Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams Delivers Address on Future of New York City

April 26, 2022

Moderator: Welcome to the address on Mayor Eric Adams' first 100 days, and the future of New York City.

Moderator: Performing the national anthem, please welcome Detective Makia Brown.

Detective Makia Brown, Police Department: [Singing].

Moderator: To perform Lift Every Voice and Sing, please welcome firefighter Regina Wilson.

Firefighter Regina Wilson, Fire Department: [Singing].

Moderator: Please welcome Imam Hassan Akbar, Bishop Victor Brown, Rabbi Moishe Indig, Venerable Youwang Shih, and Rabbi Rachel Timoner.

Imam Hassan Akbar: [Foreign language]. We begin in the name of the magnificent creator of all things, the one who is most compassionate and most wise. Ladies and gentlemen, let us take a brief moment of silence to mark the first 100 days in office for our Mayor Eric Adams, and to acknowledge his staff and all who are present who seek and desire to build a better and brighter New York City.

Imam Akbar: Allah says in The Holy Quran, "[Foreign language]. All my servants, call upon me, and I will certainly answer your call." In that spirit, we pray. We ask the almighty, the creator of the heavens and the earth, to bless this gathering, and we beseech you for your blessings as we offer various forms of prayer, seeking that reward that only you could give.

Imam Akbar: In your perfect words found in the Quran and the Torah, in the gospel and in the Psalms, and in every divine book that you have sent; you have put forth a vision of that perfect world. We beseech you that you lead us from hate to love, from violence to peace, and from despair to hope. We ask you, O Almighty, to help us to eliminate poverty, oppression, and prejudice in all of its forms. And we that you help us to make New York City a meeting ground for different cultures and faiths and ideas where women and men can gather together and find the fulfillment of their humanity. We ask you, O God, to accept our prayers. Amen.

Bishop Victor Brown: Let us pray. Oh God, creator and sustainer of this universe; we who are gathered today reverently paused in time and space to give thee thanks for the precious gift of life. In the midst of these tumultuous times, times tainted by COVID, crime and chaos; by your divine prerogative, you have prepared, sanctioned, anointed, elevated, and bestowed the governing mantle of this great city to my friend and brother, the Honorable Eric Adams. He comes to the task having embraced the urgency of this defining hour. In the poignant words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who remarked, "Now is not the time to engage in the luxury of cooling off, or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism."

Bishop Brown: Continue to grant unto our mayor the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Sampson, the moral conviction of Amos, the patience and vigilance of Job, the audacious faith of Noah, the liberating power of Moses, the tenacity of Nehemiah, the visionary prowess of John, and the ubiquitous and unwavering love of Christ for all who comprise his city.

Bishop Brown: And then God, infuse us all with a cooperating spirit to partner with our mayor in making this the best and safest city in the nation. Bless our mayor and his administration, bless the empire state, bless the people of Ukraine, and God bless America. We pray. Amen.

Crowd: Amen.

Rabbi Moishe Indig: A father asked his son, "Five strands of hair is a lot or a little?" The son replied, "It depends where it is. If it's in a cup of coffee, it's a lot. It's on the head? It's a little." We celebrate now 100 days. 100 days of fishing is a lot, but 100 days of working, bringing back the city, doing so much hard work, it's a little.

Rabbi Indig: Thomas Edison once said, "Our greatest weakness is giving up." The most certain way to succeed is always to try, try again, and one more time. Our esteemed mayor is an example of someone who succeeds every time he tries, and the City of New York is the beneficiary of this great effort. With every move forward, we ask you, Mr. Mayor, please do it one more time.

Rabbi Indig: So, let us pray. We ask you God to please bestow your blessings on the Honorable Major Eric Adams. Give him the conviction and fortitude to continue his great work, and may his leadership lead to a more secured and unified society. Please bless the City of New York with success, safety, and peace of mind. Maybe we be it, Almighty God, all see a great hand of guidance with glory and love. Amen.

Venerable Youwang Shih: Let us pray to the Buddha and our spiritual leaders. Dearest Buddha. We come today to you in this thankfulness for guiding the leadership of Mayor Adams and his administration. We are aware of the many challenges that come from them, and all New York's public servants. May they rely upon your wise counsel as they address the needs of our citizens. We have learned from your teachings that all events are interdependent, and that past actions bear the fruits of present situations. We also know that how our government addresses current events will sow the seeds for the illness or health of our city for years to come.

