NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY) holds a press briefing.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon everybody. My name is Fabian Levy and I serve as Deputy Mayor
00:03for Communications for the City of New York.
00:05Thank you for joining us for our weekly in-person media availability.
00:09We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy as temperatures continue to rise
00:13this week. To update New Yorkers on the work we are
00:16doing every day to protect public safety, rebuild our economy,
00:19and make our city more livable, the Mayor's once again convened senior
00:22leadership here from across our administration to take
00:24your questions. So joining us today we have Mayor Eric Adams,
00:28Chief of Staff Camille Joseph-Marlick, Chief Advisor to the Mayor Ingrid Lewis-
00:31Martin, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human
00:33Services Ann Williams-Isom, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic
00:37Development and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer,
00:39Deputy Mayor for Operations Mayor Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives
00:43Ana Almanzar, Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg, Director
00:47of Intergovernmental Affairs Tiffany Raspberry,
00:49and New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iskal.
00:52So without further delay I'll turn it over to Mayor Adams. Thanks so much
00:57DM Levy. Good morning to everyone or good afternoon actually.
01:02Started a little late today. We just want to
01:05quickly, I want to thank Commissioner Iskal who's joining us today.
01:09He was with us earlier today, the Chief of Staff
01:13and I and other team members to talk about
01:16the heat index and we gave a list of recommendations. We want people
01:21to really be conscious. We expanded and we'll continue to open up our
01:27cooling centers tomorrow through Thursday and New Yorkers
01:32can find additional ways to stay cool by calling 311 and I thought Dr.
01:38Fassan did an excellent presentation explaining
01:42how this can impact those with pre-existing conditions and even those
01:45without and so we're really encouraging people
01:49to sign up for Notify NYC. The city's free emergency notification
01:54system which will help you get updated and
01:57stay updated. Switching to our economy for a moment
02:02last week we announced we're on track to deliver over 14,000
02:06apprenticeship opportunities by the end of the year.
02:10This is way ahead of our schedule, nearly halfway towards the 30,000
02:15apprenticeships by 2030, something that
02:18Dean Maria Torres-Springer talks about often, a great job with her team.
02:23These apprenticeships really place our young people on the pathway
02:27to learning the type of employment and profession they would like to go
02:31into. And lastly, livability of the public realm report.
02:36Last week our team released the realm of possibilities
02:41reporting the report highlighting 15 ways our administration is improving
02:45proving public space for New Yorkers from eliminating those darned sheds
02:52that we are taking down to the country's largest
02:57outdoor dining program to planting thousands of trees and
03:01insurance schoolyards are open. Really excited about that and it falls
03:05in line with our charter revision commission
03:11great deal of hearings the entire team we got
03:14two coming up in the Bronx and in Brooklyn. I want to really thank
03:18Diana Savino, normally we see her around
03:22but she has really taken the hearings and allowed New Yorkers to come
03:278.3 million New Yorkers.
03:32As you know 35 million opinions and trust me we're hearing a lot of them
03:37inside the hearings and outside of the hearing. Those who are
03:41interested it's on the it's on the screen
03:45newyorkcitynyc.gov slash charter url.
03:52The meetings will continue throughout June and July and for more information
03:56the website is on the screen as I just mentioned.
03:59So I'll turn it over to you DM Levy. Thank you.
04:03Great. Kayla. How are you? Quite well. Good to see you. I have two
04:09questions. The first one has to do with 250 individual suits that were filed
04:15against the city by people who said they were sexually abused at the juvenile
04:18detention centers and I'm wondering your reaction to it
04:21but also as somebody who was in one of those juvenile detention centers
04:24did you see it? Did you think it was horrible?
04:28And do these suits mean more to you because you experienced it?
04:32The second question has to do with violence in Brownsville. Apparently there
04:36were two seniors who were shot over the weekend,
04:39three kids before that and we're wondering if you need to change
04:44the strategy for dealing with gun violence in that neighborhood.
04:47What I found very interesting, first let me deal with the
04:51SparFit as you indicated. I spent the night in SparFit. It was a different
04:55setting of my understanding with individual locked in cells from
04:59when I was there and anytime you hear of any abuse of a
05:04young person particularly when they're in care
05:08is concerning and it's going to go to process
05:12an investigation and a suit is underway and we're going to allow the
05:17system to take the necessary process and look at
05:20the evidence and make a determination of what happened there but I did not view,
05:24I did not see and I was not aware of that
05:27in the overnight state that I had there.
05:31The fact that you were there, does it make you more sympathetic to what they're saying?
05:34I don't want to go into being sympathetic or not.
05:38Anytime a young person is abused is troublesome, is problematic
05:43but this is a court case and I think we should allow it to go
05:46as proper procedure. I don't want anything I say to interfere with the case at all.
05:50Mayor, can I just add an ACS is already working on
05:53updating many policies. We've learned so much over these years. Many of these
05:56cases are from the 70s. Just to make sure that we're doing
05:59everything that we need to do with training and with oversight and so
06:03we will continue to look at the investigation but even while that's
06:06going on we've updated many policies. A large number of these cases predate
06:10this administration. We want to be clear on that. This is something that people
06:14are raising from years ago. Brownsville is
06:17concerning. We did such an amazing job in Brownsville
06:21of decreasing crime, increasing unemployment. We've really focused and I
06:25always felt Brownsville was the bellwether on how well we're
06:28doing as a city. When I spoke with the team over the
06:33weekend, it was really alarming that the number
06:37of young people under the age of 21 that are
06:42in possession of guns and are using the guns.
