want to happen with that.
Mayor Adams: OK, a couple of things. First, I do not sit down with my staffers and say, before you go on vacations, you need to tell me who you’re going on with, and you need to let me know where you’re going. I don’t do that. Believe it or not, what people do on their personal private time is on them. Any questions you have regarding what the feds have mentioned, speak to Alex, who’s my attorney, and he’ll answer those questions for you, if he deems that he should. What was your second question?
Question: Are the Corporation Counsel still representing you?
Mayor Adams: Yes, they are.
Question: You can’t remember what your digits were?
Mayor Adams: Didn’t I just say, speak with my counsel? Counsel.
Question: Hey, Mr. Mayor, how are you doing? I just wanted to ask you about any other possible charges or anything, any other indictments of anybody in the administration at all. Are you concerned that anybody else or anybody in general might get charged next, within the next couple of weeks?
Mayor Adams: That’s something you have to direct to the prosecutors. They make that determination. That is not negotiated with City Hall, so I think you should reach out to them.
Question: Are you at all concerned, do you think New Yorkers should be concerned that someone in charge of real estate in the city, one of your senior advisors, someone who works in private real estate, and a lobbyist are traveling together in this capacity? Do you see the potential for a conflict there?
Mayor Adams: Well, no, I often see how, you know, when you want to raise your concern, you say New York is a concern. And I keep telling you guys and ladies, when I’m walking the street, people are not asking me, hey, what was Jesse doing in Japan? I am running the city. I am running the city. My focus is on the things that they ask me about, affordable housing, transportation, safe streets, educating their children. That’s my concern. Whatever review is going to take place will determine if someone did something improper, and let the reviewers handle that. I’m going to run the city.
Question: A quick follow-up, just a second one. I meant to ask it before, but I’ll ask it now. Given that there’s, you know, these questions, these sort of like ethical questions surrounding your administration, investigations, resignations, I’m wondering if you would support the idea of a broad civil inquiry, similar to what the Knapp Commission did in the 70s around the NYPD, you know, as sort of an effort to restore public trust in the administration. Would you get behind something like that?
Mayor Adams: The goal to restore trust, which we have to do every day, is delivery of services, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re delivering the services for the people of the city. Crime is continuing to decrease. We continue to build affordable housing. We’ve got to get the City of Yes passed. We’re educating our children at the capacity that they deserve. We’re dropping unemployment among those communities that unemployment was high. Restoring trust is getting the job done, and that is what we’re going to continue to do.
Question: So many people predict that you will be out after the investigation panned out, and now that we see that Governor Hochul is supporting you and saying that she’s very pleased with the changes she’s seen in your administration, I’m wondering if you feel that this is a stronger administration and feeling stronger about what’s going on, despite all the challenges you’re facing. Sometimes we have to face really difficult things to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m just wondering how you’re feeling, how you see your administration, and what is the next step for New Yorkers, because they want to see where you’re headed.
Mayor Adams: Great question. Our administration was strong. And when you look at the numbers, I’m amazed that people don’t, I should say people because I hear it on the street every day, the turnaround of the city. I know what I inherited January 1st, 2022. I know no one was on the subway system. I knew COVID was everywhere. I know we had 217,000 migrants and asylum seekers, and I do a comparative analysis of other cities and what we had to go through. I know we decreased crime. I know that bond ratings has increased our bond rating, and they dug deeper into it and stated that the city’s moving in the right direction. I know that after spending $5.6 billion on migrants and asylum seekers, we were still able to restore money to those programs that were going to sunset under the previous administration. We were always strong. Do you become stronger because you learn and bring in new team members? Yes, you do. That is life. If you remain who you were, you’ll never become who you ought to be.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: Governor was always a partner from subway safety plan to figuring out how we would deal with housing issues, mayoral accountability. So when we sat down and communicated in our conversations, she says, Eric, this is what I need. This is what the people of the city need. And rebuilding trust, which we will do. She was very clear. And we work together. And that is how you solve problems by being able to work together. And that’s what the governor and I, to our credit, and I think from the beginning, we’ve worked together and we’re going to continue to do so. Because this city, this city is the economic engine for the state, if not the entire country. And so it’s very important that we continue to do the stuff that we’ve done from the beginning of this administration.
Question: [Inaudible] one of the shelters being closed soon, [inaudible] on Randall’s Island, [inaudible] why is that being closed, [inaudible]?
Mayor Adams: It’s being closed because Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom did what no one thought she could do. 70 percent people have gone on to the next step in the American journey. No one comes to America to live on Randall’s Island in a tent sleeping on a cot with outside restroom facilities.