Venerable Shih: Please also Buddha, may your teachings remind our citizens of their moral responsibility to one another. Remind them that our racials and cultural identities are but the exterior of our oneness. Remind them that all citizens desire to live in safety and prosperity. All citizens are deserving of loving kindness, compassion, and joy. Dear Buddha, we therefore pledge to be part of the solution, working with Mayor Adams and public officials. We understand that only by working together can we achieve a healthy, vibrant community. Dear Buddha, compassionate Buddha, please listen to our sincere prayer. Please accept our sincerest prayer. [Foreign language].

Rabbi Rachel Timoner: Dear God, holy one of blessings. You have created every New Yorker in your image without exception. That is why the inequality that we live with as if it was normal is an affront to you. Trying to fix it seems to us to be complicated, because we must work in the realm of budgets and policies and competing interests. But we know that from your perspective, it is not complicated at all. We know that from your perspective, in a city with magnificent prosperity, of course every child and every adult should have all they need to eat, plenty, and safe and secure and affordable housing, an education that uplifts them and inspires and is integrated, and quality and abundant healthcare and mental healthcare, and dignified work that gives them enough to live, and freedom from behind bars, and freedom from oppression and all forms of violence.

Rabbi Timoner: Bless those of us who have enough with knowing that we have enough, and knowing that we will only be well when everyone has enough. Bless our mayor and every person elected and appointed to govern and represent our people, with the courage and the clarity to see through the tangle of complexity, and bring your clarity and the clarity of the Hebrew prophets who taught us in loud voices to bring your justice and your love to every block, and every district, and every zip code, and every borough, and all of our city. And we say together, amen.

[Audio plays]

Moderator: Please welcome former New York City police officer, State Senator and Brooklyn borough president, and currently the 110th mayor of the great City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams.

[Applause]

Mayor Eric Adams: I feel sorry for people that live in a small town and don't live in New York. Just a good feeling, where we are, my fellow New Yorkers. We are here together at last. For two years, we have lived in an alternate version of our city, separated from friends, families, and colleagues, worried about going to school, to work, about staying healthy and our fear was justified.

Mayor Adams: We saw over 40,000 of our fellow New Yorkers die of COVID-19. This pandemic was a mass tragedy unlike anything we have experienced in modern era. But New Yorkers never faulted. We adapted. We improvised. We looked out for each other. We endured, despite the fear, the trauma, the uncertainty, and the heartbreak. We kept going because every New Yorker knew in their hearts that our city will come back. It's already happening. I can feel it everywhere I go. The state of the city is strong because New Yorkers have never been stronger. We've been through a lot. We have struggled and survived. After two years, we are ready to be together again. Reunited and it feels so good.

Mayor Adams: We are still in a time of profound concern, and this city is prepared to keep New Yorkers safe and healthy, no matter what the future brings. And part of that is because of the partnership we have with our City Council and my amazing friend, Adrienne Adams. We were high school students together. You and I both lost our mommies this last year. They're looking down on us and they're telling us, "You got this, baby. You got this." I thank you so much. Adams and Adams Law Firm is going to bring us through this.

Mayor Adams: But we have always known that our city would never be defined by the tragedy, the spirit of New York City will always prevail. We saw that spirit in the millions of essential workers, the city employees who kept us going throughout the pandemic. We saw it just two weeks ago, when a gunman attacked our subway. Transit workers, first responders, police officers, and every day New Yorkers took action to save lives and apprehend the suspect. I want to thank all of you, especially those who are here today with us. Please stand up.

[Applause]

Mayor Adams: Your courage and compassion are what this city is all about. That's sustained us through the first 100 days of this administration, and courage and compassion are what we need to rebuild this city going forward. This is the way President Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose to lead and his example inspires me. And the years after the Great Depression, America faced a cascade of crisis, not unlike what we are experiencing today. Then just as now, there was no easy solution or quick fix. FDR, like ELA understood that people needed an honest and reckoning of the problems and bold plans to solve them. That is what I intend to deliver for my fellow New Yorkers. The truth is, these first 100 days were not easy for our city. We have been tried and tested by some of the most historic difficulties and urgent crises this city has ever gone through.