06:46Listen, we're clear of we still are moving in the right direction. Crime is
06:50decreasing particularly in shootings and homicides
06:53but that's not a consolation when your loved one is a victim of a shooting
06:57and we're clear on that. Our focus is to continue to look at
07:02what's happening there. Is this gang driven? That's what we believe
07:06it is and to really respond to it accordingly like we've done throughout
07:10the city but it just reinforces what we've been
07:12saying for the longest. Too many guns on our streets, too many
07:16repeated offenders are armed with these weapons and you see
07:20some of the targets were innocent people and that is why we have to take a
07:24real close look at what are we doing with recidivism
07:28and repeated offenders that are carrying guns and I'm asking for our partners
07:34in government to really understand we have to go after them.
07:38D.A. Gonzalez took down a dangerous gang
07:41I think about two weeks ago but that is the focus.
07:47Oh were you not raising your hand? I'm sorry.
07:49No but I have questions.
07:51I thought I saw you raise your hand.
07:53It's okay, I have questions.
07:55Good day to you Mariana.
07:57A belated Happy Father's Day to you.
07:59A couple questions for you.
08:01My first question to you is the Post and New York One has reported
08:04that Assemblymember Raj Kumar is potentially looking to run for comptroller in 2025.
08:09I wanted to know if she would have your support. We know that you two have been
08:12allies when it comes to politics. I also wanted to ask you about Bishop
08:16Lamore Whitehead. Today he was sentenced to nine years in prison.
08:19He previously claimed he was a mentee of yours. Can you give a reaction to that?
08:24And then final question on the budget. It's two more weeks till the budget is due.
08:27The Citizens Budget Commission has sent a letter to you
08:30and Speaker Adams talking about starting with a budget that's accurate and
08:35transparent. I wanted to get a comment from you.
08:37Do you feel like it's unfair that they're saying that the budget that
08:40you're starting with is not accurate, that you're not
08:43starting with the appropriate numbers?
08:45First, Bishop Whitehead is in my prayers and I wish the best for him.
08:50I know there was a story in the Daily News about he and I
08:54exchanging texts and comments that I made.
08:58Listen, first I want to deal specifically with that.
09:02Ingrid and I have been together for over 30 years. We're siblings
09:07and no article is going to rip us apart. People have tried that for years.
09:11We stood side by side throughout this entire journey. We're going to continue
09:14to do so. And when I voice my private anger to
09:18someone or something that happens, I think nothing is more harmful when
09:22you debate with your siblings or your spouses,
09:25all of a sudden for it to be broadcasted in public.
09:29It's not something you want to see and I'm pretty sure all of us have made
09:32comments they would like to take back and they feel harmful. I just don't
09:35understand why people get a great level of joy
09:38of, you know, taking private moments and exploiting them. But that's the role of
09:41being the Mayor of the City of New York and it goes with it. But I love my sister.
09:45My sister loved me and we've shown that love throughout the
09:48years. And I pray for Bishop Whitehead.
09:51Whitehead is in my prayers.
09:55And then the question on the Assemblywoman potentially running for
09:58comptroller to share her support. Right now it's 2024. I'm focused on
10:03making the city more affordable, livable and safe.
10:08The candidates that's going to run in 2025, they're going to make that
10:11announcement. I think she's a great Assemblyperson.
10:14She's one of the hardest working Assemblywomen, what she has done around
10:18cannabis issues, what she has done around bringing the issues of
10:23that's important to not only her constituency but the entire state.
10:26And so I am, you know, pleased with her
10:29no matter what office she decides to be in. She has been a real ally for the
10:33people of the city.
10:37We're two weeks away. The Citizens Budget Commission sent you that letter and the
10:40Speaker about starting with an accurate and
10:42fair budget. Did you have a comment on that? Do you feel like you and the
10:46Council are still far apart when it comes to
10:48the pot of money that you're starting with? We're going to be all right.
10:51I joke and say AA Airlines land the plane. You know, we had
10:57these conversations before. We should, I think we should just hold on
11:01to old reels of these same conversations.
11:05We hear when we go up to Albany, you know, that we're not going to get
11:08anything done. We do it. We hear when it's coming down the budgetary season.
11:11We do it. We're going to land the plane and we're going to make sure that we
11:14deal with the real affordability crisis that's facing
11:19the city. This city and this country, you know,
11:23people are really concerned about their ability
11:26to put food on the table and to provide for their families.
11:29And I have a lot of confidence in the Speaker coming from working
11:36class communities. We realize how important it is for us to
11:39get it right and we're going to get it right. We got it right two times before.
11:42There's no reason we can't get it right again.
11:47Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Hey, slow down, Mike.
11:50All good. I got two questions. The first has to do with a story we did
11:56this week on Millicent Reddick.
12:01Millicent Reddick, she was one of the people charged
12:04on that Stroud-Dole-Hatchway-Montgomery thing.
12:07So in May 21, you met with her and six of her friends in her apartment in Harlem.
12:13And in July 23, around the time she was indicted,
12:19the press office, your press office, said you didn't know her.
12:23The only person charged in that that you did know is William Montgomery.
12:29So, I mean, based on that meeting in 2021,
12:32we know that that wasn't fully accurate. Can you explain why
12:37your press office said you didn't know her at the time when you had that
12:40meeting in 2023? Yeah, this may be challenging, really,
12:45for people to understand the thousands of people I meet every day in rooms with.
