Transcript: Mayor Adams, SBS Commissioner Kim Announce More Than 600 Small Businesses Served Through Landmark Opportunity Fund

June 8, 2023

Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce: Good morning everyone. Thanks to all of you for being here with us. My name is Maria Torres-Springer. I'm the deputy mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce, and I'm so excited to be here with Mayor Adams, Commissioner Kevin Kim, and so many extraordinary partners to share an update and to hand out a few checks, so just wait… Share an update on the Small Business Opportunity Fund and really how it's making a difference for small businesses citywide.

I first want to acknowledge the amazing partners who are here with us today, whose commitment to New York City and our small businesses has made this day possible. Starting with Asahi Pompey, who's the president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, who we'll hear from in just a minute, Ginger Siegel, the North America Small Business Lead for MasterCard, and the leaders from the CDFI community that really did such extraordinary work to support small businesses across the five boroughs. There are many, many of them. I will name them very quickly, but I want to name them specifically because of their extraordinary partnership: Acompany Capital, Ascendus, BOC Capital, Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund, National Development Council, Pursuit, Renaissance Economic Development Corp., and TruFund. Please join me in giving a round of applause to our amazing, amazing partners.

So, we all know that in a city like New York, small businesses don't just fuel our economy, they anchor our communities, activate our commercial corridors, and provide New Yorkers and tourists alike with the greatest that our city has to offer. And so, that's why from day one, Mayor Adams has been clear that small businesses will be leading our economic recovery. And over the last year, they have done just that. Our small business community is roaring back. One in nine businesses in our city opened over the course of the last 12 months. And our work to continue to support every small business in the city has been very robust, led by our amazing commissioner, Kevin Kim, and his team at the Department of Small Business Services.

And that includes the fact that over six months ago we came together to announce the New York City Small Business Opportunity Fund. It's a $75 million public-private fund, really the largest of its kind in city history, designed specifically for small businesses. And today, we're pleased to share that the Opportunity Fund has served over 600 businesses and distributed over 50 million in low interest loans. We can clap for that.

And that is millions of dollars going to hiring and training more local workers, upgrading equipment, expanding our customer base, even paying down existing high interest loans. But it was important for us to do this work, not just to finance business growth, but really to tackle some underlying inequities in how small business have been financed previously. And that's why through this fund we did away with certain aspects that really represent those types of inequities, like application fees, credit minima, and we were also were very focused on supporting very small startup businesses. And as a result, three quarters of the businesses that have received loans are minority and women-owned businesses, and close to 60 percent are low and moderate income communities.

At this point, I would like to really just acknowledge the commissioner and the entire SBS team, who really went above and beyond to make sure that all communities were aware of this opportunity. They went door to door with the entire team at SBS, getting the word out in close to two dozen languages, and really working with our partners to make sure that we left no stone unturned in every neighborhood of our city. And that is because he took a page from the playbook of the next person I am about to introduce, the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks so much, deputy mayor, and just this entire team. We are really sometimes engulfed in a day-to-day crisis that we are facing, if it's the asylum seekers, if it's the fire in Canada that's finding the smoke here in our city, if it's dealing with public safety, some of the economic challenges, but this city still has to function, and we cannot exist in the body of the crises. We have to see ourselves beyond that, and make sure that we look after those things that we pointed out while we were running for office.

And I talked about the CDFIs over and over again because of what I was hearing on the ground, access to capital, understanding how to develop small businesses. These amazing organizations, they were getting it right over and over again, but no one was listening to them. And I stated on the campaign trail, my promise was to change that direction and partner with some of our large lending institutions to come up with some real solutions. $75 million is a real way of addressing some of the crises that our small businesses were dealing with with access to capital of how do you keep the doors open. When you match that access to capital with what the deputy mayor did around making sure our agencies were more business friendly, this is the Empire State, we should be building empires and not get in the way of those empires evolving over and over again. And you look at how our agencies now have a different approach, Department of Buildings, Department of Finance, all of our agencies are taking a new approach to be a business-friendly city. And so, while we deal with the uncertainty of smoke and smog, we know we have to deal with the certainty that once things clear up, this city must be effective and must move forward.