Mayor Adams: The pandemic has hollowed out our economy and threatened people's livelihoods, stability, and mental health. Housing prices remain out of the reach of working people of this city. Too many of our brothers and sisters are living on the streets, in need of support and shelter. People are still dying from gun violence. It breaks my heart over and over. It keeps me up night after night. New Yorkers have a right to be angry, a right to expect more, to feel safe, to be safe, to know that your city is looking out for you, your family, and those in need. That is why we went all in, and will continue to say, we're getting stuff done during this first 100 days.

Mayor Adams: Let's look at the numbers in the first 100 days. Listen to this, New Yorkers. People are asking what your Police Department is doing. We removed 2,300 illegal guns off our street, 23 illegal guns. And so when you hear people say, "We don't need our police." Let me tell you right here and right now, I will support my police and we will make our city a safe city. And there's a covenant and commitment I'm giving to you. We will give the police the tools they deserve and they require, but my men and women that black wear blue uniform, we will not be abusive to the public that we swore to serve and protect. That is our obligation. That's the partnership.

Mayor Adams: But we've done more than just dealt with the issues of crime. We've added more than 50,000 jobs in the first three months of this year. Significantly, outpacing the national average. Unemployment rate dropped to 6.65% in March, down from 7.4% in December 2021. Hotel rooms demand is now at 86% of pre pandemic levels, up from 63% in January of this year. We have ensured that more than 97% of adults in New York City have at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 97%. That's the number we should be proud of, and you should applaud yourselves for. We have seen a nearly 70% increase in school attendance and continuing low levels of COVID in our schools. People question my ability to keep the schools open, and I made it clear, my children will be in school, where they need to be.

Mayor Adams: We have added nearly 100,000 new beds for homeless New Yorkers, moved 2,500 families into shelters, and placed another 2,700 New Yorkers into subsidized housing. Let's be clear, New Yorkers, there is no dignity in sleeping on the streets. There is no dignity in sleeping on the streets. Our fellow brothers and sisters deserve better, and we're going to give them better. But this is only the start of our efforts to revitalize and rebuild the city. Now is the time to look to the future. To get there, we need a vision. One that we can all share in.

Mayor Adams: My vision of our shared future is this, a city of safety and abundance with jobs, housing, and care for all, a city where our children can play, breathe and thrive, where education embraces the whole child and supports our families. A city will be capitalized progress being made in new forms of energy, transit and commerce. A city that empowers people to live their best possible lives with access to green space, healthy food and preventive healthcare. A city that's inclusive, fair, and responsive to those who call it home. A city that inspires and welcomes all the world. This is the city New Yorkers want and deserve, and it is all possible, if we work together.

Mayor Adams: There are four main areas that we will focus on as we go forward, protecting our people, growing our economy, uplifting our youth, and building our infrastructure. Our new budget reflects those values and provides for them. This budget puts people, especially those who have often been left behind, front and center. Success won't be measured by how much we spend, but how much we accomplish. First, some good news. Despite the massive shocks to our system in the past two years, our city enters fiscal year 2023 on strong financial footing. This is the result of effective planning and fiscal responsibility.

Mayor Adams: Earlier this year, we achieved a savings of almost $2 billion across two fiscal years through our successful program to eliminate the gap, your tax dollars. Since we released this preliminary budget in February, we have also seen an increase in revenues and found opportunities to roll federal funds into the next fiscal year. This will allow us to direct additional funding to programs that address our most urgent challenges. As a result, the executive budget we released today is 99.7 billion dollars. Fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023 remain balanced, and we have a manageable out year gap. In our executive budget, we have achieved more than $400 million in savings over fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

Mayor Adams: How do I tell you to manage your household when we are not managing your tax dollars in our city? We will do that, what we are asking you to do. We are adding 200 million dollars to the rainy day fund, bringing a total level of reserves to a new record of 6.3 billion dollars in fiscal year 2023, the highest it has ever been. This successful management of our resources will allow us to increase investments and critical priorities, fund transformative new policies. Most importantly, it will allow us to devote resources to upstream solutions, not only downstream demands.

