On Tuesday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams held a weekly press conference with Deputy Mayors.
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NewsTranscript
00:00♪ In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do. Now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. These lights will inspire you. Let's hear it for New York.
00:28I could always tell by the reporters in the room what type of day it's going to be. I stand in the room and I say, hmm, look who's here today.
00:39Good morning, everybody. My name is Fabian Levy and I serve as deputy mayor for communications for the City of New York. Thank you all for joining us today for our weekly in-person media availability.
00:50As you've heard the mayor, myself, our commissioners, and countless others say, we're working every day to protect public safety, rebuild our economy, and make our city more livable.
00:59That work takes all of us, from our police officers to sanitation workers to our case managers. To update New Yorkers on those efforts, the mayor has once again convened senior leadership for our weekly in-person media availability here at City Hall.
01:11So joining us today are Mayor Eric Adams, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Chief of Staff Camille Joseph-Barlick, Chief Advisor to the Mayor Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Ann Williams-Isom, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Operations Mayor Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Ana Almanzar, Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg, and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Tiffany Raspberry.
01:36So without further delay, I'll turn it over to Mayor Adams.
01:39Thanks so much, and we are on a real, real tight schedule today.
01:45The team has me doing some back-to-back things, and so I have to do a direct-to-camera in response to what we saw yesterday.
01:56So we're going to have to really clean the room very rapidly.
02:00So if we are overly aggressive, please accept our apologies.
02:06So thanks, Deputy Mayor, and really thanks to the entire team.
02:10You know, our core mission is clear.
02:12To public safety, rebuilding our economy, and livability.
02:17We say it over and over again.
02:19One of the clearest ways we're protecting public safety, those pesky, illegal, dangerous bikes, scooters, I should say, spoke with Rabbi Miller, who was struck and had a broken leg after he was hit, and the person didn't even stop to give him the assistance.
02:40And we had every town hall, people talk about these menaces to our city.
02:46They have just basically taken many of our streets and turned them into unsafe places.
02:53And we are zeroing in on that.
02:55Hats off to the NYPD.
02:58They're not only being used to menace everyday pedestrians, but they are part of a real robbery pattern.
03:06And when you hear of a robbery pattern, 79 robbery patterns using illegal mopeds and bikes.
03:12Nearly eight times as many as the same time in 2022.
03:16A pattern is not one issue.
03:18It's a series of issues.
03:20These patterns that you are seeing is over 400 complaints.
03:24Almost ten times the amount from two years ago.
03:28And that is why we're cracking down on them.
03:31And one of the illegal mopeds, it was used in the actions of a shooting of two police officers.
03:41A total disregard for public safety.
03:43The NYPD, they have removed more than 13,000 of these illegal vehicles from our streets this year alone.
03:53Year to date, over 42,000 since we took office.
03:57As you saw, we crushed a large number of them because we don't want them recycled back in our community.
04:02Economy.
04:04Over and over again, we have revitalized our economy.
04:07Largest number of small businesses have opened.
04:11Largest number of jobs in the history of the city.
04:15And rebuilding our economy requires us to have a 21st century mindset.
04:20Particularly around green collar jobs.
04:23Yesterday we broke ground on what we worked on this in Borough Hall.
04:29About a real green economy.
04:32Offshore wind port of South Brooklyn.
04:35The largest in the country.
04:38Hats off to Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Andrew Kimball for the entire team.
04:4373 acres in Sunset Park will serve as a hub for Empire Wind I.
04:49An offshore wind project that's going to power 400,000 homes while simultaneously creating thousands of jobs.
04:57Good jobs right in that community.
05:00And then the byproduct of those jobs, people going to the local bodegas, the stores, the shops.
05:06This is a real win.
05:08Governor Hochul, the EDC, SBMT, Equinor, just real partners to make this happen.
05:16And we're really excited about it.
05:18And separately on Thursday, after decades of intention, we also move our city zoning code in the 21st century.
05:24Dan Garodnik did a great job in the city of Yes for Economic Opportunity.
05:30This is a transformative moment for small businesses and entrepreneurs that is going to fill vacant storefronts and create greater opportunities for all New Yorkers.
05:41Not only to start businesses, but to see them flourish and grow in the Empire State.
05:47And I want to really thank the speaker and councilperson Riley and Salamanca.
05:56Make sure I call them today, Tiffany, you know, to thank them who have delivered this landmark win for all New Yorkers.
06:04And finally, livability, DOB, no penalty inspection program.
06:12We knew from the beginning, D.M. Maria Torres-Springfield really leaned into this.
06:17We should be letting people know ahead of time of what are the violations and not play I gotcha.
06:23We should be saying I got you.
06:25I'm here to make sure that you are able to not have money come out of your pockets and pay fines.
06:31But how do we help you?
06:32And this is a great program.
06:34Yesterday, the Department of Builders under Jimmy Otto, the commissioner, announced the return of this annual no penalty inspection program.
06:44The citywide initiative offers free inspections for homeowners, business owners and landlords who proactively call 3-1-1 to request an inspection.
06:55Allow New Yorkers to get an expert opinion on potential repair projects and guidance on legal requirements, including boilers and private elevators.
07:05This is a great program and we're excited about that.
07:10And so, you know, talking about building, really excited to see the new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge that's going up.
07:18Do we have a video of that?