12:53Hundreds of people. You know, when I do my town hall,
12:57hundreds of people are in there. When I sit in round tables,
13:01gatherings, as I walk the streets, when I'm on the subway. So,
13:04you know, someone one time asked a similar question. I took a picture with
13:08someone on the subway and they said, you don't
13:10know them. You said you didn't know them, but here's a picture of you standing
13:12next to them. This is the nature of the beast. I'm the
13:15mayor of the city of New York. 8.3 million people, Michael.
13:18You know, I don't remember everyone who's in the room.
13:22But let's be very clear what the district attorney made clear.
13:26We had no involvement in what was wrongdoing. I meet with
13:29hundreds of people every single day.
13:35The second question has to do with more of a broad question.
13:40You know, there are all these kind of probes ongoing now. There are
13:45at least three federal probes we know of. There are
13:48two state probes out of the DA's office and
13:52I'm not sure how many DOI ones, but there are multiple DOI probes.
13:56So, I mean, you've said before in this room,
14:00you know, you follow the law. Why do you think there are all these,
14:03there are so many at once. I can't remember a time when there were so many
14:06at once into campaign administration, people around
14:10administration. Why do you think, like, all this is going on given, you know,
14:15your background as a cop and what you've told us, which I think at face
14:19value, you follow the law? I'm going to continue to do that. I'm
14:22focused on running the city. Let the, it's all part of the process. I'm, you know,
14:26I'm going to focus on making the city affordable and safe
14:30for New Yorkers. I don't speculate. Let's follow the process.
14:36Hi, good afternoon, Mr. Mayor. I'm well, sir. How are you?
14:41I have a question regarding the updated numbers
14:45for how many students are in Summer Rising, how many
14:52young people are in the Police Academy Summer Camp,
14:56and the other one, Summer Camp, Youth Rising, and how many young people
15:03are in the Summer Youth Employment Program
15:06registered for this summer. And with regards to Summer Rising and the
15:12Police Academy Summer Camp, are, you know, are the
15:16applications closed?
15:21You got it? Okay. Hi, Mona. It's good to see you.
15:24So first, on Summer Rising, the number of
15:28letters that have gone out is over 110, 118
15:31approximately. 108 has been placed for Summer Rising.
15:35For the Police Academy number, I have to get back to you. I'll get the numbers from
15:38NYPD and give it to you. For the Summer Youth Employment Program,
15:42we have about 94,000 that have been placed. 18 percent of those, as I
15:49mentioned before in our conversation two weeks ago, are from
15:54the six prisons, and that goes to the earlier question about
15:59the rising gun violence in those districts, specifically Brownsville.
16:02So 18,000 of them come from those six prisons, one of them which is in
16:07Brownsville. About 13 percent of them come from
16:10NYCHA specifically, and also from the foster care system.
16:14So before it was sort of a lottery, first come, first served.
16:19Now the YCD has paid close attention to where the students come from, the
16:22participants come from, where they live, and not only the
16:25placement of the zip code, but also what kind of housing they're coming from,
16:28as well as what system are they coming from in terms of being placed.
16:32How much did you say for Summer Rising? For Summer Rising, it had been placed at this
16:36moment, 94,000. 94,000. Yes, and the goal is the same as
16:41last year, 100,000. Okay, all right. Thank you.
16:45Welcome.
16:49Same old. So the Post reported over the weekend
16:53on this open drug use outside of some places in Midtown,
16:58making transit of in tourist locations. You know,
17:01just wondering what your administration is looking to address this. Do you think
17:04it's having any effect on tourism, specifically
17:07in New York City, and any other comment you'd like to
17:09make on that? And also just, and this might be more for
17:12Deputy Mayor, so the number of asylum seekers has
17:17been kind of steady.
17:21Oh no, no, no. I was thinking about the question.
17:25So this, so the asylum seekers over the last,
17:29I guess, like five, six months now has been around 1,200 to 1,400
17:33every week coming in, but we're still stagnant on this number of around 65,000
17:38that are in the city shelters. And this is on top of having a 30 and
17:4160 day rule being in effect. Is there any talks of maybe making a
17:45stricter rule for 30 to 60 days? Is there any other policies in the works?
17:48Because it just doesn't seem to be really moving the needle at this point.
17:51I know it decreased a little bit once it went
17:54from, you know, 3,000 to 4,000 a week, but since then, since it's been at 1,200 to 1,400, it hasn't gone down.
17:59Well, we've had 200,000 that has entered our city, and we're still
18:05getting, like you state, those who are coming in.
18:09And when you look at it, of 200,000, as the Daily News editorial
18:17page pointed out, how we're handling this,
18:22D.M. Williams-Issam should really be commended
18:25on being able to do this. And when you, that's a nice little quote, and
18:32when you look at the overall homeless issue,
18:37I think that if there's one place that this administration is
18:42going to be really acknowledged for successfully handling
18:46is this issue right here. The large influx, the continuous influx
18:51that's coming in, and it has not stopped. With the
18:55combination of the Chief of Staff and D.M. Williams-Issam's and their team,
18:59you know, it's to not look like other cities
19:02and even our homeless population. Do we have the chart of the homeless
19:06population? See that little small, little blue, all
19:10the way to the far left? That's New York.
19:15Percentage of population experiencing homelessness
19:18living unsheltered. New York is the smallest number. That's that little
19:24small bar. I was never good at reading these bars in school,
19:27but, you know, now I realize the importance of that class.