And before I get into my exact words on this great opportunity here, I just want to give a brief update on what's happening with the smog and the smoke that we are experiencing coming from Canada. Our team has been on the frontline, organizing and coordinating the efforts. We continue to see, as you know, the reduced visibility across the city. The large plume we saw yesterday has been pushed through the city and we are expecting gradual improvement through the early afternoon today. But a sea breeze this afternoon could push smoke back over the city. It would be great to see the sun again, but the wind is going to determine that. And we want to continue to encourage people, if you must go outdoors, please put on a mask, a N95 mask, as we have recommended. I spent some time yesterday in the NYCHA developments handing out masks. We're going to attempt to do so today as well. Conditions along the immediate coast and southern boroughs will likely be worse than in the northern parts of the city. We may see continued improvements later tonight and overnight as the wind becomes light and northerly.

As of right now, the smoke models are not indicating another large plume over the city. So there's a chance for significant improvement by tomorrow morning and throughout the day tomorrow. We will keep New Yorkers updated on any changes, and as we use the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's site, as well as our site to do so. And in any important notifications, we will again do the emergency briefing.

New Yorkers should take precautions to protect their health and the health of others. Stay indoor, stay safe, and mask up if you are outside.

We clearly understand that these crises that we are facing around our health is something we're going to have to deal with. Climate change is real and we must be prepared as we are dealing with the issues that come from climate change. And that is exactly why we want to continue to… Dr. Vasan and his team will be available later if anyone have any on-topics on this issue.

Getting back to the topic of why we're here, the American Dream is rooted in small businesses. We are clear on that. That is where the dream starts. And when we give support to small businesses, from our local bodegas to mom and pop stores, to retail and neighborhood bars and restaurants, our small businesses are driving our economic comeback. They are the backbone of this city. We hear it over and over again. But we want to give that backbone the support that it deserves.

And Commissioner Kim and his team over at Small Business team is doing the Small Business Opportunity fund, bringing it together. I don't know if you folks have witnessed the level of energy and excitement that the team that he has put together over there, coming into government, first Korean commissioner to be in charge of Small Business Services, brought a different dynamic, a different vision and a level of excitement as we continue to really encourage our small businesses to operate here in the city.

Since January this year, we have helped more than 600 small businesses through this fund. 600 small businesses. The deputy mayor was correct, this is the largest public-private loan fund directed to small business in our city's history. The fund has done more than just put money in the pockets of small businesses, it has done something I heard over and over on the campaign trail. We've cut that darn red tape and eliminated the barriers that are constantly in place. You should not have to have an expediter to navigate businesses. We are the expediters. We must make sure that government is not in the way of hurting our business. We have no business being in your business. We have the business of helping your business. You should not get angina when a city agency walks into your business. You should feel as though the calvary is here to help you keep your doors open and people in your business.

And helping small businesses pay off the extremely high interest loans and so many other items took out during the pandemic is a way to survive. And we are continuing to move forward in lifting burdens of hardworking New Yorkers, so they can get businesses up and running and keep their doors open. And this year, as it was alluded to, 75 percent of businesses that received help through the fund have been minority- and women-owned businesses, because we know that our immigrant communities, our Black and brown communities, and our women help keep our city strong. And during the pandemic, many women- and minority-owned businesses did not close. They stayed open. I saw them out there, delivering food, making sure we were prepared, retrofitting some of their places for PPEs, doing the right thing to keep our city going. And we're going to be there for them because they have been here for us.

But we cannot thank our partners… They did not sit on the sideline and state that, "Let the small businesses survive on their own." They stepped up. And that's amazing about this city and the development of our relationship with our large corporations in the city. Goldman Sachs, thank you so much for being a partner. MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth, MasterCard, don't leave home without it. And local community development, financial institutions, these amazing CDFIs for what you guys and ladies are doing and continue to do year after year.

This is what public and private partnership looks like, coming together to invest in our people. Because working in New York, you deserve a fair share, and we are putting money back into their pockets. Supporting our small businesses, our commercial corridors, and key initiatives, and my economic blueprint, which we released last year. New York City is not coming back, folks. New York City is back. And we're seeing every day from the decreases in the major crimes in this city to the recovery of 99.7 percent of our pre-pandemic jobs to tourists. If you haven't been on Broadway lately, you have to go see the excitement that's there. Our hotel accommodations and more small businesses are open. So we want to say to New York City small businesses that we are here for you because you were here for us and we are going to continue to create this partnership to keep this city humming, thriving, and growing. Thank you. Thank you to the entire team.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you, mayor. The mayor mentioned that so much of this, of course, is built on the foundation of partnership with the business community, both large businesses and of course small businesses. And one of our partners who really helped step up and I hope will continue to be extraordinarily supportive to our businesses, community, and to the city of New York is Goldman Sachs. So I'd love to invite Asahi Pompey, who is the global head of corporate engagement and president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation.