07:20Really exciting to see as we continue to get stuff built.
07:28Now access to the waterfront in that area.
07:31This is part of our East Side Coastal Resiliency Project.
07:34I remember when DM Maria Torres Springer and the crew, DEP, we stood out and talked about this.
07:40We're seeing it move forward.
07:41Our city continued to thrive and grow.
07:45Wasn't that fast?
07:46Was it, huh?
07:47Wasn't that fast?
07:48You know, and I know there's going to be questions about it.
07:53And she'll answer it.
07:56My chief counsel will answer the charter revision.
07:59We're excited about it.
08:00Let's get out.
08:01Let's participate.
08:02Let's hear the opinion.
08:038.3 million New Yorkers.
08:0535 million opinions.
08:08Only in New York.
08:09So why don't we hear the dates, hear the locations.
08:13We did how many so far, Lisa?
08:16So far there have been three public sessions of the Charter Revision Commission.
08:22And the next three are coming up.
08:24They're on the screen.
08:25Oh, great.
08:26They're on the screen.
08:27Yep.
08:28The one in Manhattan on June 13th is focused on fiscal responsibility.
08:35A forum on that.
08:36But New Yorkers can show up and raise any subject of concern for the Charter Revision Commission in addition.
08:43And the one that's being held in the Bronx on June 17th is to talk about government and election reform.
08:51A forum on those issues.
08:53The one held in Brooklyn on June 20th is the focus is going to be on a public safety forum.
09:01But, again, New Yorkers can show up at any of these and share their opinions in person, online, fully accessible by Zoom.
09:10Just check out the website.
09:11Thank you.
09:12Why don't you open it up, Fabian?
09:14All right.
09:15Amherst?
09:16Question, Mayor, about congestion pricing.
09:19Yes.
09:20How did you learn that it wasn't going to happen?
09:22Did you get a personal call from the governor about this?
09:25And also, do you hold yourself at all accountable for the public opposition to congestion pricing?
09:32You haven't exactly been city of yes about congestion pricing.
09:36You've been very this is up to the state.
09:38We'll follow the rules.
09:39We've got to get it right.
09:40But you have not been championing this.
09:42So how did you hear that it wasn't going to happen?
09:44And what about your own vote?
09:46The governor spoke with me for about two weeks out, sharing her thoughts.
09:51As many of you know, the governor and I have an excellent relationship.
09:55We've been able to do so much and revitalize in our city and land in many of these important pieces of legislation in Albany.
10:02And she was sharing her thoughts.
10:04And I'm not going to go into private conversations.
10:06And then when she made the final determination, we spoke that evening.
10:11And I said, Governor, whatever I could do to assist, these are difficult times and difficult challenges.
10:17I spoke with John yesterday as he talked about some of the impacts on our capital.
10:22And I respect Albany.
10:25I know my role.
10:26I have their role.
10:27I know it's hard for people to fully imagine the fact that everything that happens in the country, Mayor Adams and the mayor of the city of New York, is not in control of.
10:37I don't control MTA.
10:38I don't control how many migrants can come into our city.
10:41I don't control laws that are passed in various forms of government.
10:47I was clear.
10:48We had to get it right.
10:49We could not balance it on the backs of working class people.
10:53We could not displace the environmental issues, as Ingrid has talked about so many times.
10:59We could not displace it throughout the entire city.
11:02So we've got to get this right.
11:03This is a major shift in how we're going to move traffic, who we're going to charge, what is the amount.
11:10And I made it clear we have to get it right.
11:12The state made the determination that the MTA and MTA board is going to make the decisions around that.
11:21And I was very clear from the start.
11:24We have to get it right.
11:27And I'm still with that.
11:28We've got to deal with congestion.
11:30We have to deal with environmental issues.
11:32But we should deliberate and make sure we get it right.
11:36Hi, Mayor Adams.
11:37Hey, what's going on?
11:38You know, having a wonderful time.
11:40I wanted to ask you, we reported recently about a stop work order implemented by the Department of Buildings at 58 West 39th, a hotel owned by campaign donor Weihong Wu.
11:50Late that evening, Reverend Alcockville II had a phone conversation with two top Department of Buildings officials.
11:56And about an hour later, the stop work order was lifted.
12:00Have you asked anyone to investigate that incident that involved other people, not just the reverend?
12:04And also, would you consider, how would you describe your relationship with Reverend Cockfield?
12:08Is he a friend?
12:09And how often do you talk or hang out?
12:11All reverends are my friends.
12:12They pray for me.
12:13You know, every time we do the off topics, they lay hands on me because they want me to maintain my composure of dealing with Katie and her questions.
12:22And so, Reverend Cockfield, if you're out there, continue to pray for me because you see, this is why you're praying.
12:29You know, listen, I'm not aware.
12:31I'm not.
12:32I had no into.
12:34I didn't intercede at all with that.
12:37People call city government all the time to try to get through the bureaucracy.
12:42But everyone has to follow the rules.
12:44I made that over and over again clear.
12:46And so I trust DOB and I trust our other agencies to make sure they make the right decisions.
12:53And that is the extent I know about it.
12:55There's no reason to investigate.
12:57If someone, if a pastor or clergy leader calls and say within the laws to do the right thing, to assist someone, they have the authorization to do that.
13:09We're going to follow the rules.