19:32We are doing a good job. I walked down 34th
19:35and 8th Avenue. I was on the street, walking down,
19:39talking to those who were living in those conditions, and, Michael, I
19:43don't remember the faces of all of them. You know, I met a lot of people when I
19:46was walking that day on 8th Avenue and 34th Street
19:49at 10 a.m., 10 p.m., and there are limitations on what we
19:55could do. If someone is just sitting there and
19:59they are under the influence of drugs, we can't
20:06lock them up. You know, there are real rules on what we can do,
20:10and we have to abide by those rules, and that's what we're doing.
20:14But we're constantly monitoring the situation.
20:17D.M. Williams' ISIM team, Molly Parks, and others, we're sending
20:21teams out there to give them the care. Some people don't want that care.
20:25Some people, it just takes a long time to build up,
20:28and even Norman Siegel, who has really helped by getting a group of volunteers.
20:33He has been extremely helpful around this, but it is a challenge
20:38because of how our laws are written in this city.
20:41You cannot walk up to someone that appears to be under the influence
20:45of some substance and state that you're going to remove them
20:49from where they are. We're using every tool possible.
20:52That's an important piece of real estate, and we want to continue
20:56to attract tourism, which we are doing, but
20:59we have to do it within the law. I just want to add,
21:04when you were talking about the census, three thoughts I had. One is that when
21:08you look at it, it is going down. It's going down slowly.
21:11And when I think about the fact that we're just really starting extenuating
21:15circumstances, and so we, you know, people have 30 days, and unless there's
21:18an extraordinary circumstance that we're going to be asking them to leave the
21:21system, I think we're seeing some of that happen
21:24right now. The third thing, Craig, is that the
21:26summertime is a great time to resettle children and families, and so we're going
21:30to be working really closely with the state in order to do that.
21:32And so I'm very excited about this opportunity now that
21:35kids will be getting out of school soon to really see where are the places that
21:39other people want to resettle. So right now, there's no plans to
21:42increase another policy, but again, we'll look at the numbers really closely.
21:46The only other thing I wanted to add to what the mayor said is that what I like,
21:50one of the things I like most about working
21:52here for the city is the way that all different agencies have been working
21:55together for these complicated issues. And so whether it's the Department of
21:58Health, along with Homeless Services, along with the Police Department, along
22:02with Sanitation, along with our non-profits, places like
22:06at Central Park or on 125th Street or places where there's,
22:09you know, really intense issues, we're working together to figure out what is
22:14it that we can be doing better to really get people connected to
22:17treatment. And when you look at that precinct,
22:21crime is down. We have a 14 percent decrease in crime
22:25go up to into June. So the precinct commanders are doing the
22:30right thing. They're on the street. But I cannot
22:32overemphasize this chart. I mean, look at this chart.
22:37And none of them have 200,000 migrants and asylum seekers that we have to care
22:40for, feed, house, educate. Look at L.A.
22:44Look at Portland. Look at Vegas. Look at Phoenix. Look at San Diego.
22:48We're a victim of our success because no one
22:52is seeing the tents that are out there. No one is seeing the
22:56encampments. We're a victim of our success. And I
22:59really hope that all you guys and ladies go on the road show
23:02this year and go look at these cities. Go
23:06go visit these cities and then come back here
23:09and say Deputy Mayor Williams-Issam, job well done.
23:15Hey, good afternoon Mr. Mayor. How are you? I'm doing okay.
23:18I wanted to ask about this heat wave. You mentioned cooling centers
23:21at the top. You mentioned cooling centers, the importance of cooling centers.
23:25My understanding is that some of these are located in public libraries, which
23:28are closed on Sundays, as you know. Will the city's libraries be open on
23:33Sunday, including those that are serving as cool centers? Also, have you given any
23:37thought to opening the city's public pools, which
23:40are also going to be closed during the heat wave?
23:43Yeah, the budget, first of all, we didn't call for
23:48libraries to be closed on Sunday. We need to be clear
23:51on that. That's a soundbite that people have
23:54embraced, but that was not our decision to close
23:58libraries on Sundays. The libraries made the decision
24:01on how they were going to find savings, and that was one of the decisions that
24:05they made. But the budget process is still going on.
24:08We're looking forward to selling the budget, and
24:12whatever way we can keep people cool, we want to do so.
24:15Of the pools being open, Deputy Mayor Joshi, you want to talk
24:21about that? Sure. So our pools are scheduled to be open
24:25on June 27th, and there's a lot that goes into
24:28filling the pools, making sure the filtration systems work, and
24:32making sure they're adequately staffed. And so we have to stick to that schedule
24:36to make sure that everything is in order when they are open.
24:40In the meantime, though, our beaches are open, and our sprinklers are open in the
24:44playgrounds, and we encourage people to take the
24:47advice about how to stay cool, make sure you're hydrating, do anything
24:50strenuous early in the morning, seek out air conditioning, and also
24:55ensure that people apply for HEAP benefits, which was the way to get free
25:00indoor air conditioning. Just google HEAP. That's actually the
25:03easiest way for me to tell the public about how to
25:06connect with those, but do it right away because there is not enough funding
25:10in that program to cover cooling assistance. It was originally designed
25:14for winter heat assistance, and now as
25:18climate change progresses, cooling is becoming just as much of a
25:23real life-changing event, or sorry, life-defeating event for
25:27many people. Jake, I would also point out that the,
25:30as if you listened to the press conference earlier today,
25:32that they made very clear that the heat wave is supposed to go through Friday, so
25:35your question about Sunday doesn't really make sense,
25:37but Commissioner Iskall is here and can talk to if there's a heat wave on Sunday,
25:41where else is it available to? Yeah, so the forecast is still
25:48developing for the weekend and into next week,
25:51but it does look like the worst of it is going to be Thursday and Friday,
25:54especially when you look at the heat index,
25:56which is the thing that you really have to pay attention to because that's how
25:59it feels and that's where the real danger is.