Asahi Pompey, President, Goldman Sachs Foundation: Thank you everyone. Thank you, Mayor Adams. Good morning. Thank you. I am grateful that we could all be gathered here today to mark a historic milestone for small businesses, for our economy, and for our communities. Goldman Sachs is proud to stand together with Mayor Adams, Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer, and Commissioner Kim, and all of our CDFI and other partners here today to acknowledge the resounding impact of the Opportunity Fund over the last five months. Now, in January, I stood here and I told you that our motivation is straightforward. We take our responsibility to help to build and sustain the economic strength of New York City seriously. 
Today we stand on that conviction and it is as strong as ever. We are humbled that the role that the Opportunity Fund has played in providing the exact type of sustained and inclusive growth that we like to see in our city.

As a firm, we understand that to serve small business, you've got to listen to small business. So over the last three years, Goldman Sachs has conducted 17 surveys of small businesses across the United States. So what are they telling us? Now, I have to admit, I am a numbers nerd of Goldman Sachs, so I will drop some numbers here, but bear with me because they're important. 71 percent of small businesses say that inflationary pressures have increased over the last three months. Most shockingly, 77 percent of small businesses say that they're concerned about their ability to access capital. Now, that is a marked reversal from a year ago, where 77 percent said they were confident in their ability to access capital. So in a span of 12 months, small businesses have gone from confident to concerned. So in short, small businesses are still on the road to recovery, and finding flexible sources of capital is critical.

That's where the Opportunity Fund comes in. It's in direct response to that persistent challenge and the impact of that affordable capital, as the mayor and deputy mayor have underscored, has already been felt by over 600 businesses. But I want to talk broader than that. It's those 600 businesses, but it's also the ripple effect on their families, on their employees, on our communities. So we said that number 600, but who are these small businesses? Who are they and what impact is the loan fund having? I'm going to give you two brief examples. One entrepreneur in the Bronx owns a cleaning company. It means finally having the working capital to be able to go out there and try to win those government and city contracts, Mayor Adams. It will allow them to expand their teams.