13:10Specifically about Reverend Cockfield.
13:12And I don't know.
13:13This didn't seem like somebody involved in his church.
13:16It seemed like it.
13:17I don't know if there's a religious component to the developer's hotel.
13:20But if you want to just, if you want to expand or decline to comment on your relationship with him.
13:24Well, I think, you know, again, I had no communications with the Rev around this.
13:29So I'm not sure.
13:30But, again, the story implies that there was some special treatment given to the developer.
13:35That's what it implies.
13:38DOB carry out the inspections correctly with a standard process of inspecting.
13:45That's what they do.
13:46They have an obligation to make sure whatever happens on these sites are safe.
13:50Now, what I found when I became mayor, you could have a carpentry problem and we would do a stop work order on the entire job.
14:00Has nothing to do with the electricals, plumbing or anything else.
14:03So you will have thousands of dollars being wasted a day with hundreds of employees sitting around.
14:10And I said that is not acceptable in a city that's trying to build.
14:14Let's focus on what's the problem and let's make sure we allow the project to continue.
14:19That was the number one thing I heard from developers, builders and unions when I was on the campaign trail when it came down to this.
14:28Mr. Mayor, how are you doing?
14:29What's happening?
14:30I had a question about the legal defense fund.
14:32Would you consider sharing that with people who are working on your behalf or anybody on your staff?
14:38They also were involved in the investigation.
14:42We're going to follow all legal rules.
14:43And if there's conversation about the legal fund, Vito Pitta and Brendan McGuire, they will answer those questions.
14:52But we follow whatever the rules are.
14:54It's very stringent, very clear what rules could be used with the legal funds.
14:59And I ask them all the time before I take any steps.
15:03But you can reach out to them and they could answer that question for you.
15:06Morning, Mayor Adams.
15:07What's happening?
15:08How are you doing today?
15:09Good, good.
15:10Checking out, man.
15:11Got that summer body going.
15:14So there were protests yesterday and there were protesters yelling, Israel, go to hell, and long live the Intifada.
15:21They were also waving terrorist flags.
15:23What's your response to that?
15:25Despicable.
15:27I visited the site where the presentation is on place for the October 7th incident massacre.
15:40I take my hat off to Chancellor Banks, who brought his superintendents there.
15:45And I really always called after our team looked at the presentation of some of the video.
15:51I felt that more people need to see it because people thought this was just a simple headline.
15:59They don't know the extent of the devastation that took place on October 7th.
16:04And I thought the actions that we saw in front of the exhibit was just despicable.
16:12The people who were there wanted to put hurt, to use those comments to wave Hezbollah and Hamas, terrorist organizations that should be destroyed.
16:24I was extremely troubled by that.
16:27I spoke with the hierarchy of the police department yesterday when the videos came out to me and they informed me of the actions.
16:36And I'm going to take a visit down there.
16:38I'm going to try to get there before it closes the next day or so.
16:41I was there when it first opened.
16:43But I thought it was despicable.
16:46It was disgusting what we saw.
16:48And you cannot call for peace while you're celebrating what happened on October 7th.
16:54Hello, Mr. Mayor.
16:56How are you?
16:57Two questions.
16:58I'm based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
17:00We started asking people what they want to ask you.
17:02And one question that came up was, is there any way to create any bypass?
17:07So big trucks or big cars, they don't have to drive through Greenpoint, for example, but it means everywhere in the city.
17:14So any bypass.
17:15We've seen the pedestrian bridge.
17:16It's possible.
17:17There are ideas, creativity.
17:18If you can answer to that, if there is any plans for any types of bypasses on highways so you don't have to go through neighborhoods like Greenpoint.
17:27And the second question.
17:29At 37th Street, I've personally witnessed drug addicts with syringes in their hands there.
17:36And I'm wondering if now you have any plan on addressing that.
17:39It was around 8th Avenue.
17:41But I know it's been brought up to you before, and I'm wondering if there is anything that you plan on doing in that specific area during summer.
17:49But, you know, it's been going on the whole year, not only now.
17:53Well, and I'll let 52-mile marathon runner Deputy Mayor Josie answer about the trucks.
18:04But, you know, I am extremely pleased at what DM William Lyson has been doing.
18:12And just sometimes when you do so well in the city, you take it for granted.
18:17But I really challenge people.
18:19Go Google other cities.
18:22Public tents, living on the streets, cooking on the streets, drug uses on the street, human waste on the street.
18:30Just go look at those other cities.
18:32You don't see it in New York, even with 200,000 migrants and asylum seekers.
18:37And what DM William Lyson is doing with the New Scout Initiative, the partnership she's doing with NYPD, you're going to see even a drastic change in our subway system.
18:47And so laws restrict us from what we can do.
18:51But we have been, NYPD has, they have been enforcing the laws on making sure that some of that public nuisance is something that we're not going to accept.
19:02We have been very clear on that.
19:04And they've been executing a real plan to address the quality of life issues that you see.
19:09Amirah, you want to go into this?
19:10Oh, sure.
19:11Yes, yes.
19:12Yes, you can.
19:13I'm not familiar with that location.
19:15But today, actually, at Gracie Mansion, we kicked off our Healthy NYC Initiative, which is really one of the things that we want to do is really focus on the opioid crisis.