26:01In terms of the cooling centers, you know, we now have over 500 cooling
26:04centers across the city. We've also done a lot of work this year
26:08to change our messaging. In the past, we've really talked just about
26:11directing people to cooling centers. This year, we're really encouraging
26:15people to think about cool spaces, right? That could be everything from going to,
26:21you know, certain parks with different types of facilities,
26:24going to coffee shops, restaurants, the movie theater,
26:27a museum, it could be the library. We've also invited every elected in the city
26:31to participate in our cooling center program this year,
26:34so they can open up their offices as cooling centers and be listed on the map
26:37businesses, other organizations, so we're really trying to get New Yorkers to
26:41think about what are cool options, cool spaces, a
26:44friend's house, someplace with air conditioning they go to.
26:47That's not just a cooling center. That's one option. We have more cooling centers
26:50in the city than any other city in the country,
26:52but there's a lot of places people can go and think about to get cool during
26:56periods of high heat.
26:58Hi, Mr. Mayor. How are you? I'm good, thank you. So I know that
27:02Governor last week spoke about possibly
27:05implementing a mask ban. I was hoping you could explain just a
27:09little bit what you were thinking about this. Would it be just on public transit?
27:12Would it be everywhere in public spaces? And how would you ensure that people who
27:16need a mask could actually wear one? And then for you, Deputy Mayor, I was
27:20just hoping you could also just give a migrant update just on numbers and
27:24how many people have moved upstate and just what are some of the roadblocks
27:28there? The mask has several conversations with
27:31the Governor and, you know, I talked about the mask
27:35issue for some time now. I asked storekeepers to
27:40have people pull down their mask before entering,
27:43even temporarily, and it's all about a question.
27:46You know, if someone has a mask and they ask if you're wearing a mask
27:51for health reasons, people could respond. So it's all about the proper
27:55implementation. And the law was in place. It was in
27:59place. It was removed after COVID. I'm a strong supporter of the decision
28:05of stopping masks on our subway system, masks in
28:10protests, and masks in other areas where
28:14it's not health-related. And I think that you're going to see
28:18a great deal of very violent protests and some of this
28:23despicable behavior we're seeing. I think you're going to see it
28:26dissipate, you know, because masks are not new
28:30and covering your face while you do terrible things is not new.
28:34There were these guys that used to ride around with hoods
28:38in the Deep South. So cowards cover their faces.
28:42If you believe in something, then stand up and show your face
28:45and believe it and talk about it. But standing on our trains, telling
28:51people, if you're Zionist, raise your hand and get off, show your
28:56face and say that. So I believe the governor's in the
29:00right place and I strongly support it and I hope we get it done.
29:04And I'm happy to hear from what I read that even AG
29:08is looking in this direction. The quicker we do it,
29:11I think it's going to stop a lot of these crimes we're seeing. People are
29:14using masks to commit crimes, to commit assaults.
29:19The difficult thing for the police department is defining
29:22suspects because of their full covering. And this is going to help us greatly.
29:30Oh yeah, sorry, very quickly. And these numbers just
29:34are, you know, unbelievable. Since spring
29:37of 2022, over 200,600 migrants have come through our
29:43intakes center. Currently there's 65,600
29:47migrants in our care. Again, if you combine that with our
29:51traditional homeless services, we're caring for over
29:54120,000 people in the city right now. And last week, from 6-3 to 6-9,
30:00more than 1,200 new migrants have come into our shelter.
30:04You also remember that about 60 percent of those 200,000 have
30:07already made their way to other jurisdictions. We are not studying
30:11where people are going next. People are going to, you know, now communities are
30:15forming. People are going to other families and friends. They're going to
30:18places where they are able to settle, to be in
30:21different schools. And so I don't have that. But I think
30:24right now, and Camille, tell me if I'm wrong, I think there's about 1,200
30:28people that are still upstate. And that's the amount. And we have 500
30:32that are in the JFS program in Buffalo. And we have
30:36about 1,200 to 1,500 additional individuals. And we are working very
30:40closely with the state on resettling them now. Let me just
30:44point out the, I think the numbers are from the week prior, actually. Oh, okay.
30:47So we're going to get new numbers, because since we moved this to Monday, we
30:50get the new numbers today. So we'll get the new numbers. So just, and
30:53I think you just got one number off. It's 202,600 as of last week.
30:57Thank you. 202,600 as of last week. We'll get you an updated number
31:01today. Thanks. Mr. Mayor. How are you? Good. I wanted to ask you to respond
31:08to a statement that the public advocate, Juhani Williams,
31:12made recently on social media. He said, I hope that New York City Mayor, at some
31:18point, lifts up the pain that Palestinian and Muslim New Yorkers
31:22are in, and have yet to hear one word from him
31:25about. And I also wanted to point out today is
31:28Eid al-Adha. It's a very important festival, as you
31:34know. Last year, we were the first mayor to
31:38have a celebration for Muslims in Gracie Mansion for Eid. I think that
31:44was for the end of Ramadan. And I was
31:47wondering if there will be one again this year, and
31:52if not, why not? Just, first of all, to the public advocate, 8.3
31:59million people, 35 million opinions. He shared one of his opinions. I think
32:03that those who followed me for years, knowing my consistency
32:07around the Muslim community, it didn't start here.