Another business owner is from Staten Island. She owns a wellness center. This loan means the ability for her to look into the eyes of her staff and say, "I am confident that we are on strong financial footing," in her two-year-old business. As a firm, we are committed to the economic empowerment of all small businesses. And that's why we're particularly heartened about the number of BIPOC and women-led businesses that this fund has already helped. In addition to Mayor Adams and his administration and all of the CDFI partners have been critical to driving this all forward. So I want to say thank you to all of our partners. Goldman Sachs is honored to stand alongside you all. We know that small businesses are the heartbeat of this resilient, resilient city, and we're proud to partner with the mayor and deputy mayor and Commissioner Kim. Thank you so much.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you so much, Asahi. Now you're going to hear from a couple of the business owners who have been able to take advantage of this opportunity. And you'll hear from them, and I'm sure it's a set of stories that will resonate, because when opportunity knocked for these business owners, they opened the door, they worked with us very, very quickly to fill out the application. And I, for one, am just really excited to hear their stories about how their businesses are going to grow and thrive because of this fund. So let me briefly introduce them and then I will call them up.
First we have Dr. Chi Gibson, who's the owner of Chi Aesthetics, the wellness spa in Staten Island that Asahi mentioned. After a long career in the military, she took a very brave step to chase her dream and launch her business in February of 2022, and she received a $100,000 loan through the New York City Opportunity Fund. And second, we have Laura Hunt, who has worked in educational technology in New York City for over 35 years as a teacher and administrator. And for the past two decades, she has run her company, Robofun, which helps children and teachers use technology. So please join me in welcoming Dr. Gibson and Ms. Laura Hunt.
Laura Hunt: Yes. I want to thank the mayor and everyone involved in this, especially Andreas and Jose from Ascendis. They were amazing to work with. My company is 25 years old. I help children love to learn by making things such as this little robot that travels around. It has not been easy to survive in a service-based company through a pandemic. This loan allowed me to move my location to a storefront on 65th and West End Avenue and help me pay for the construction costs. I'm extremely grateful and believe that small business is the lifeblood of our city, and access to capital is absolutely crucial to keep us strong and thriving. Thank you very much.
Dr. Chi Gibson: Thank you. Hello everybody. Thank you for this opportunity. I am so excited to be here. I didn't know what to expect. This is my first time in the City Hall. Thank you, Mayor Adams. Thank you everybody that made this opportunity possible. I am that person that was just talked about earlier. I own a medical spa that I opened two years ago in Staten Island, New York. So all my life, since I was 21 years old, I knew this is what I wanted to do to make people look and feel beautiful. So we are a full service med spa in Staten Island, New York. This loan ... I don't even know where to start. To start with, the day that I received the email that I was approved, I was screaming like I was crazy because I was at my end. I didn't know ... I wasn't sure what was going to happen to my business.
We didn't have any working capital. We had everything we need. We had the equipment, we had the loans, we had everything but the ability to have the funds to run the day-to-day and make sure that I pay my staff and stay open was nowhere until I got that loan. It was the happiest day of our lives. I was screaming, my staff were jumping with me even though they didn't know why. I just told them ... I looked them in the eyes and I said, "Yes, we're going to be okay." Thanks to Pursuit Loan, Pursuit Bank. I worked with Leo Zang, who was an amazing, amazing person. He was phenomenal. He helped me every step of the way and made everything just go seamlessly. And here we are today. I just can't be happier to know that I'm okay and my business is here to stay. Thank you to the city of New York. Thank you to the mayor, and thank you everybody that made this possible. Thank you again. I appreciate everyone.
Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you so much. Now I think we're going to hand out some checks, but before that, I do want to acknowledge our amazing council member and chair of the Small Business Committee, Julie Menin, who is here with us today. Really, we've been partnering on so much in support of our small businesses, so thank you for your continued leadership and support. All right, so commissioner and mayor, take your positions. All right, so I will just name companies, and if the owner representative could just join the mayor and the commissioner. First, Robofund. All right. Second, and I love this name, ChicTreatz. Yay! And then of course, Chi Aesthetics MedSpa and Wellness Center. And one more. Finally, Kidmoto Technologies. Thank you.
Mayor Adams: But I think that before we hop into that, I just believe your story is just a powerful one, and it's the American dream, to come here with a vision, get the support from the country. And this is what I live for. People think that ... don't get it mixed up, I'm an adrenaline junkie and I wake up every day saying, "Thank God I'm the mayor to solve these big problems and these small problems." I am just so fit for this moment with this city going through these crises. And this is what it is all about. This is what a chief executive is supposed to do, not only solve those major problems, but allow your doors to stay open, find the right team to put it together, and come up with these real solutions and real leadership to make it happen and real partnerships with the councilwoman that fully understand the importance of business.
This is what I ran for. This is what I was elected for. This is what I protected this city for, for this moment right now. And we are so prepared for the moment. So all of that conversation about our inability to serve, we are serving and we are doing it every day. History is going to be kind to this administration because of our capabilities. I know that, and many of you that cover us, you were impressed also. You just don't want to acknowledge it, Michael. So come over here and get a few questions.