19:26Because we know that it is a public health crisis, and we know that everybody around the country is really struggling with it.
19:33So I will definitely want to see and ask Dr. Vassant to think about what's going on in Greenpoint.
19:39Where do we get people connected to treatment?
19:41How do we get people connected to the supports that they need?
19:44Because we see what happens, you know, hope really matters.
19:47And when people are feeling despair, when they don't have what they want, when they're not in good relationships, all of the things that we know that folks are suffering with right now, they turn to things to sort of, you know, dull some of that that they're going through.
19:58So we really want to make sure that we have what they need and to really get connected to treatment.
20:02So we'll follow up on that.
20:04And on the trucks, you know, New York is particularly vulnerable to heavy truck traffic.
20:10Most of the nation, about 70% of their goods get to them by truck.
20:14And in New York, it's about 90%.
20:16And the pandemic and the habits that we developed during the pandemic of ordering online have not dissipated.
20:23We've hung on to them.
20:25So we have to grapple with how do we shift freight from trucks.
20:32One thing I do want to note is currently truck route redesign is ongoing at the DOT.
20:38So outreach meetings are scheduled.
20:40We'll be happy to connect you so that your community can participate in those outreach meetings about where truck routes should be.
20:48But a few other things that we're trying to do as a city to shift freight from trucks, make freight more fashionable, bring it back.
20:56We've used our waterfront around the city for beaches and for housing and for recreation.
21:02But we used to be a city of working waterfront.
21:05And we need to bring some of that back in order to have barges and loads be delivered to ports and then to smaller cargo bikes and the like to really learn to not depend so much on the truck traffic.
21:21We've expanded the rules for what a cargo bike can be in New York City.
21:25So it can be wider.
21:27It can fit in our bike lanes, which is something that will really help the business models of many logistic firms that are looking to make that transition.
21:36And we've also been piloting micro hubs, which are places where one large distribution can be delivered and then nimbly delivered to smaller destinations in smaller quantities through cargo bikes.
21:53And London, for example, is really betting on this policy.
21:57And their goal is by 2030 to have reduced truck traffic by 17 percent simply by using micro hubs.
22:05And we're doing the same here.
22:07And that's why we send people globally.
22:09That's why this team, we go to other municipalities and see what other people are doing.
22:14We're the big city, but smaller cities have been proven successful.
22:19And I really encourage the team over and over again to let's see what other folks are doing.
22:25Morning, Mayor.
22:27So the third lawsuit was filed last week against Tim Pearson in your administration.
22:32And this one suggested that the FBI was investigating something about his role.
22:37I'm wondering if you believe that's a separate investigation from the FBI into your administration, one about Pearson, maybe one about Winnie Greco, maybe one about Turkish influence.
22:47Are these three separate things?
22:48Is this one connected thing?
22:50And also, have anybody in your administration been subpoenaed, been talking?
22:54And then totally separately, it's a year out from the 2025 primaries.
22:58I'm wondering what you think about ranked choice voting.
23:00I haven't heard you talk about that.
23:02It's not ranked on the top things on my list.
23:05I have a whole city going on.
23:09And that's low on my ranking.
23:13So, listen, the job of this team here, we say over and over again, we have to stay focused on running the city during the most complex time.
23:26And that is our great level of discipline.
23:28This administration, we don't get caught up in all these other items.
23:32All these processes will take its place.
23:35And let them take their place.
23:37And they can't be controlled through the media.
23:40They have to be controlled through thorough reviews.
23:42And that's my response.
23:45I'm sorry?
23:46Are you able to confirm?
23:47Is this three separate investigations?
23:48Nope.
23:51Hi, Mayor.
23:52Emma is here, folks.
23:54How are you?
23:57Good to see you, Emma.
23:58Good to see you.
23:59Actually, I had COVID last week, but I was here last week.
24:00Okay, I see you.
24:01You were quiet.
24:02So, my first question is about congestion pricing.
24:06Yes.
24:07There are people in your administration, the Deputy Mayor at the end, your climate czar, your public realm czar, who have very forcefully supported congestion pricing.
24:18Are you listening to them?
24:20And do you think that the city should consider enacting it after the November election?
24:24And then second question, you said a couple times that you were a real estate agent.
24:28In light of the bill that is getting a hearing tomorrow on broker fees, when were you an agent?
24:35And was that, like, your full-time job?
24:36Was that when you were a police officer?
24:37Yes.
24:38Can you tell me more about that?
24:39Yes.
24:40First, let's go with congestion pricing.
24:42I remember speaking with DM Joshi, who, you know, they're very passionate about these issues.
24:48Dan, the many people, Ryan, my former chief of staff over at Borough Hall, there's a lot of passion.
24:56These are very passionate issues.
24:58I don't want robots in my administration.
25:01I want people to be able to respectfully share their thoughts and their opinions.
25:06We're an opinionated group.
25:08But they will all tell you the same thing.
25:11We may have an opinion, thousands of opinions, but there's one mayor.
25:16There's one mayor.
25:18And at the end of the day, after we finish all of our opinions, we're going to look towards the mayor for guidance.
25:24The mayor's name is Eric Adams.
25:27I'm going to partner with the governor, and we're going to navigate our way to finding a solution like New Yorkers always do.
25:33And so my team can sit down, and they share their thoughts.