32:10I'm sure Inga can go back to, on the Senate floor,
32:13of debating with a Islamophobic Greg Ball, of what I've done when women was
32:20attacked for wearing a hijab, how I visited mosques when others
32:24weren't, how I called for peace in Yemen, how I called for
32:28what is happening in West Africa, what's happening in the Sudan, where you
32:33have a large, significant Muslim population. I'm
32:36consistent. I talk about the awful, barbaric
32:41action of Hezbollah and Hamas, and throughout the years, I
32:46didn't start doing this, did not. The Muslim Officers
32:52Society was started with my attorney after their wives were being attacked
32:56after 9-11. They came to me and asked me to assist them
33:01during those times. I have a long record of not just
33:06talking about what is wrong, what's happening, and I talked about what
33:09happened in Gaza and what's happening
33:12across our entire globe. No innocent person should die,
33:16and I just find it challenging that people don't realize how
33:21despicable it is to go to a place like the NOVA exhibit and
33:27wave flags of Hamas, calling themselves Hamas,
33:30and make a mockery and desecrate the pain that people are experiencing even
33:36while hostages were not turned around. So I'm consistent, and I've always been
33:40consistent, and I'm going to continue to be
33:42consistent. And so the public advocate has an opinion, he has a right to his
33:46opinion, but I know the facts, and the fact is
33:50that I'm consistent about standing up on behalf of people.
33:55I would also just point out, since you asked specifically, we did have a
33:58Ramadan event at the surrogate's courthouse. It
34:02was covered by a number of people. We also have an Eid event coming up.
34:08Yes, and I would also point out the mayor, since October 7th, has spoken out
34:13dozens of times about the loss of life on both sides, the innocent loss of life,
34:17including on, I can give you the whole list, starting on
34:19October 7th. So it's been, since the very beginning, he's been very consistent, as
34:23he just said. Right, and I think there's one...
34:26The mayor has not mentioned the words calisthenic Gaza...
34:30I could show you the transcripts. I could show you the transcripts that say it's
34:32different. Right. Or you can go on our website and look
34:36at the transcripts. Yeah, and we're not saying, we're not saying it's coming from
34:39you. We got that. People want to define for you
34:44and use the words they want you to use as you express yourself.
34:48I don't do that to him, and I don't do it to anyone else.
34:52Let's be clear, you said something that's very important. We had 109 mayors
34:57I was the first to have an Eid celebration.
35:01With 109 mayors, I was the first to raise flags of countries
35:06down at Bowling Green. I was the first to hold
35:09celebrations for various groups at Gracie Mansion.
35:13109 mayors, the 110th opened the city up
35:17to everybody.
35:20Hey, mayor, a couple quick questions about the rent guidelines board vote
35:26tonight. When you appoint the members, tenants are
35:30facing up to a six and a half percent increase for a two-year lease.
35:33I'm wondering how you feel about that. There's been a lot of concern from
35:36advocates, tenants, that that is just too much money at this
35:40point and that they can't afford it. It's going to be difficult
35:43for a lot of people to pay those increases. And then
35:46my second question was asking about the budget, following up on the budget.
35:51I've heard from some people on the city council side that they don't feel
35:54negotiations are proceeding well. They're concerned.
35:59Is there something in particular you're looking for?
36:02Their concern is about some of the cuts to pre-k
36:06cultural institutions, libraries, and whether you will
36:09restore those cuts. How do you feel negotiations are going?
36:13Do you see any hopes for any of those cuts being restored fully?
36:18The RGB is always concerning, you know,
36:24quoting a great philosopher, the rent is too damn high. You know, people are hurting.
36:28Affordability is crucial in the city and we are really hoping that
36:35there's a low end to, if any, increase at all.
36:39I share the concerns of advocates and others. You know, we need to make sure
36:44we keep the city affordable and we're going to continue to fight for
36:47affordability in the city. I know what it is to struggle.
36:50I know what it is, you know, to worry about, you know, your food and your rent,
36:54all of those things. So we're going to continue to advocate
36:57based on, you know, the concerns of New Yorkers.
37:04Who's taking the next question? The budget?
37:08Yeah, the budget. I can't say this clear
37:14enough and I said it over and over again. I can sit in the room
37:18every year and play the recordings of you asking these same questions.
37:22We're going to land the plane, folks. We've done it twice.
37:26Adrienne and I are very confident. We know how to get in the room
37:31and land a plane. You know, we didn't go to any specialized
37:38and, you know, private schools. We went to Bayside.
37:42And Bayside is, we know how to figure things out
37:46when you don't have enough to figure them out. My mom was a correction officer.
37:50My mother was a cook in a daycare center. We used to eat the leftovers from the
37:54Tupperware and the recycled aluminum foil.
37:57We know how to make this happen. I don't think we're getting full credit
38:01of the success that Adrienne and I have done
38:05over and over again with 200,000 migrants, cycling out of COVID,
38:09dealing with overproliferation of guns that we had to handle on the street,
38:13reducing the cost of child care. You know, we've done a great job. So why
38:19do y'all feel we're not going to do it again?
38:21It's going to be all right. All we have to do is do what I do in the morning.