Mayor Adams: We must engage and build a strong civic infrastructure that supports New Yorkers throughout their lives, not only in times of crisis. There is no doubt in my mind that New York City will make a full recovery and come back stronger and more resilient than before. But this is only possible if we continue to make public safety our top priority. Safety and justice are the prerequisite of prosperity. We cannot have a city where people are afraid to walk the streets, ride the subway, or send their children to school. And our first 100 days, crime and tragedy looked far too many times and took lives of innocent people. A deadly fire in the Bronx, killed dozens of neighbors and broke the hearts of the Gambian community. And I want to thank Borough President Vanessa Gibson for being on the ground and all of those Bronx electeds who were on the ground doing what needed to be done, responded in a real way.

Mayor Adams: We knew what happened those days and we knew how we responded accordingly. And on Sunday, we lost two more New Yorkers. Carlos Richards, a young man trapped in the burning building in Canarsie, one of our bravest firefighters, Timothy Klein, six year veteran of the Fire Department. They are mourned by this city and their families, and the Fire Department will never forget the sacrifice of firefighter Klein. We will never forget. The city will always stand with our first responders, the men and women who protect us, because keeping New Yorkers safe is essential to keeping our city going strong. There's still far too much violence in our communities. Black and brown lives remain at risk and hate crimes continue to be directed at Asians, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, and LGBTQ plus communities and other New Yorkers.

Mayor Adams: Our sister Michelle Go was pushed to her death in front of a train, an act of horrifying hatred. Remember embracing her mother and her dad, and just feeling the pain of losing such a promising life at such an innocent moment in her life. Dozens more of our neighbors have been killed by gun violence. Unhoused New Yorkers were shot while they were sleeping on the street. An inspiring rapper was executed in cold blood. A 19 year old girl was killed as she worked the night shift in East Harlem.

Mayor Adams: We saw a grandmother wounded, six bullets in a young girl. An 11 month old baby shot in the head. And two of our police officers were shot dead responding to a call. Their names will echo in our hearts forever. Crystal, Jayquan, Kay, Sally, Angelia, Detectives Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera. The families and loved ones of many of these New Yorkers are here with us today. Please stand up and show them the appreciation we have for them.

[Applause]

Mayor Adams: I want to speak directly to you. I can only imagine the loss you feel and the pain you live with, but I will not rest until we have addressed the conditions that led to that loss. We would do what is necessary to make all of our communities safe. You have my word, as a former police officer, a fellow New Yorker, and as your mayor. This is why this budget includes funding for our blueprint to end gun violence, our plan to confront increased crime with strategic focus and realistic solutions.

Mayor Adams: The plan ensures that the NYPD is laser focused on apprehending the small number of individuals responsible for the majority of gun trafficking and shootings in our city. And we are not going it alone. Together in partnership with President Biden, Governor Hochul, and law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal level, we're working to cut off the flow of illegal guns into our city and crack down on repeat offenders.

Mayor Adams: We're also funding a subway safety plan designed to provide our city with a transit system that's safe, reliable, and clean. And yes, it is essential that we empower our police officers and focus on the downstream impacts of crime and disorder. But what often gets less attention are the upstream solutions. These investments we are making in our most vulnerable brothers and sisters will help keep them and our entire city safe, because public safety is not just about police. It's about people.

Mayor Adams: That is why this budget includes $55 million to expand the B-HEARD program, which stands for Behavior Health Emergency Assistance Response Division. There are teams of EMTs and mental health professionals that respond to 911 calls involving mental health issues. This is not my idea. This is your idea. You told me you needed this and I heard you, and we put it in the budget and expanded it. Not every emergency call needs the police. B-HEARD teams deescalate tense situations and connect people in crises to the care they need. You know I did something right because Jumaane stood up and applauded me.

Mayor Adams: Our future will expand this program to more high-need neighborhoods, Central Brooklyn, Eastern Queens, and the South Bronx. We will also continue to support our crisis management team and violence interrupters all over this city. Some of them are here today. I love them so much AT Mitchell, [inaudible]. These organizations are out there on the front line during the work. Your work is a proven part of reducing violent crimes across our city and we thank you for your commitment and courage.