25:37They can give me their thoughts.
25:39And behind closed doors, we get very candid discussions.
25:42And that's what I like about this group of people.
25:44But they are very, very clear.
25:47There is one mayor of the city of New York that New Yorkers voted for and ranked choice voting.
25:55They ranked me number one.
26:04The governor is going to make the determination.
26:07And the governor is a partner, and I have a lot of respect for her.
26:10And she has delivered for this city.
26:13All of us are better at the city because we've had a great partner in Albany.
26:17Governor Tiffany will be the first to tell you how her team and every time Camille and first deputy mayor Wright calls the office, this has been a real partnership.
26:27We've navigated through this stuff.
26:30And I'm sure all your calls up to the governor's office.
26:33Listen, I'm with the governor.
26:36I'm not a fair weather friend.
26:38You know, I am a friend.
26:40She has been a friend during this administration as we've gone through some very tough times.
26:46And I'm here with the governor.
26:48We're going to work through this together.
26:50Real estate agent.
26:53I was a real estate agent.
26:55I think I was a lieutenant at the time in the police department.
26:58I remember you called over to my broker because you didn't think I was a real estate agent.
27:02Someone over in your paper did.
27:04Was it you?
27:06It was one of you.
27:07Someone did it because she called me.
27:09She called me.
27:10She told me.
27:11She said, Eric, they're checking on you.
27:13I was a real estate agent.
27:15And it actually helped me during those difficult times when I wasn't getting a good salary back then.
27:24So this is it.
27:26We're going to look at the legislation.
27:28No one wants to have tenants pay, you know, what they shouldn't have to pay.
27:34But real estate agents do a lot of work.
27:39I used to spend sometimes, you know, a whole day taking a potential tenant around to 12 different locations where they say, I don't like where the bathroom is.
27:51So they spend a lot of work.
27:53It's a lot of work.
27:54As a matter of fact, one of the projects you should do, some of you should travel with a real estate agent and see what they do, how difficult their job is to do it and carry it out.
28:04So we're going to look at the bill and we're going to see exactly how it impacts the industry.
28:11And sometimes you have to be careful.
28:14Because I've had so many jobs, I think through and deliberate on these things.
28:21It's just not idealism collides with realism when you start to try to alter entire industries.
28:27So we're going to examine it and make a determination.
28:31Thank you.
28:32Mayor Adams.
28:33Good.
28:34Great.
28:35WBI is doing fine.
28:36I want to talk about that later.
28:37You remember that back in the day before you got on all these radio stations, you would come, Don.
28:42All the time.
28:43Anyway, John Adams was on, John Samuelson was on Moral Monday, they were radioing with her from Barber last night and yesterday.
28:57And he mentioned he was your emissary to represent working people.
29:01Yes.
29:02And behind the scenes, he told us that he brought the concerns to the fire department, brought the concerns of working people.
29:07They can't run with bunker gear if I have to drive here.
29:10And I don't think that the people really understood, were making the decision, how these jobs work.
29:15That you may be a firefighter, you drive to the job and you, depending on who shows up, who drank too much of that before, you may not work at that firehouse.
29:23And then you got to run with bunker gear taking the subway because you don't want to pay $15.
29:27So John said at the end, though, why not bring back the stock transfer tax?
29:31We've talked about this before.
29:33And you know Albany.
29:34Is it just because you all get so much money from Wall Street that we don't, we want to leave that $400 billion alone because they won't give us campaign cash?
29:41Well, listen, I think that not only is, we should be looking at everything.
29:45We should be looking at everything.
29:47And the stock exchange, Wall Street, has changed.
29:53We have to be very careful.
29:55You know, the Wall Street is a major revenue driver.
30:00And when you start impacting these industries, and that's what I think a lot of people don't understand.
30:05You start impacting these industries, they pick up and leave.
30:08That's it?
30:09$400?
30:10Yeah.
30:111697, no one's leaving here?
30:15You know, it's hard to believe because it seemed like I have an omnipresent, but I was not the mayor of 1697.
30:27So I think that what I think the wheels went off the car was when we, what was the name of that tax we had in Albany?
30:37Community tax.
30:38Community tax.
30:39I think that was a big, huge mistake.
30:42And so now it's up to the state lawmakers.
30:44They have to come up with a solution.
30:46I have, you know, this is, you know, I have to focus on the problems.
30:51I have enough problems here to be trying to figure out their problems.
30:55Let them do their job and solve this issue.
31:00Hi, Mayor.
31:01What's happening? How are you?
31:02Pretty good, pretty good.
31:03Just in the past few days, a 14-year-old was shot in Hamilton Heights.
31:07A 17-year-old was shot in Jamaica.
31:10A 15-year-old was shot in East Flatbush.
31:12Is the city doing enough to keep kids safe from gun violence?
31:16An 87-year-old was shot.
31:20You know, when I have to respond to these jobs, you know, I talked about when Detective Jonathan Dillon was shot.
31:29When we buried him, I had to go to the Bronx, coming from the funeral where a 2-year-old was shot.
31:36And these are—in many of these cases that you just talked about, they're innocent bystanders.
31:40So, personally, my answer is, are we doing enough?
31:42Fifteen thousand guns off our streets.
31:45We created the—really, a unit that focused on removing these illegal guns.