We have helped thousands of people transition to the next step of their journey. Either giving them transportation on to where to their original destination. Because a lot of people didn’t want to come to New York. So we’ve allowed people to get transportation to their original destination.
We made sure that they were able to get the hands-on assistance. 72,000 people have traveled through our intake center. We treated people with dignity. And that’s why over 70 percent decided to move on to the next journey. That allowed us to drop the population down, to stabilize. And unlike other locations, Randall’s Island is parks property. You know, it’s designated as parkland. I should say it’s parkland.
And so we wanted to get out of there as fast as possible so people could enjoy the entire space. We’re downsizing that area. The numbers continue to decrease from the 4,000 we were getting a week. And the team handled it. You know, I mean, this didn’t just happen. It happened because we put a plan in place, 30, 60 day, of making people know that there are other options for them. This was a plan that was executed by the team. And now we’re seeing the results of it.
And, you know, people think that we just snapped our fingers and said, all of a sudden 217,000 people are no longer an issue. We’re not out of the woods. We’re still getting in, hundreds. But we’ve managed it better than anyone thought it could be managed. And national leaders have looked at what we’ve done and stated, you are leading the way. But the goal is let people work.
Question: Hi. Following up on the governor’s comments yesterday, I wanted to know do you feel like she’s giving you enough discretion on your appointees? She had said specifically yesterday I had asked him to bring in new blood and new people to help stabilize the city and calm it all down. And he’s doing that.
I also had a question not about your campaign finances, but you hit the limit. Do you feel like that’s vindication that New Yorkers still support you as the mayor and want to see you go for a second term?
And then a separate question. The mother of a four-year-old was found— sorry, the mother of a four-year-old kid who was found dead in an apartment in Harlem on Sunday has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child. This is the fourth child death in three months. Would you like to see changes with the Administration for Children’s Services?
Mayor Adams: First, the governor has always been a partner. We can go back and look at the videotape. The governor has always been a partner. And she was very clear, Eric, you know, all that’s going on, stabilize. Find the talent. The talent is out there. The governor never said, here, this is who you have to hire. This is who you have to appoint.
She says find the talent. The talent is out there. And allow that talent to come in and serve the people of the city. And that’s why we appointed Chauncey Parker, 40 years of service, to head the deputy mayor of Public Safety when Deputy Mayor Banks wanted to do something else with his life. He had the talent also, former chief of department. You don’t rise to the rank of being the chief of the largest police department in the country if you didn’t have the talent. And he brought a lot to the talent. And we have so many others who are bringing in the talent. And that was the governor’s statement. Find the talent. Hire that talent. And that’s what we’re going to continue to do.
When you come down to ACS, listen, it breaks our heart any time a child is abused, any time a child is harmed. I think about Ama Dwimoh, one of our attorneys on counsel who handed the Nixzmary Brown case many years ago. You know, the men and women that work in ACS, that job is a tough job. On one side, the advocates are saying you’re taking children out of homes too quickly. They’ve got to make that decision. On another side, you have those who are saying, hey, we have a loss. Why didn’t you take them out fast enough? It takes a lot of skill, a lot of talent, a lot of patience, a lot of professionalism to make these tough calls every day. They’re visiting homes every day. They’re making the calls. You don’t want to break up families. When you see something that causes you to take a child out of a home, you have to make that call.
And, you know, it’s unfortunate when we lose a life, but the men and women who do this job, they’re dedicated to it. And I encourage many of you to do some ride-alongs and really see how challenging this job is. And they do it to the best of their abilities. And they don’t want to see a child harmed. I know that. And I know it breaks their heart when it happens. And we want to do everything we can to give parents the support that they deserve and make those calls when we have to remove these children out of homes.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: This is a complicated city, 3.8 million people, you know, 38 million, 8.3 million people, 38 million opinions. This is New York. They get angry at you. They come back. They embrace you. They get angry again. You know, I think that when you look at the consistent support I have in this city, as we continue to regain the trust that we know we have to regain, you know, we’re going to constantly get the support that we need. But my focus is now. My focus is delivering for New Yorkers right now. I’m the mayor right now, and I’ve got to deliver for everyday New Yorkers, and that’s what I’m doing with this team. How are you, Melissa?
Question: How are you doing?
Mayor Adams: Good.
Question: Thank you. I’m sorry. I’m used to holding the microphone. Okay. I wanted to ask you, I know you said that you don’t ask your staff where they’re going on vacation or who they’re going with, and I know you said that regular New Yorkers are not focused on questions like what was Jesse Hamilton doing in Japan or whatever. But, when I asked you a few weeks ago where was Ingrid, because she had been sort of absent for a couple of weeks from these Tuesday briefings, you said that she was on a much-needed vacation, and some people in City Hall knew that she was in Japan. So did you know that she was taking this trip to Japan with this particular group of colleagues, coworkers, associates? And do you think it was prudent of her to do that with this particular group, given the fact that there was an ongoing investigation? That’s my first question.