Mayor Adams: Public safety also means supporting those who need a second chance. That is why we're ensuring that every youth parolee will now have a mentor, someone to help guide them back to the right path after they have been incarcerated. Public safety isn't just about bringing down crime rate. It's about helping those who need it most, including those experiencing homelessness, many of whom are at risk from violence to themselves. That is why we are investing more than $170 million in 1,400 new beds as safe havens and other facilities designed to serve those who have the hardest time moving in traditional shelters.

Mayor Adams: Let me tell you something. It's going to be hard for people to hate me, because we are listening to those who have been on the ground. Working with Speaker Adams in the City Council, we will continue to make this a top priority. In addition to this increased capacity, our social service teams are expanding their road to connect New Yorkers in need to the services and housing options available to them, because it isn't just about building more shelters. It's about building trust.

Mayor Adams: This is the work so many in our city have done. And today I want to thank some of the individuals working every day to deliver housing and hope to those who need it most. My brother, Shams DaBaron. Where's Sham? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Formerly homeless, taking your pain and turning into purpose and making sure that other people are not experiencing that same pain. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[Applause]

Mayor Adams: Rob Robinson also here, please stand, Rob. Thank you. Making sure that our brothers and sisters who have lived through homelessness have a voice in our city. Keeping New Yorkers safe is the key to economic recovery. But we must also use this moment to reimagine our economic system to promote equity and address longstanding problems and historic injustices. Make no mistake, we must restore the major drivers of our city's economy, including the central business districts that have been critical engines of success for centuries, who are making big investments in the cleanliness and safety of our streets and supporting our businesses in Midtown and Lower Manhattan.

Mayor Adams: We're looking at all of our commercial corridors and every borough. But we would not stop there. Our executive budget includes significant investments in jobs and opportunities across the city, including more than $140 million for major new capital investments and Hunts Point in the Bronx. Thank you, Councilman Salamanca for bringing this to our attention and doing what's right. [Inaudible] is to help our small businesses thrive and expand access to city funds for women and minority owned businesses who have been denied for far too long.

Mayor Adams: These are just a few of the more than 70 concrete initiatives we had laid out for our city's economic recovery. By simply creating jobs is one way, but that is not enough. We must do more. Too often in the past, our city has not done enough to help young New Yorkers get the kind of jobs that would transform their futures. If we want to tackle high unemployment in communities of color, we must actively create opportunity. That means educating our youth for the jobs for the future and providing direct on-ramps to those jobs.

Mayor Adams: That's why our executive budget includes $5 million in fiscal year 2023, to help the City University of New York train students for the most in-demand skills and connect them to good jobs at companies that are hiring. To my corporations, support my 100% paid internship programs so our children can have the opportunities that they desire. We're going to see the partnership with some of the largest employers in our fastest growing sectors, including life sciences, green jobs, techs, and advanced manufacturing.

Mayor Adams: That is what we mean when we talk about upstream solutions. It also means investing in an economic ecosystem where New Yorkers can access all the ingredients for jobs, innovation, and economic opportunity in one place. The process is already underway all over the five boroughs in Manhattan. We're expanding the fast growing life scientists and healthcare hub in Kips Bay. Thanks so much, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer for your vision in this area, getting it right.

Mayor Adams: Today we are announcing that the city will be working with Taconic Partners, DivcoWest, and NYU to build new space on First Avenue for cutting edge research, workforce training, and new startups. A child from Brownsville will learn the skills so he can go to Manhattan and be employed in the new science that's facing our city and our country.

Mayor Adams: We are also helping to bring more lab space online at the Alexandria Center, which has anchored our local biotech industry for over a decade. Together, these two projects will nearly double lab space in Kips Bay and further establish it as the hub for life sciences in our city. Meanwhile, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, we continue to grow emerging tech and manufacturing companies and connect young people to those opportunities through the Brooklyn Steam Center, an amazing initiative.

Mayor Adams: Our working waterfronts in Sunset Park and Staten Island, we are establishing New York city as a global offshore wind hub to power our future and create thousands of jobs. And across the water on Governors Island, we are building a new academic campus. It will become fantasy island. We're going to do the research and test climate solutions for New Yorkers and the entire globe.

Mayor Adams: To support this hub of opportunity, the executive budget also includes new funding to expand ferry capacity at Yankee Pier, so that more New Yorkers can access the 7,000 jobs and educational opportunities we are creating on Governors Island, because our economy is not some abstract concept. Behind every job is a worker who's driving our city into the future. That's why we must also re-commit to protecting our city workers and support labor unions across our city.