31:53But, you know, when you have the shooting of Jonathan Dillon, Detective Jonathan Dillon,
31:59and you find out the person who was arrested was arrested 20 times previously,
32:04and the person in the car with him is out on a gun charge, yet he's back out on the street with a gun in the car with him,
32:11again, we're doing enough.
32:14Now, the question is, are the other parts of the criminal justice system doing enough?
32:18And, you know, I say over and over again that these police officers are working hard.
32:24They are committed.
32:26They have been in the streets going after.
32:28Yes, we have a double-digit decrease in homicide, double-digit decrease in shootings,
32:32thousands of guns removed off our streets, focusing on those who are carrying the guns.
32:38You know, we are doing our part, but it's a partnership,
32:43and every part of the partnership must be doing their job.
32:47A small number of people are committing repeated number of crimes.
32:52Hats off to Congressman Goldman, who stood with us, with Congressman Frost and other advocates, teachers,
32:59who talked about this, that we want to lean into informing parents how to safeguard guns in their homes.
33:07The chancellor is part of this initiative.
33:11Teen violence is an issue, and no act of violence against a young person is acceptable,
33:17and we're going to investigate every issue.
33:19It breaks our heart, all of us, all of us who have parents here.
33:22It breaks our heart when we see these shooters.
33:25When I spoke to that dad whose nephew, whose cousin shot his cousin, when I spoke to that dad,
33:34that dad could just barely talk, you know, a firefighter.
33:37It's not what's impactful, and that's why we have everything from Project Pivot, Saturday Night Lights,
33:45keeping children in schools after hours.
33:49You know, we're clear on this, and it doesn't happen by coincidence.
33:54Over $500 million from our blueprint to keep communities safe from gun violence
34:00and our recent move to surge 1,000 officers in our subway system.
34:03We had an uptick in January.
34:05You saw a decrease in February, March, April, May.
34:09John was telling me yesterday, he says, listen, you know, you've turned around what was happening on our subway system,
34:14and that's why we're placing on the subway gun detection, folks, you know, gun detection,
34:21because all those who are running around saying, you know, we don't need gun detection on the subway system,
34:26you know why they say that?
34:27They're not on the subways.
34:29You know, so I'm going to do everything possible to keep this city safe,
34:34and it breaks my heart when these young people have too much access to guns,
34:39and they're, you know, too many are using it, and that's my goal.
34:50You know, I voice my concerns with Raise the Age.
34:53I voice my concern for those who are repeated violent offenders.
34:59We need to adjust it.
35:01Repeated violent offenders, that's the issue that we're facing in this city,
35:06repeated violent offenders of all ages.
35:11Hi, Mr. Mayor.
35:12How are you?
35:13I'm good, how are you?
35:14Good, good to see you.
35:15Good to see you, too.
35:16So, do you feel like it was irresponsible of the governor to pull out the rug from congestion pricing without a plan B?
35:23I feel like you've often, you know, come up with a different strategy,
35:26like, you know, her lack of another strategy was concerning, especially for the MTA.
35:31And also, your possible primary opponent, Cuomo, is testifying in front of the House committee today.
35:38I'm just wondering what your thoughts of his handling of COVID nursing home death data was during the height of the pandemic.
35:45Well, one of the worst things you could do is train for an activity without knowing your opponent.
35:53So, I don't know all this possible stuff.
35:55I'm focused on running the city.
35:57There's a lot of time.
35:58We're going to have some great fun on the campaign trail in the upcoming months,
36:04and I'm looking forward to whomever is out there, just as I did the last time.
36:09Remember when I got Andrew Yang?
36:11Like, 13 points up in the poll.
36:13He was on skateboards.
36:14He was going to be the happiest guy.
36:16You know that?
36:17And then when he started dribbling, that smile turned into a frown, you know?
36:21So, listen, you've got to stay focused, no distractions, and...
36:27Grind.
36:28Thank you.
36:30So, listen.
36:32She didn't make hats or anything.
36:35So, he's testifying today.
36:37Congress is going to speak with him, and he'll make that determination.
36:41I'm just not taking cheap shots at people.
36:44You know, all of us have good days and bad days.
36:46And so he'll testify in front of Congress and explain what happened during that time.
36:52That was a very difficult time.
36:53I remember speaking to Bill de Blasio, who was the mayor of the lawmakers.
36:58None of us knew what to expect.
37:00It was a very difficult time for all of us, and I'm sure all of us would like to have done things differently.
37:06But he can testify and explain on his behalf.
37:09And then on the congestion pricing, do you feel like it was irresponsible?
37:12No, no.
37:13I think the governor, you know, being the chief executive of the country or the state, you have to make tough choices.
37:22And no matter what choice you make, there's going to be a large number of people that are going to support.
37:28There's going to be a large number of people that are going to be against.
37:32I mean, we're opening all of these new bathrooms, and people are like saying, well, it's not the color that I like, you know?
37:40People are holding press conferences because, you know, of why you need to do it sooner.
37:46So that's just the nature of being a chief executive.
37:49She made a decision.
37:50We need to support the governor who, no matter what decision she makes, she's not a Buffalo-only governor.
37:59Governor Hoku loves the state.
38:02And that's the place that I come from.
38:04How do you feel about the state?
38:06She loves the state.
38:08I love New York City.
38:11Do you love helping people?
