Transcript: Mayor Adams Delivers Remarks at Citizen Budget Commission's Annual Gala

March 6, 2025

Mayor Eric Adams: It is so good to be here because things have been so boring for me these last few days. CBC, I know I'm joined here with my team, DM Meera Joshi, DM Camille Joseph Varlack, DM Tiffany Raspberry. 

You know, no matter what you do, particularly the business people who are in this room, our economic stimulus package starts with public safety. If we're not safe as a city, then no one will come here with the fourth largest tourism in the history of our city. People will not take our subways, people will not walk our streets, your businesses will not operate. 

What we have been able to do under the police commissioners and the men and women who wear that blue uniform every day and put on our bulletproof vests and stand on street corners protecting children and families, it has clearly been amazing. We have not surrendered to crime, we have not surrendered to disorder, and starting this year, in 2025, we have a 30-year low in shootings, we have double-digit decreases in crime above ground and below ground, we broke the records on jobs in the City of New York. We have the highest level of jobs, private sector jobs in the history of the city, we did it 8 times. 

More small businesses are operating in this city, one out of five started under this administration, cut the cost of child care from $55 a week to less than $5 a week. Removed over 20,000 illegal guns off our street, 80,000 illegal vehicles off our streets. 
Continuing to watch our economy recover because, in the beginning of this administration, I sat down with the CBC leadership and said how do we chart up a course that would be prepared for the inclement weather that we were expecting. 

We navigated out of COVID, we navigated out of violence, we navigated out of 230,000 migrants and asylum seekers with our North Star making sure that no child or family would sleep on the streets of the City of New York. And international immigrant leaders came to the city and said no one has done what New York City is doing and we're going back to Washington to tell them you should be the model for the entire country. 

We got it right folks, don't let anyone tell you that New York City is not thriving, moving forward and we have shown the compassion that this entire country should be known for and we're going to continue to do that. 

So CBC thank you, from back in 2021 when you sat down and gave me direction. And when S&P, when Moody's and when all other bond raters reinforced how well we've navigated us through these difficult times, job well done. The seed was planted then and we nurtured it and ensured that the fruits of their harvest have been refilled throughout the years. Thank you, keep doing the great job you're doing.

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