Mayor Adams: Union power is people power. It keeps New York city going strong. I know what it's like to put on a uniform and work a shift in the services of others. My administration is going to make sure union members get the wages, the rights, and care they deserve. That is why in my first 100 days, we delivered raises for essential gig workers. It is why we are going to continue to stand in solidarity with people and unions working in this city. New York City is the largest union town in America.

Mayor Adams: Just a few weeks ago, this union town got even bigger, thanks to our brothers, Chris Smalls and Derrick Palmer, who successfully led the effort to unionize Amazon. Up, stand up. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[Applause]

Mayor Adams: Let me tell you something. I'm the first mayor probably that has ever been a union member. I know what it is to worry about your healthcare, to worry about your pension, to worry about putting food on the table, of what you did, and send a symbol.

Mayor Adams: You don't have to wear a suit and tie to mobilize and organize. All you've got to do is just have the ability to do so. Thank you for what you have done. Thank you. I noticed when you stood up, you had a tattoo. You made me want to get a tattoo. Now there are some critics who promote the view that City Hall cannot serve both broken people in the business community. But in fact, that is precisely the role of a fair and democratically elected leader.

Mayor Adams: You have heard me say many times that we do not need to choose between safety and justice. But we also do not need to choose between protecting workers' rights and supporting economic growth. This administration will seek to find a balance that works for the majority of New Yorkers and keep our economy strong. Rebuilding our economy is only one aspect of rebuilding our city for the future, who must also take care of young people in our families.

Mayor Adams: That is why I campaigned on and what I promised, when I was elected. My people's plan advocated for greater expansion of the earned income tax credit and more support for affordable childcare in our city. In the first 100 days, we have delivered on both those promises, working in partnership with the governor, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Speaker Heastie, and my colleagues in the state, law makers in Albany. We are putting $350 million back in the pockets of working people through our expansion of the earned income tax credit.

[Applause]

Mayor Adams: Thanks to those same colleagues in Albany, the state has committed $4 billion in funding for New York city childcare over the next four years. We have also secured authorization to implement tax incentives that will spur the private sector to create 17,000 new childcare seats in our city. In the upcoming weeks, we'll be releasing our full plan for extending childcare, but I want to share some of those details today.

Mayor Adams: First, I want to announce the new rates will go into effect in June, that will dramatically reduce the fees that eligible families currently pay for subsidized childcare. Look at this, folks, listen to this. A family earning $55,000 a year currently pays $55 a week for full-time subsidized care. Starting June 1st, that same family will pay just $10 per week.

Mayor Adams: Can you imagine that additional dollar? We're also ensuring that families who have been waiting for childcare get access to this critical support, and that families and communities with the greatest need will get priority. We have already begun reaching out to families on this city's childcare voucher wait list and plan to connect with every family on that list by September.

Mayor Adams: We know that working parents don't have time to navigate the complex bureaucracy to get childcare, and we are going to make sure the city government works for them, not that they should be working for city government to get it done. That is why I'm to announce that the first major feature of our new My City web portal will be a unified application process for all subsidized childcare options offered by the city. Making quality care more accessible will change lives, help our economy, and support our children and families.

Mayor Adams: It is a responsibility that too often falls on the women of the city. The story I know all too well, watching mommy having to work two jobs while raising my five siblings and me. The work of care is the work of life. It is essential work, and we're going to treat it that way. 

Mayor Adams: In addition to our commitment to affordable childcare, the budget we release today includes bold new initiatives that will support our students and improve our schools. So proud to have Chancellor Banks as part of the team of what we are doing. Good friend, good colleague, and a good leader. While we are all, while all New Yorkers were impacted by the pandemic, our children and students are still feeling the effects of two years of grief, trauma and learning loss. We are proud that we successfully kept the schools open and students safe, but we must do more for our young people, especially when it comes to helping them get prepared and trained for a career in the future. Because I say this over and over again, folks. If you don't educate, you will incarcerate.

Crowd: Yeah.

Mayor Adams: 80% of the men and women on Rikers Island don't have a high school diploma, equivalency diploma. The indictment is not on them. The indictment is on our city, on what we have done for them, to them and betrayed them. Our young people were not getting what they needed from our city when we came into office. Student absenteeism was high. Educators have low morale and our children have fallen behind academically and socially.