38:14And that is where you can't take that away from the governor.
38:17And so she'll figure this out with the lawmakers up in Albany.
38:22Hi, Mr. Mayor.
38:23Yes, how are you?
38:24Good.
38:25I have two questions.
38:26Okay.
38:27So several weeks ago, Politico had a story in which Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said he was alarmed at the number of people in New York City.
38:37He was meeting that were Trump supporters, and that includes people of color.
38:42There's been a lot of talk about Trump and Republicans trying to make inroads with black voters.
38:49I'm wondering if you've come across that, too, whether you see a lot more Trump supporters than you might think would happen in a city like New York City.
39:01And then, secondly, my colleague today has a story about mopeds in Jackson Heights on their open streets.
39:11The council member there feels that the DOT will do a lot more to prevent that from happening.
39:17It seems like the signs just saying, no mopeds, it's not enough.
39:21And that community is really upset about this.
39:24Well, number one, this is a very opinionated city, and sometimes we don't realize the various opinions because we don't ask people what their opinions are.
39:37I still think this is a democratic town.
39:39I made it clear I support, you know, President Biden.
39:43I think he has done some very important things from the economy to public safety.
39:48And those one or two areas we disagree on, I mean, that's life.
39:52I don't agree with myself all the time.
39:54So I can't expect to agree with one or two areas is what is driving some voters towards.
40:01That's a great question. That's a great question, because, believe it or not, some voters are one issue voters, you know, because I've had voters who adored me.
40:14But as soon as we had 200,000 migrants and asylum seekers hit the city and not realizing that, you know, we're not in control of that until we went to town halls.
40:23We walked into town halls where people was, you know, hands crossed, looking at me, saying, we're ready to boo you.
40:30And then once we were able to explain to people, we walked out with, you know, lines of let's take a selfie with this guy.
40:37This is a working class guy.
40:39You know, misinformation, the lack of information will cause people to have this level of anger.
40:46People are angry right now. And that is just the reality of, you know, you're looking at the cost of living in the country.
40:53You're looking at things that feels like beyond your control.
40:57And that anger comes out in many ways. You know, I'm just hoping New Yorkers make the right decisions as we move forward.
41:05Your second question was on Mopet.
41:08You know, I love the fact that, you know, there's just a disconnect.
41:14Everyday New Yorkers, the police department and others, we realize that this is a problem.
41:21Yet you'd be surprised how many people who want to act like this is not a problem.
41:25And so when we move, I think our number is 41,000, 41,000.
41:32Almost 42.
41:34Almost 42,000 we removed off the streets of the city of New York.
41:39And we have to do more. We need to really look into everything from licenses to if we want to outlaw.
41:48We have to look at everything possible to control this menace that has really engulfed our streets.
41:53And we need to have delivery platforms play a vital role also.
41:58They have an obligation.
42:00So we are really, the Deputy Mayor is really looking into this to see how we can, with the police department, monitor the situation.
42:12We also got a real win in Albany.
42:15Limited use mopeds now have to be registered.
42:18So that's another hurdle that is presented for people who want to use them illegally.
42:24The 34th Street Open Street is a real oasis in Queens, which is a borough with very little parkland.
42:31So we certainly want to work with the community on making sure that it remains an oasis and look at alternatives around where we can have a bike corridor in addition to the enforcement that we're working on.
42:46One of the top issues at all of our town halls.
42:49Every town hall we did, I don't know if we had a town hall.
42:53Our senior town halls, it comes up.
42:55Our regular town halls, it comes up.
42:58One of the top issues.
42:59People are really concerned, particularly for older adults.
43:03Mr. Mayor, the governor in pausing congestion pricing cites that the city's economy is not back to pre-COVID levels.
43:10You often say the city is back.
43:12Who's right?
43:14Listen, the beauty of numbers, no one can argue the success that we have done.
43:22And everybody told us how many years they said it was going to take.
43:25I'm Torrey Springer.
43:26A year after we actually reached our milestone, Mayor.
43:29One year.
43:30One year prior.
43:32More jobs in the city's history.
43:36Small business jobs are open.
43:38How many under our administration?
43:40More than 40,000.
43:42Under our administration.
43:44So the economy is revving.
43:48Tourism is back.
43:49I think last year we had the fourth largest in the city's history.
43:53If you go down to Times Square, the city is humming, humming.
43:57And now we have to continue that success.
44:01Now is not the time to stop the success.
44:04We're pushing through all of these major projects.
44:07We are doing so many ribbon cuttings where people are using the space as their corporate headquarters.
44:14We're moving in the right direction.
44:16Folks didn't think we could do it.
44:18We cut black employment by 50%, right?
44:22Less than 8% since 2019 for the first time.
44:25So we don't want to do anything that's going to damage the success of the city.
44:30And so, again, the governor is doing a full evaluation.
44:34And, you know, we need to trust her leadership.
44:39Trust her leadership.
44:41She has really knocked it out of the park.
44:43The first female governor in the state of New York is showing what true leadership is about.
44:48And I trust her leadership.
44:51Mr. Mayor.
44:52What's going on?
44:53I'm good. How are you?
44:54Good.
44:55So last week the city council passed its advice consent bill over your protestations.
45:02Are you going to veto that measure?
45:04And I guess what would be next?