38:25Just do your breathing exercises and meditate and eat a green smoothie.
38:29We'll be all right. It's going to be all right. It's going
38:34to be all right. Trust me, Jeff. It's going to be all right.
38:37Thank you. There's a big congressional primary
38:40happening between Jamal Bowman and George Latimer.
38:43Just last week, Jamal Bowman was asked to grade you.
38:45Gave you a two out of ten. I'm wondering if you've been paying attention to that
38:49race, if you're planning on getting involved at all
38:51in that and also in other primaries. I mean,
38:55it's a week from tomorrow. Are you going to get involved with other
38:58legislative primaries, endorse, rally folks that got there?
39:03There's a two out of ten chance I'll get involved in his race.
39:14Wherever I'm needed and I do an analysis
39:17that the persons or the individuals are going to be helpful
39:22to the people of this city to help us deal with this affordability issue and
39:26public safety issue we have, we'll make that consideration.
39:31I normally don't deal with the politics.
39:33Ingrid normally handles that, but I'm going to make sure
39:38that the people are going to fight for New Yorkers. I think,
39:41you know, some don't fight hard enough for New Yorkers.
39:46How are you? I have two questions. One, June 30th, there was a Polish festival
39:59on Staten Island and I know you received an invitation.
40:02I'm emcee for that festival. I wanted to ask if you plan on attending,
40:06but the second question is about migrants and I want to ask
40:10if city is looking into placing migrants in private housing
40:14and covering the costs of that. I'm also asking about city funded rental
40:19assistance vouchers, if that's something. I don't know, it cannot be used for
40:22undocumented migrants, but if there is any progress on that.
40:27I received information that brokers are getting a lot of
40:32calls from the city to make their people who are
40:36listing apartments for rent to really consider taking
40:39the offer from the city to, you know, use the program.
40:44So I'm just asking for a comment to that. Well, first, as you may be aware,
40:50I'm the first mayor, I believe, to march in the Polish
40:54Day Parade. Like, I think I was the first mayor to march in many of our parades.
40:59It took 110 mayors before we understand that the city is made up of
41:04different ethnic groups. Not only do I march in the large ones, but
41:08I go to those parades that people often ignore. And I'm looking forward to
41:14seeing if I could get out to the event on Staten Island. When I was a
41:18lieutenant in the 9-4 precinct, I saw the beauty of the Polish community
41:22and their contribution to our city long before Greenpoint was
41:26this cool place. The Polish community, they
41:30were there long before Starbucks discovered the place. And so I'm
41:35hopeful that I can make it to the festival.
41:37But even if I can't, I trust you, just as I've done before,
41:41I will be supporting the Polish community and what they stand for.
41:45What do they stand for?
41:47For 10 of 10, as long as housing migrants in private residences or...
41:51I'm looking at Camille, I have not heard anything yet.
41:53No, not really.
41:55I remember there was an idea at the panel.
41:57Can we start looking into that?
41:59Because there is lack of housing. So to offer people money so they can house
42:05migrants. I'm wondering if that's...
42:07Oh, you mean like if a private citizen wants to have a...
42:09Yes.
42:11I know other jurisdictions are doing that. We don't have a...
42:13We do not have a program for that and we're not looking into that.
42:15Right. We have no plan to do that.
42:17Nope.
42:19Katie, go ahead.
42:21Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to ask,
42:23you filed your public,
42:25the conflict of interest board documents.
42:27I know back in October
42:29when you,
42:31whenever you went to South America,
42:33now I'm getting my trips confused,
42:35you said October, you said
42:37I pay my own way, I think the quote was
42:39my dime, my time, don't whine or something like that.
42:41But in your filing you said...
42:43It was a card.
42:45Okay. Sorry. So for this, I don't know if you would
42:47disclose how much the trip was paying, especially
42:49taxpayers, but it was paid for by the North Capital
42:51Forum for your trip to Mexico and then the government
42:53of Colombia paid for
42:55the trip when you went to Colombia.
42:57So I don't know if that was disclosed earlier and if not
42:59why. And then secondly, I know you also note that you
43:01went to the US Open. That was on this year.
43:03It wasn't on last year's when you attended.
43:05Were your 2022 US Open
43:07tickets also...
43:09Why were they not included on the initial form?
43:11So let's go back. I was in
43:13Puerto Rico, that I flew to
43:15Puerto Rico on my time, my dime.
43:17Puerto Rico.
43:19I'm sorry?
43:21What?
43:25But it was my time and my dime.
43:27That billionaire...
43:29But that billionaire
43:31did not pick up the cars. It was my time
43:33and my dime. That was what that quote was
43:35from. You know, I think you were there
43:37and you cornered me as soon as I came
43:39when I was trying to enjoy the beach
43:41on my time and my dime.
43:43I don't believe
43:45I went to the US Open
43:47last year.
43:49Did I? You went for a minute.
43:51What did I do? You gave
43:53remarks for the opening and then left
43:55after that. This was 22? 2023.
43:57You went 22 and 23.
43:59I'm referring to what was not in the 2023 filing
44:01but you had gone in 2022 and I'm just curious
44:03why it wasn't on your... Okay, I have
44:05to look at it and see
44:07the questions. Give the question to Fabian.
44:09Let me look at it and I'll be able to determine.
44:11Listen, I'm all over the place, man.
44:13All this stuff mushed together, man.
44:15I don't keep up with all this stuff.