Mayor Adams: That is why during the first 100 days, we committed to expanding the Summer Rising Program, which provides academic support, arts recreation and food to our students during the summer months. Thanks so much Sheena Wright for seeing the vision of getting this done and executing and making the plan happen. In the executive budget, we are adding funding to increase the total Summer Rising Program capacity to 110,000 K-8 students this year. We also now announced funding for a record 100,000 summer youth employment opportunities.

Mayor Adams: Those previous city Council Members Brad Lander, Jumaane, Adrienne Adams, and some of you, you've been fighting for this for years and people ignored you, but you came to me and told me what you needed, and what happened? You got it. But we're doing something else. We're allocating more resources to the Fair Futures program. Foster care children that age out at 21 with no support, we already know that there's six to 700 that age out every year, we know they are going to be victims of crime, participate in crime, homeless, mental health issues, no support.

Mayor Adams: We are putting money into Fair Futures to protect these foster care children like we promise we would do. We are expanding our Gifted and Talented Program to reach every district. Phil Banks heard it and he ... I said Phil Banks. David Banks. David Banks heard it, our chancellor, and he responded. Every school district, it's easier for families to access this program by providing two entry points. Both kindergarten and third grade.

Mayor Adams: This is how we raise the bar and deliver opportunities for students in all five boroughs. The budget we released today also includes more resources for our young people who are most in need. I know from my own life the challenges that a learning disability creates for a child and how they can be overcome with early diagnosis and the right support. That's why we will be directing $7.4 million in funding dyslexia screening sites and literacy programs across the city over the next three years.

Mayor Adams: We will also invest $11.2 million in our bilingual education program so that every student has a pathway to multilingualism, and work to ensure the food we serve our students supports their developments and builds lifelong healthy habits. Listen, Chicken McNuggets is not a nutritional meal. Now we want to prepare students for college, but we also know that there are many paths to a good job and bright future for our youth.

Mayor Adams: Many of our young people are ready to join the workforce sooner rather than later, and our education system should serve them too. Four years of college may be the right choice for some, but we must invest in a full and fair range of career training for our youth and actively connect them with jobs and other opportunities upon graduation. Starting this next school year, we will invest $33 million in career pathway programs that focus on high growth sectors like healthcare and technology.

Mayor Adams: We will expand these models citywide in subsequent years. Google, Facebook, startup. You want good talent to go into the communities that have been often denied and recruit them and give them the internship programs and let them be part of your expansion in our cities. We'll expand apprenticeships and support university career readiness and increase the number of high school students getting early college credit. New York City students should be able to succeed no matter what path they choose to take.

Mayor Adams: This administration is committed to changing the way we think about education and preparing all young people for success. By the way, none of this is possible without the continuing support, a mayoral accountability. You have a public school mayor that happens to be African-American. You have a public school chancellor that happens to be African-American, grew up in the city. If mayoral accountability was given to folks that were Red Sox fans, you darn sure can give it to people who are Yankees and Mets fans.

Mayor Adams: Give us mayoral accountability. We're working with our partners in Albany, as they look over to determine, to make sure this is done right. Our state lawmakers, we will continue to reach out and find out how do we continue to give parents input on what the chancellor is doing correctly now. Finally, must lay the foundation for the future of this city itself. Too often in the past, we saw physical changes to our city that did not benefit all of our communities, and we must continue to create safer streets and reduce deaths from traffic violence.

Mayor Adams: That is why my administration will take a new approach and invest in infrastructure for the people. We have used these first 100 days to build a safer, more accessible sustainable city, including starting work to improve 1,000 intersections to increase safety with better traffic signals and raise crosswalks. Working to complete physical barriers along 20 miles of established bike lanes. Committing $75 million to expand the fair, fast, discounted MTA rise for programs and make it permanent. Permanent.

Mayor Adams: Not each year trying to figure it out. Thanks to our speaker, this is something we are going to make permanent. Breaking ground in over 100 poised park projects across the fire boroughs and completing a $50 million sewage and water main overhaul in Southeast Queens to protect homes and streets from chronic flooding. Far too long, we've allowed our critical infrastructure to fall in disrepair, creating crisis after crisis. We must be planning ahead and investing in a city that works for all New Yorkers.

