Zohran Mamdani delivers a striking message on policing, public safety, and changing political beliefs as he responds to criticism over his past positions. Mamdani makes clear that he does not support defunding the police and says he will work with the NYPD alongside other partners to keep New Yorkers safe. Pointing to record-low murders and shooting incidents during the first seven months of his administration, Mamdani argues that public safety should be measured by real results. His remarks highlight the evolving political debate over policing, accountability, and what effective public safety should look like in New York City.
#ZohranMamdani #Mamdani #MamdaniPolice #MamdaniNYPD #MamdaniPublicSafety #NewYorkCity #NYCPolitics #MamdaniNews #PoliceReform #PublicSafety #NYPD #NewYorkNews #MamdaniSpeech #MamdaniTrump #BreakingNews #NYCNews #MamdaniUpdates
~HT.410~ED.194~PR.460~VG.HM~
#ZohranMamdani #Mamdani #MamdaniPolice #MamdaniNYPD #MamdaniPublicSafety #NewYorkCity #NYCPolitics #MamdaniNews #PoliceReform #PublicSafety #NYPD #NewYorkNews #MamdaniSpeech #MamdaniTrump #BreakingNews #NYCNews #MamdaniUpdates
~HT.410~ED.194~PR.460~VG.HM~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you about something AOC said over the weekend that you probably heard in an interview where she quoted council
00:07member Chi Osei, who once said on Twitter or X, woke one was crazy.
00:14And she was talking about it in response to questions about whether the left has some sort of during that
00:25time, whether how she responds to some unpopular or controversial proposals on the left, like defund the police.
00:35And I wonder what you'd make of that. What do you make of that statement? Because you yourself have walked
00:41back, defund the police. Do you think woke one was crazy?
00:49Look, I think that each person has a responsibility to tell New Yorkers to tell Americans when they're running for
00:59office what they believe.
01:01And sometimes what you believe can change. It can develop. It can grow. And I know that there are some
01:07for whom they still believe in that.
01:09I've made very clear that I do not believe in defunding the police, that I will not be defunding the
01:14police.
01:15And that to me, delivering critical public safety also looks like working with our police department alongside many other partners.
01:23And we've seen over the first seven months of this administration what that can look like when we're talking about
01:28the fewest murders on record in New York City, the fewest shooting incidents on record in New York City.
01:34And that to me is how we measure a lot of our public safety.
01:37We know that for too many Bronxites, riding a bus in our city doesn't get you where you need to
01:43go.
01:43It gets you frustrated, delayed, oftentimes inconvenienced.
01:48The VX36 that is supposed to take you to work on time arrives 15 minutes behind schedule.
01:54The bus that crawls along at a pace slower than you can walk.
01:57The school drop-off you are late to. The recital that you miss.
02:00In a city where time is money, the working people who rely on our bus system have repeatedly seen their
02:06precious time treated as if it does not matter.
02:09We are standing at the fifth busiest bus route in the Bronx that serves nearly 40,000 New Yorkers each
02:16day in an area where 72% of households do not own a car.
02:21And it is one of the few corridors that residents can rely on to traverse the borough from east to
02:26west.
02:27And yet while the wheels on the bus may go round and round in the nursery rhyme, the wheels of
02:32the VX36 rotate slower than nearly anywhere else in New York City at a less than five mile per hour
02:39pace.
02:39This avenue, however, isn't just known for its slow buses.
02:43It is also one that is known to be notoriously dangerous.
02:48630 people were injured in crashes on this corridor between 2020 and 2024, including four New Yorkers who tragically lost
02:56their lives.
02:57For years, riders of the VX36 have called for faster service and safer streets.
03:02And for a brief moment last year, it seemed like their calls might have finally been heard.
03:07In February of 2025, the DOT's plan for a Tremont Avenue busway was fully designed and ready to go.
03:14Installation was slated to begin that spring.
03:17Yet before the project could get underway, it was abruptly canceled by the previous administration.
03:22Thanks to our historic bus action plan, City Hall is bringing the Tremont Avenue busway back to life.
03:32New Yorkers will feel this change almost immediately.
03:35Come September 19th, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day.
03:39Only buses, trucks with more than six wheels, accessor ride vans, emergency vehicles, and bicycles will be allowed to travel
03:46the length of this corridor.
03:47Buses will not only run faster on Tremont Avenue, they will run safer, too.
03:52We will add painted sidewalk extensions to shorten crossing distances for pedestrians and force vehicles to slow down as they
03:58turn corners.
03:59And we will reinforce these extensions with granite blocks and bicycle racks to discourage illegal vehicle parking along the route.
04:06Other busways like this one have already achieved success across our city.
04:10We anticipate that these changes will improve bus speeds by up to 60%, saving riders up to six minutes per
04:19trip, and decrease pedestrian and cyclist injuries by up to 45%.
04:23These numbers are not abstract.
04:26They will reflect a real, measurable difference for the New Yorkers who commute on the BX36.
04:31After all, it doesn't take a magic school bus to take you where you need to go.
04:35So it just takes a busway.