Question: Yeah, Mr. Mayor, actually this is an invitation that I'm extending to you because 1010 WINS does a small business challenge, and we would like you to attend that. We have entrepreneurs who are contestants.
Mayor Adams: I would love that.
Question: And apply for a monetary prize. So we'd like to invite you to the next one.
Mayor Adams: What date is it?
Question: It'll be... We just had one last week, so it'll be next in the fall.
Mayor Adams: In the fall, okay.
Question: And totally shameless plug. Thank you.
Mayor Adams: I would love to try to be there. If I say 100 percent I'll be there and if I'm not there the New York Times would write about me, so I will try to be there.
Question: I got a question about the smoke situation.
Mayor Adams: We'll come back to it, Michael.
Question: Yeah. I actually had a question. I noticed in some of the checks, the money seemed to be a little different. Did everyone get a hundred thousand dollars or did...?
Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: No, it ranged. The average is about $84,000. And so depending on the need of the small business, the loan was sized according to those needs, but the average was about $84,000.
Question: Okay.
Mayor Adams: Okay. Thanks folks. You don't want to go through this off-topic. Good job.
Question: Commissioner, if you would, just bring us up to speed with the numbers as far as air quality goes and the index of where things stand because a lot of people are making sure that we ask that question, so they know how to go about the day. Thank you.
Commissioner Zachary Iscol, New York City Emergency Management: Yep. Absolutely. So the numbers first off, the forecasting is very, very hard to do. If you look at the forecast from earlier this week, they've been off by hundreds of points, so things are progressing in the right direction. Today we're looking in the mid to high hundreds, low two hundreds across the city. As the mayor did say earlier, we are looking to see some wind coming from offshore that should move smoke back into the city sometime this afternoon. But then over the next few days, things will progressively continue to get better through Tuesday when we have a front moving through, that should push everything out. But again, smoke modeling and pollution modeling is very, very hard to do and generally there's only a 24-hour forecast that comes out once a day for the following day.
Question: Mr. Mayor, it's a migrant-related question. Are you disappointed that the administration only received about $100 million, that's a fraction of the amount that you guys even spend on a weekly basis, monthly basis? And do you anticipate more money to be coming from the federal government?
Mayor Adams: Well, first I just really want to thank Senator Schumer and Congressman Jeffries. I spoke with them after the first allocation of dollars and really told them that we have a disproportionate number of asylum seekers and we need more. Senator Schumer and Congressman Jeffries stated they were going to fight hard for us and this next round, I believe we got $100 million. The closest to us was nowhere near that. And it's a real identification on the part of, I believe, the White House and Washington that, hey, New York City has an issue here. We are hoping that now we continue to move in the direction that New York City receives the resources they deserve.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: $100 million… That's an important question. $100 million is the beginning of the acknowledgement of the problem. But this is a $4.2, 4.3 billion problem. And so we are pleased with the acknowledgement that New York City should receive the proportionate share of it, but we still have to deal with this long-term issue. This is not sustainable. We're still getting hundreds of people in that are coming each day. We need to allow people to work. We need to deal with immigration reform. That's important and we need to tell those municipalities that are receiving money, the money you are getting is not to use for busing to New York City. That just makes no sense to me.
Question: The question about, based on the numbers that Zach just talked about, and maybe Dr. Vasan can weigh in on this, the Yankees are supposed to play at four o'clock this afternoon. You talked about, mayor, that the smoke is supposed to come back in. Would you advise that game to be postponed based on the numbers you see now and what you anticipate this afternoon?
Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Thanks, Andrew. I think your question says it all. It's a little bit unpredictable, so right now the health guidance hasn't changed. Stay indoors. It's the best way to protect yourself from exposure, particularly as we're seeing changes in the numbers, changes in the levels of pollution. If you can't stay indoors and you have to be outside, wear a high quality mask like the one you have around your neck. And avoid outdoor gatherings, avoid outdoor events. If organizers of events can move those events indoors or postpone those events, that remains our recommendation. That guidance hasn't changed.
Question: Quick follow up with the mask distribution. Just a real quick question for the mayor on mask distribution.
Mayor Adams: Okay, hold on. Hold on. We are going to be as lenient as possible. There's a lot of questions out there and we want to end some of the uncertainty, so we're not going to be the normal hard-noser that we are on our press because we understand there's a lot of questions. We're going to be as lenient as possible, but when it's time for me to bounce, I'm going to bounce. Go ahead, Andrew. Andrew.
Question: Yeah. Just on the mask distribution.
Mayor Adams: Yes.
Question: Does any part of you… They've got all these masks. The distribution could have started sooner? We knew the air was bad Tuesday. Most of the handout is happening now, two days later today. Could that have been expedited?