Mayor Adams: That is why this budget includes more than $900 million in creating safer, greener, cleaner streets across the city, and to make sure they're more accessible to our seniors and those living with disabilities. We will build more bus lanes to facilitate faster commuting, complete with countdown clocks so you don't have to guess when the bus is coming. The next one, we'd also be piloting new approaches to last mile deliveries to help reduce the number of trucks and vans holding up traffic and blocking our sidewalks.

Mayor Adams: We will also continue to make historic investments in our city's parks in open spaces, by adding nearly a half a billion dollars in capital funding for our parks system, a significant down payment towards our ultimate commitment of 1% for parks. Our parks are our crown jewels of our city, and New Yorkers all across the five boroughs rely on them for rest, recreation and exercise. This funding will go to new infrastructure, longer weighted repairs and increase trash pickup.

Mayor Adams: We'll be able to refurbish our green ways, improve public pools and extend hours at our recreation centers, and we're also going to plan for the future with 20,000 more trees on city streets providing shade, beauty, and improving air quality. We're making other investments to create a more sustainable city, including ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse emissions and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, improving access to renewed energy, procuring more plant-based local food options across city agencies and moving towards zero waste with expanded access to composting.

Mayor Adams: As a coastal city in the era of climate change, we must also protect our vast and complex infrastructure from extreme weather and other climate shocks. We're also investing in public health on every level, from preparing for future pandemics to expanding lifestyle medicine programs in all five boroughs. We must help address the factors that led to the epidemic of chronic disease as type two diabetes, high blood pressure, and take them as seriously as we take our other health emergencies.

Mayor Adams: Let me end with this. We must commit to creating the affordable housing that New Yorkers have needed for far so long. Housing cannot be a privilege for those with supportive families or generational wealth. It's a key to living a good life in the greatest city in the world. This must include housing for families, older New Yorkers, people living with disabilities, and those who have experienced homelessness. It must be for young people just starting out, as well as people who are starting over.

Mayor Adams: That is why we are committing $5 billion in additional funding for housing over the next decade. $5 billion. This is the biggest housing investment in generations, and it will impact many generations to come. This money will help make critical repairs at NYCHA, subsidize those who need help staying in their existing homes and build more deeply affordable housing for the entire city. Thank you, Jessica Katz, my chief housing officer, for having the real vision.

Mayor Adams: In the upcoming weeks, we'll be releasing a detailed blueprint for housing and homelessness based on the input of our city's top experts and everyday New Yorkers, and my administration is going to do everything we can to take this dream of equality and turn it into reality. That is getting stuff done on a historic level. These efforts are just the beginning. We will continue to transform our city through good government and responsive leadership. It all comes down to this, safety, jobs, schools and housing.

Mayor Adams: Sounds simple, radically practical, but it is the work of many hands, many minds and many years, and there's no better place to begin than right here. Truth be told, the American dream has always started in New York City, and this is no exception. We're the only country on the globe where dream is attached to our name. There's no German dream, there's no French dream, there's no Romanian dream. There's only an American dream, and we must make sure that dream is a reality for everyone.

Mayor Adams: We have the most talented, adventurous souls anywhere on the earth. They're right here. Over 400 years, we have turned this small port town into the global commerce center, the universe of art and diversity, from skyscrapers to subways. Our wildest dreams have become the world's everyday reality. Now, we're 100 days in to starting out of the new chapter in New York City's histories. This is the part where we find the compassion to help and house and educate everyone, the wisdom to put aside those old arguments and embrace our newfound unity and the courage to work together in solidarity.

Mayor Adams: We don't have to agree with each other all the time. I don't agree with myself all the time. But we have to agree that we have to live together to build a city of hope, equity and justice, a city that will light the way and lead the nation. I know. That's what mommy told me. When I was a little boy walking on the stage to do his speech, I felt the nervousness in the pit of my stomach. She leaned over to me, she said, "Baby, you got this." As I walked on this stage today, I heard mommy's voice, "Baby, you got this," and I want to say to you, New Yorkers, you got this. We got this. We will make it happen. There are only two types of Americans, those who live in New York and those who wish they could. You got this.

[Applause]

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