04:37Thank you very much.
04:38Mayor, you had the first bus town hall event last week.
04:42Are you planning on doing something similar in the Bronx for this, you know, bus rapid transit plan over here
04:51on Tremont?
04:52You know, we are going to continue to engage with New Yorkers to hear from them of how best we
04:57can speed up their commutes.
04:59I'm going to pass it over to our Deputy Mayor Julia Kirsten to speak more about the additional details on
05:03this.
05:05Yes, we will be kicking off community engagement here later this year.
05:09Thanks, Ethan.
05:11Other on topics?
05:11Dave from StreetsBlog.
05:17Hey, how's it going?
05:18How's it going, Dave?
05:19Great.
05:20Love this busway.
05:21What's today's t-shirt?
05:22It's Connelly's.
05:24You ever been down there in Rockaway?
05:26Got to go.
05:27Got to frozen.
05:28So we're very excited about this busway here at StreetsBlog.
05:33But we also all know that a busway, bus lanes, they're only as good as the enforcement keeping cars out
05:40of them.
05:40And NYPD data showed last week that the uniformed officers in the department only give out nine bus lane tickets
05:49for parking in bus lanes across the entire city in a week.
05:53And I know that the NYPD is supposed to be a really big partner in the fast buses plan.
05:59So what do you have to say about that kind of effort, given how important they are to keeping bus
06:05lanes clear, bus stops clear, places like that?
06:07I think, as you said, enforcement is critical to ensuring that our buses can actually travel at the speed that
06:12we are building the streetscape for them.
06:14In addition to NYPD enforcement, though, one critical part of this is also ACE and ABLE and ensuring that we
06:21are expanding the number of miles across the city where we are able to hold those accountable who are deliberately
06:29trying to slow down our buses by being in those very lanes, oftentimes seen by consecutive buses.
06:36So we will follow up on whatever enforcement that we can enhance.
06:40However, the importance of enforcement is not lost on us at all.
06:42Thank you. All right. Andrew from NBC.
06:45Thank you. So, Mayor, everyone knows you campaigned on fast and free and you have talked recently about you still
06:53want to pursue free.
06:55But New Yorkers now understand that's not happening right away.
06:57But on the fast part of it, level setting wise, are these busways going to make buses fast or just
07:04faster from the slowest in the country?
07:07Because six minutes each way, there might be some New Yorkers hearing about this saying, doesn't sound very fast to
07:12me.
07:13You know, I think every day is an opportunity to do better for the city.
07:17The first thing we want to do is improve from where we are.
07:20As you've said, we're talking about a bus that at times is crawling at slower than five miles an hour.
07:24So, yes, we have to make it faster. Our goal is to make it fast.
07:28And what that is going to come from is not only the busways that we're speaking about, like the one
07:33on Tremont today,
07:34but it's also going to come at its peak from bus rapid transit.
07:38And that is an example of how we are going to utilize every tool that we have to make it
07:43such that these are not only achievements relative to where we were prior to this administration,
07:47but they are achievements in and of themselves.
07:49Thank you, Andrew.
07:50Other on-topic questions?
07:54Okay, thank you.
07:55We'll now move on to off-topics.
07:58And we'll start with Liz Kim from Gothamist.
08:02Just give a minute for our speakers.
08:04Hi, Mr. Mayor. Good morning.
08:05Good morning. How are you?
08:06Good.
08:07I want to ask you about something AOC said over the weekend that you probably heard in an interview where
08:13she quoted Councilmember Chi Osei,
08:16who once said on Twitter or X, woke one was crazy.
08:22And she was talking about it in response to questions about whether the left has some sort of, during that
08:33time,
08:34how she responds to some unpopular or controversial proposals on the left, like defund the police.
08:43And I wonder what you make of that statement, because you yourself have walked back, defund the police.
08:52Do you think woke one was crazy?
08:57Look, I think that each person has a responsibility to tell New Yorkers, to tell Americans when they're running for
09:08office what they believe.
09:09And sometimes what you believe can change.
09:12It can develop.
09:13It can grow.
09:14And I know that there are some for whom they still believe in that.
09:17I've made very clear that I do not believe in defunding the police, that I will not be defunding the
09:22police.
09:23And that, to me, delivering critical public safety also looks like working with our police department alongside many other partners.
09:31And we've seen over the first seven months of this administration what that can look like when we're talking about
09:36the fewest murders on record in New York City,
09:40the fewest shooting incidents on record in New York City.
09:42And that, to me, is how we measure a lot of our public safety.
09:46We're going to go to Fariha from City and State.
09:50Morning, Mr. Mayor.
09:51Morning, how are you?
09:52Hi, doing good.
09:53So, as of recently as last fall, the NYPD would go to conferences in Israel with the Israeli National Police.
10:02This past January, Speaker Julie Menon also mentioned that she would not stop plans if the council had plans to
10:08take these trips to Israel.
10:09Based on the recent comments that you've made against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, does the NYPD or the City Council
10:17have current plans to visit Israel this fall?
10:19And if so, do you think that your comments might cause a backlash on their reception?