45:08And then separately, a couple of papers reported over the weekend that a grand jury has been impaled to review evidence in the investigation into your 2021 campaign.
45:21I'm wondering if you or the chief counsel could respond to that.
45:25I'm so glad you said me or the chief counsel.
45:30So, listen, they passed the legislation.
45:36The team, we're talking about the next steps.
45:39We have been communicating to see what the next steps are.
45:42We say, you know, we're clear we disagree.
45:44You know, these are one in a few things, a small number of things that we disagree on is all right.
45:50So we're going to decide what the next steps are.
45:53And then we move forward from there.
45:56But dealing with either I did a campaign.
46:01My counsel, when we held and dealing with what happened in the city of services, my counsel, Lisa Zomber, is responding to that.
46:13I got to I have to run the city. And that's what I'm doing.
46:15Lisa, you were happy to.
46:18The article that you're referring to over the weekend misunderstands federal practice.
46:23So in the federal system, subpoenas are served all the time during reviews.
46:30They're a tool to gather evidence after an AUSA issues a subpoena to anyone, whether for documents, whether for testimony.
46:40Technically, a grand jury review is pending.
46:45In reality, that does not mean that a grand jury has heard any evidence or will hear any evidence.
46:53Those are two separate things.
46:55So if a subpoena is served, it doesn't mean remotely in the federal system that a grand jury has been impaneled for that case.
47:03The reporting just really misunderstands federal practice and how it how it is different from state criminal practice.
47:10Thank you.
47:12Lisa, you want to tell us about Grover Cleveland as well?
47:21Hi, Mr. Mayor.
47:23How are you, sir?
47:25Well, OK, so I have I know I'm pushing it, but I have three quick questions.
47:30OK. You've had quite a successful legislative session.
47:35Yes. With Tiffany leading the team.
47:39So first question with regards to the minimum wage requirement for child care.
47:49Like how exactly are New York families going to be informed about this?
47:55I mean, I take it that the governor is going to sign it.
47:58But once it is signed, you know, how will word get out to our families that there is no longer that minimum wage for?
48:09First question. Second question with regards to the state that like how is that supposed to be implemented?
48:18How are you going to hold the social media companies accountable to implement and execute this safe act?
48:28And then my last and final question is there was an article in The Post over the weekend,
48:33Sue Edelman, where she talked about the CBOs and they're saying that they don't have security guards or safety agents.
48:41And we understand they're private organizations.
48:45But, Mr. Mayor, back in, I think, 2018, you and then Councilman Reynoso signed onto a letter that was pushing and advocating for covering the costs for security guards at charter schools.
49:07And if I'm not mistaken, that law was passed, but they excluded the charter schools, but they covered the security costs for yeshivas, parochial schools, madrasas.
49:21And that was something that you and actually Councilman Reynoso supported.
49:26So is that, you know, is that something that you would support covering the cost?
49:33And would you again support covering the cost for charter schools as well?
49:38So those are my three questions.
49:40First, the getting the information out on the ground.
49:44We want to make sure that we have our ethnic media.
49:49You know, that's why we need to make space for you here at City Hall.
49:54Yes, yes, yes.
49:55And, you know, you were the initiator of that when you came in.
49:58And I'm really proud of many of the outlets who agreed to share this desk with you as well because they see how important it is for us to diversify.
50:09So I'm really proud of them.
50:10I always talk bad about them sometimes, but they were so open arms to you having you come in.
50:15Thank you.
50:17Dealing with the third issue that you were talking about, I believe that I was in support of that.
50:25This is a different issue.
50:27We're talking about pre-K, pre-K.
50:29Some people have these facilities in their homes.
50:34You're not going to have a school safety agent sitting in the lobby of your building.
50:38You know, so we don't have school safety agents on private grounds and locations.
50:45We want to make sure.
50:47There was a group of young people, a small number, who were talking about, you know, school safety agents and not wanting school safety agents in their schools at all.
50:54And there was, you know, some folks who don't even have children in their schools talking about that as well.
51:00So we know the school buildings and the government facilities, we're supposed to have school safety agents.
51:07It is not realistic that every pre-K, pre-K site that there's a school safety agent.
51:13That's going to drive up the cost, and it is really not the best use of public safety resources.
51:27The only thing I'll say is that you all remember months ago Commissioner Fassan did a conference with young people to get their information about social media.
51:38After that, he issued a health advisory saying that social media, the concerns for it.
51:43So his plan is about outreach, awareness, and then holding people accountable.
51:47We had the social media companies come here.
51:49We had a conversation with them about what they could be doing differently.
51:53It's my understanding that this act will be signed.
51:55We'll probably have about a couple of months to work on implementation.
51:58So we'll continue to work very closely with the governor on that.
52:02But we also, as a city, the mayor has taken the lead on the mental health issues of young people.
52:08We see suicide ideations.
52:10We see the depression, anxiety.
52:13And so we want to work with them.
52:15They came in and they said that they wanted to work with us closely.
52:17We also had a lawsuit that we filed.
52:20And so I think all of those pieces together, Mona, go.
52:23And we'll continue to work with the governor very closely on that.
52:25So listen, we're going to need you guys to cooperate.
52:29This is like, you know, we're doing a fire drill.
52:31We need you to get out that door there so that we can do this off this director camera and I can go to my next few events.
52:39Okay, Katie?