Then the other one is, is it possible for your case to be resolved before the Democratic primary? Is that even possible in your mind? And that because Donald Trump has called the charges that you’re facing politically motivated—
Mayor Adams: There’s a lot going on here.
Question: Sorry. Politically motivated. He likens your case to the cases against him, which he says are driven by a politically motivated Justice Department. So I’m wondering, is it true that you’ve considered the possibility, or have you made the argument or discussed internally that if Donald Trump wins this election, he could decide to curtail or drop those charges against you?
Mayor Adams: I don’t speculate. I’ve made clear who I’m supporting, and I’m focused on that. No, I was not aware of where my staffers were going on vacation. And normally, I don’t ask my staffers. If they come in and say, hey, I’m going to Bermuda, you want to give me a couple of bucks to get you some Bermuda rum, then I know they went to Bermuda. But I don’t get into the personal lives of my staffers. They want to separate. They volunteer, want to tell me where they’re going, that’s fine. I didn’t know where Ingrid was going. She doesn’t tell me when she’s taking a vacation and where she’s going. So I don’t know about those things.
[Crosstalk.]
Let me tell you something. This is going to be a process. And one wants to fast track the process. One wants the process not to even exist. But that’s not life. You need to be prepared for the process. Wherever that process takes me during the election or what have you, I’m going to be prepared for that. Hey, folks, this is life, man. You’ve got to be prepared for everything that comes at you in life. And the process is going to take its course. I don’t control the process. N.J.
Question: Yes, sir.
Mayor Adams: How are you?
Question: I’m doing great. How are you doing? Sleeping? Sleeping all right? Sir, I’m wondering how you feel when you hear that some people, in this case, Letitia James, Andrew Cuomo, may be considering a run for City Hall, how does that make you feel?
Mayor Adams: Well, first of all, in 2026, there’s only going to be one mayor. That’s it. One of the people in the field would be elected. That’s it. We need to really think about this for a moment. This is the most important city on the globe. If no one else wanted to be it but me, that’s scary. The most important city on the globe, you’re going to have all sorts of people saying they want to be mayor. Wanting to do it and doing the job is a totally different animal.
The beauty is I’m going to have a record to run on, a record that shows what I promised I delivered. And when you have that, you allow the voters to make the choice. So it doesn’t bother me. I don’t think it’s an insult. I don’t think it’s that people are saying, well, okay, let’s run against Eric. No, no, that’s not what I did.
People want to go to their next step, and if his mayor is one of them, they should do so. But I would forewarn them, be careful what you ask for. It’s a complicated city, and you have to be willing to put your entire life on hold. Your entire life goes on hold because New Yorkers are extremely jealous. You’ve got to give them all your attention.
Question: You don’t feel like you’re circling the City Hall waiting for something to happen?
Mayor Adams: No, no, I was circling the City Hall. If you go back, you know, there was a quote I said one day that everybody used to joke about. I said, you know, Bill is keeping my seat warm. You know, we all circle City Hall. Anyone that’s in city politics, state politics, you all, for the most part, think about being a mayor of this city.
A lot of people will say, you know, there’s some people who I know when I was running, they would come to me and say, I don’t know why you want to do that job. You know, I’m happy being this local elected or this local elected. This is an awesome amount of responsibility to be the mayor of this city under scrutiny all the time.
There are professional players that won’t play sports in New York City because of the scrutiny that comes from the media. You have to be a special breed to be able to deal with the incoming all the time. I caught one of you reporters the other day looking through the garbage over at Lafayette Avenue, you know, trying to see what you got in there. You are scrutiny all the time.
I have people hide behind coffee. I mean, plant planters to see. Let’s see. Is he eating any fish? You know, people watch me all the time. No, someone was hiding behind one of the planters. But no, listen, people are going to run. And I have to present my case and I’m going to present my case, how I serve New Yorkers.
Question: Still got to get used to the microphones. Going back to your fundraising. One donation was reported since your indictment on September 26. You know, I’m wondering how you feel about that. I know Kelly’s question sort of got that idea. But, you know, are you concerned that support is drying up now? People are worried about donating to Eric Adams in light of the legal issues.
Mayor Adams: No.
Question: I just want to circle back to the police commissioner. So who’s part of the committee selecting the new police commissioner? I know you said that Tom Donlon is in the role at the moment, interim. But who’s going to be selecting the new PC? And what’s I mean, why is there a delay in getting a permanent PC at the moment?