44:17You guys cannot imagine
44:19what a day in the life of Eric Adams.
44:21When y'all read my book,
44:23you guys are going to say
44:25I cannot believe what a human being
44:27went through this for four years.
44:29This is
44:31an unbelievable story.
44:33When I go over
44:35my notes for the day,
44:37Marsha, I'm like,
44:39good God.
44:41We'll look over it.
44:43If there's an error, we'll
44:45correct it. That's what we're doing.
44:47What is the conflict? Are you traveling tomorrow
44:49or the rest of this week?
44:51Where'd you get that from?
44:53It's a scheduling conflict.
44:55The conflict could be many things.
44:57I may go cigar with Michael
44:59Garland.
45:01I may go to Rockaway Beach
45:03and say hello to your mom.
45:05Everybody knows that my mom is boy.
45:07God only knows
45:09what we're doing tomorrow.
45:11Fabian said,
45:13Eric, I want to notify
45:15the press ahead of time so they can
45:17have an opportunity because I know how much joy
45:19you have being with them on Tuesdays.
45:21They're going to be with you on Monday.
45:23You put out
45:25the schedule, what time?
45:27It'll be out this evening, so you'll get it on the evening.
45:29I'll let you know.
45:31We can always do another.
45:37I just wanted to circle back on Jeff's question
45:39about the RJV vote tonight.
45:41Specifically, activists are asking for
45:43a rent freeze or
45:45a rollback. What do you think of those
45:47ideas? I know you've spoken a lot
45:49about landlords also needing
45:51the money to keep their properties up.
45:53Separately, last
45:55week, there was quite a long
45:57attention to the Council hearing on
45:59the bill to end broker's fees
46:01for tenants or shift it
46:03on to whoever is hiring
46:05the broker. I guess
46:07just since then, has your thinking
46:09on that bill evolved at all? Do you have any more
46:11to share about where you stand on it?
46:13It evolved as in changing
46:15my position because I never gave my
46:17position. I think this...
46:19Not giving your position to giving it.
46:21I got it.
46:23Let the process go on. Let's hear
46:25the conversations around it.
46:27I think if you do an analysis
46:29of a lot of folks who are debating
46:31this, they were never a real estate agent.
46:33I was.
46:35I know what it is, as I said last
46:37week, of driving people around for the whole
46:39day, and they decide they're not going to
46:41rent, but you've lost the whole day.
46:43I think that really this
46:45is inaligned with both questions.
46:47I don't know...
46:49When people think of
46:51rent, they often think of
46:53folks who own hundreds
46:55and thousands of apartments.
46:57You look
46:59at that landlord that has a 16
47:01unit, and all of their
47:03resources are in there, and they're providing
47:05a clean, safe place for people.
47:07We have to find a sweet spot.
47:09We have to find a middle ground.
47:11I know New York is hurting. I
47:13know that the city
47:15and country is becoming...
47:17Inflation is real.
47:19Just the other day,
47:21that $100 bought me a little
47:23while ago, it's not buying me now.
47:25And so,
47:27we have to find a way
47:29that we don't run
47:31out
47:33those landlords,
47:35particularly those small property
47:37owners, that
47:39they're seeing this increase also.
47:41They're realizing this is a time
47:43when New Yorkers are going to have to come together
47:45and say, how do we get through this?
47:47Because they're feeling it also. I speak with
47:49them. I see them. I know what
47:51they're going through. My tenants
47:53have not had a rent increase, and
47:55when they signed into my building,
47:57I said, I'm not going to raise your rent
47:59for as long as you're there.
48:01And they have not. They have not
48:03had that increase. But not everyone
48:05is able to do that. So we
48:07have to find a sweet spot. We want a low end
48:09if there's an increase,
48:11so that New Yorkers are hurting.
48:13And we have to do the best we can to get people through
48:15this period.
48:17If you want to keep rent down
48:19or from rising, build
48:21a little more housing in every neighborhood.
48:23So the Red Guidelines
48:25Board, they have a very challenging task,
48:27right? And it's hard every
48:29year, but they do the best that
48:31they can with the data that is provided.
48:33As the mayor has said,
48:35the higher end of that
48:37preliminary vote is untenable for tenants.
48:39And so we've been very clear about that since
48:41the preliminary vote came out, and
48:43tonight's vote is critical.
48:45And that is one piece of this
48:47overall puzzle that we have to solve
48:49in this city. You see
48:51it in the
48:53very vocal opinions that we
48:55hear from tenants every time there's an
48:57RGB vote. You see it
48:59in the number of applicants
49:01to the reopened
49:03wait list for NYCHA, right? More than
49:05600,000. And so
49:07we can play around the margins,
49:09but that is not the
49:11long-term solution to this issue.
49:13We've been very focused on increasing
49:15supply, and that's why
49:17we've been really focused
49:19working with the City Council at community
49:21boards to get City of Yes
49:23for Housing Opportunity passed
49:25through the City Council by the end of
49:27the year. It's why we
49:29wasted no time
49:31in implementing the new tools
49:33we got from Albany this year
49:35in the housing package, with
49:37a set of intake procedures
49:39for the extension for 421A,
49:41the new program, and the office
49:43conversion program. And
49:45it's why every closing season
49:47HPD
49:49and our Housing Development Corporation
49:51work overtime to finance
49:53more and more
49:55units of housing.
49:57So it's going to take all of that
49:59to really solve
50:01and get to the root of the problem,
50:03but we've been laser-focused on it
50:05since day one.