10:24I don't know what the City Council's plans are.
10:27They're an independent body, and I'll leave it to the speaker to answer that question.
10:30I can follow up with the NYPD to find about those plans.
10:33I'll tell you, most of my focus today is Tremont Avenue busway, but I will follow up on that and
10:37we'll let you know.
10:38Thanks.
10:38We'll go to Heather from News 12.
10:41Hi, Mayor.
10:41How are you?
10:42Doing well.
10:42How are you?
10:43Good.
10:44So, a group of organizations are conducting sit-ins at courthouses across the city to review arraignments and just watch
10:53in on them.
10:54They're saying under your administration, low-level arrests have remained high or even increased.
11:01They also cited data from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice that the number of arrests from January to June
11:08of this year exceeded 50%.
11:11They're kind of calling on you to address this and stand up to your campaign promises of addressing low-level
11:17arrests.
11:18I just wanted your response on this.
11:19They're supposed to be releasing their findings tomorrow.
11:21Well, I look forward to the release of their findings, and I think that if I'm understanding your question correctly,
11:27if they're engaging in court watch and they're going to observe these kinds of proceedings, that's an important part of
11:32our criminal legal system.
11:33And I've made very clear that I don't believe New Yorkers should have to choose between safety and justice.
11:39We have to be able to deliver both of these things.
11:41And I was sharing earlier about some of the achievements that our administration is proud of when it comes to
11:46the fewest murders on record
11:48and it comes to the fewest shooting incidents on record.
11:50And also, we know that every single day is an opportunity to do better.
11:53So I look forward to the findings, and we'll review those.
11:56Thank you, Heather.
11:56Okay, I've got time for two more.
11:58We'll go to Chris from Politico, and then we'll go to Catherine.
12:02Chris, did you recently get married?
12:05No.
12:06Oh.
12:06I know you did.
12:08Well, I mean, somewhat.
12:09I just saw your wedding ring, and I've never seen it before.
12:11Yep.
12:12No, it's been like a decade.
12:14Oh.
12:14Are you always trying to throw me off before I ask you questions?
12:17I'm starting to sense a trend here.
12:19I just wanted to wish you congratulations.
12:21Anyways, one to ask you about...
12:24Just deserving things we're all thinking.
12:25I wanted to ask you two very different things, having nothing to do with what you just talked about.
12:30The Elizabeth Street Garden.
12:32Your administration is going to walk away from the plan to build housing in the garden.
12:37How do you explain doing this, given you promised last year that you would move forward with that plan?
12:43And then on a totally different topic, the City Council announced today that it's launching an investigation into prediction markets.
12:52I'm curious where you stand on the idea of regulating prediction markets.
12:57Do you think there needs to be more regulation on that in order to protect from deceptive marketing practices?
13:03And who do you think should ultimately regulate prediction markets, the state or the federal government?
13:10I think to be direct, yes.
13:14I think there needs to be more regulation.
13:15I think it's an open conversation as to what each level of government should do.
13:21However, I don't think that we have seen the limits of that regulation as yet.
13:24And I appreciate especially the Attorney General for having taken action on this.
13:30I think it was a couple of weeks ago.
13:32And on your first question, you know, it was in the campaign itself before the general election that I shared
13:39with New Yorkers that the actions of former First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro made it nearly impossible for any future
13:45administration to be able to fulfill a vision of building housing on the Elizabeth Street Garden site.
13:50So while we are working to resolve the lawsuit with the developers who are set to build upon that site,
13:57we continue to believe in the importance of building more affordable housing.
14:00And that is why we are going to be building more than 180 homes at 22 Suffolk Street and more
14:07at 100 gold as well.
14:15And that's what I said over the course in the final, I think it was maybe it was a week
14:19before the general election.
14:20And that those actions made it nearly impossible for us to move forward.
14:24Thank you, Chris.
14:25Last question will be Catherine from Chris.
14:28Hi, Mayor.
14:29Hi, how are you?
14:29Good. How's it going?
14:30Good.
14:31On the pied-a-terre lawsuit, the city has continued to implement the tax while it appeals the decision from
14:37Monday.
14:37But if the court ultimately rules in favor of the plaintiffs in that case, does that mean all this implementation
14:43work is for nothing?
14:44Like, is the city doing anything to sort of prepare for that fact if, you know, they have to start
14:50from scratch?
14:51And also on Elizabeth Street Garden, did you ask the legislature after coming into office if they would at all
14:57be willing to explore lifting that designation?
15:00I think we've been clear that the actions of the prior administration made it nearly impossible to proceed on that
15:06vision and proceed on it in a way that would be realistic.
15:10And when it comes to your first question, we continue to be confident not only in the importance of a
15:16tax on secondary homes worth more than $5 million in the necessity of the half a billion dollars it would
15:22raise towards making sure that our streets are safer, making sure that our schools are stronger, that our city is
15:27more affordable.
15:28And also our law department has informed Mr. Mastro that it will appear before the appellate division second department on
15:34Thursday morning to address the stay and any other related matters.
Comments