Mayor Adams: I don’t see why you feel is the delay. You know, there’s about I think we got about 22 people who ask, you know, can they serve in that position? One of the most coveted positions you could have in law enforcement. Everybody knows the police commission’s name. So there’s no delay when it’s ready to make an announcement. We will.
Tell me something. Is crime going up? Is [there] disorder in our streets? Are we managing three thousand protests? Did we just have this important October 7th commemoration where people thought there was going to be total disorder, and there wasn’t? I can go down the list.
We are doing the job we’re supposed to do. And so instead of rushing anything, I want to make sure I keep the synergy of a very winning apparatus and team over there. Tom Donlon is doing the job. He’s the interim commissioner. And when it’s time to make a change decision, if I do, we’ll do that. There’s a host of former and current law enforcement people that I’ve been feeding off and have been advising me since the beginning of my administration.
Questions: Two questions—
Mayor Adams: You’ve been around a lot lately.
Question: I have. One, can you confirm that no city funds were spent on the Japan trip? I know you said that your knowledge of the details of that trip [inaudible]. And then, two, do you think that it’s appropriate for the campaign finance board to release matching funds to your campaign, given the fact that there’s an investigation into your campaign?
Mayor Adams: Okay, first on the trip, there’s nothing I could confirm or deny. That was a private trip. And based on any rules, there should not have been. But but you could speak with the counsels or the individuals involved. I know nothing about the trip. It was not a city sponsored trip. And the campaign finance releasing the funds, Vito Pitta. That’s my attorney. He could communicate with you.
Question: So hypothetically, if there was another candidate who received campaign matching funds and was under investigation, would you think that was appropriate?
Mayor Adams: Vito Pitta. That’s my lawyer. Over in the corner. Don’t forget my guys in the cheap seats also.
Question: Hello, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Adams: How are you?
Question: I’m good. Thank you. I also have a question probably along similar lines as the previous one regarding the campaign finance board. So can you put to bed your own supporters concerns that they have them about whether your campaign may or may not receive those matching funds?
Mayor Adams: Can I put to bed for who?
Question: Can you put to bed for your supporters concerns that you might not receive those matching funds?
Mayor Adams: OK. None of my supporters called me and asked me unless you’re a supporter. OK. Again, Vito Pitta. Speak to the speak to the council. He’ll handle that.
[Crosstalk.]
Yeah. Okay. So let me let me let me explain to you since you called out Chris. This is broken into four sections. My personal case is Alex. My campaign case is Vito Pitta. What the Southern District or investigations are doing. Speak with them. Running the city of New York: Eric Adams. That is the standard. It’s time for us to continue doing the great things that we’re doing. So Vito is probably inundated with all of you calling him. He also has to run his law practice. But he’s the person to talk with about my campaign. Vito Pitta.
Question: Hi, how are you? Good. As you mentioned last week about your investigation and indictment that no one want to go through this. So many people, especially the city people, they would like to know whether… what kind of what kind of change in your life since the influence or, you know, how you are going through since the investigation start[ed].
Number two, the yesterday we saw the report, the Brad Lander. He raised the highest donation from the city since the governor and Hakeem Jeffries both support you. The confident on you and the Brad Lander compared to the fundraising, how you are analyzing this, what is your comment on it?
Mayor Adams: I think that, you know, they our numbers speak for itself, our large numbers that we’ve raised. And I think that everyone must do their thing. You know, my claim to fame when Andrew Yang had me up on 13 points in the team, sat down and they were concerned by his points. I said, we’re not running against Andrew Yang. We’re running against ourselves. I don’t look and see what other people are doing. I actually question what am I doing? And that has been my life story.
You know, when I took a captain’s exam, I didn’t worry about the other guy that was smarter than me. I was competing against myself when I had to do anything in life. It’s what are you doing, Eric? We spend too much time worrying about what our opponents are doing and not asking what are we doing? And so what Brad does and whomever else is in the race, let him do it. It’s about what am I doing? And I’m going to do what I always do, work hard for New Yorkers and produce the best product for them. And the results will speak for itself.
And so when you ask the question, you know, you’re right. No one wants to go through this. I mean, who wants to go through this? But I think on the other side of this, people will look and see you are the man you’ve always said you were. Because a whole lot of people, if they had to go through this, they will be living it every day and not do their primary job. My primary job is to deliver for New Yorkers and I love delivering for New Yorkers and I have the team to do it. Thank you.
October 15, 2024 New York
Source: NYC.gov , Midtown Tribune ,
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