Mayor Adams: No. I think that, first of all, I'm extremely impressed and I said this during Covid, we have the best mobilization deployment tool that was underutilized in Covid. That's our police precincts and our firehouses. They are experts at deployment and execution. We immediately kicked in gear with a plan. Our first deputy mayor, the police commissioner, this team has been behind the scenes getting those thousands of masks into our precincts, letting people know where they're located to pick up. Even the fact that going on the ground in those nitro facilities, knocking on doors. No, this team is humming and so people, when you are in the stands, it's easy to say what the quarterback should have done, but try getting sacked by a 300 pound lineman and then get up and call the next play and score a touchdown. That's your real skill. And so we're doing it and I know we're doing it. I know how to deploy, how to execute, how to mobilize. This is what I spent my life doing and this team did it the right way.
Question: Mr. Mayor?
Mayor Adams: Yes, sir.
Question: This weekend we got the Governor's Ball coming up, Belmont Stakes, Puerto Rican Day Parade. Do you envision issuing some sort of recommendation to change those plans or do you envision the city with this situation possibly getting better, changing the recommendations for people to stay inside and encourage them to go outside?
Mayor Adams: Well, I know our Puerto Rican event was here tonight, right?
Question: Tonight was the reception.
Mayor Adams: Reception, okay. We were doing our Puerto Rican Day reception at City Hall… At Gracie Mansion, but it was going to be outdoors, so we postponed it. We're going to practice what we preach. As Dr. Vasan said, our directions have not changed and there's a reason the term game time decision is introduced into sports. Some of this stuff is just so unpredictable. Mother Nature is going to do what Mother Nature desires to do, and so those who are hosting these events, we're going to give our recommendations. We haven't reached to the point of mandating, but it is going to come down to the organizers. The doctor was clear on what our recommendations are. We don't know what's going to happen over the weekend. I'm looking forward, if the weather permits, to march into the parade, but this stuff is a game time decision based on what both the doctor and the commissioner is going to continue to advise people on.
Question: Hi Mayor Adams. I wanted to ask you about two stories from my colleague Yoav Gonen. The first, your sheriff Anthony Miranda was involved in a shady Covid scam that told people they can prevent getting Covid — maybe Dr Vasan wants to chime in — by wearing a badge. I wanted to ask, and also some of the people who was involved with it, if it raises any concerns for you about his judgment of the sheriff. 
The second story is about your sister-in-law, Sharon Adams, who was appointed a special initiative job at the DOE. I'm curious, was that job in the open market? How did she get that job? I know there's some concerns about obviously COIB, the conflict of interest, but if you think there's any concerns for the general public that there is a sort of appointment of perhaps questionable people in the term of Sheriff Miranda's position and then your sister-in-law getting $150,000 a year job at the DOE.
Mayor Adams: Okay, first with Anthony Miranda. I don't know about the shady aspect of it. I got to read…
Question: Do you think Covid can be prevented by wearing a badge? And maybe Dr. Vasan can chime in.
Mayor Adams: I think that I want to look at the story, look at exactly what the allegations are and I don't know… We are still trying to figure out, so I really don't know and I don't know exactly what was the heart of that. Let me look through it and I can make you make a better assessment of it. The DOE will answer your sister-in-law… I intentionally have a firewall behind what happens in the DOE and what happens here at City Hall. I do know this. Sharon is an educator, well-qualified, many years. I know she applied and she was going to come to DOE years ago, long before I became mayor, and I know that there are some very clear rules that the city has in place on if someone is going to be employed, if the mayor of the City of New York is related to that person, we comply with those rules.
Now, one could look and say, "Well, I wish something could be done this way or that way." No, there are rules. There are rules. They're guidelines. We comply with the rules and guidelines. That's why we create these rules and guidelines. And I know she's a great educator and I'm excited about anyone that wants to go into the Department of Education and help our children. Remember Tracy? Tracy's been a principal. She's been an administrator. She's an excellent educator. She turned around schools. Should she leave the DOE because her boo became mayor? I don't think so. Come on, let's stop this.
Question: Good morning Mr. Mayor, I…
Mayor Adams: Make sure you get Dana because she had an interesting story today in the Times.
Question: I [inaudible] few weeks ago, an NYPD officer was retaliated against for not honoring the courtesy cards issued by the police unions. Do you know anything about this practice? Are you concerned? Basically he says, I think half the people he pulled over on Staten Island have these cards to get out of traffic incidents. Do you know about this practice?
Mayor Adams: I think I read the story in one of the papers and I believe that officer stated he gave those courtesy cards to his loved ones and family members. Is that the same story?
Question: It's the same story. I mean, he's saying that they get 30 a year. They give them out to people who mow their lawns, people who give discounts in restaurants.
Mayor Adams: Right.
Question: On Staten Island, half the people he pulls over have these cards.
Mayor Adams: Okay.
Question: So it's pretty widespread. And it basically suggests people who know cops get different treatment than people who don't.
Mayor Adams: But he didn’t give cards to his family members?
Question: He acknowledges that, yes. It was…
Mayor Adams: He did.
Question: Pretty widespread.
Mayor Adams: Okay. That's interesting. You know, I don't know what happened there. I know police officers, they use discretion when necessary. When I was a cop I would use discretion based on if someone did something that I had the power of discretion. We don't want heavy-handed policing. We don't want anyone using any devices to any way get in the way of proper police practices. And from what I know, those PBA cards, those courtesy cards were used correctly and not in an abusive way. And so I think… This in the court? Let the court decide how it's going to be played out.
Question: Thank you.
Mayor Adams: Hey Dana.
Question: Hi.
Mayor Adams: How are you?
Question: Good, how are you?
Mayor Adams: Good, good, good.
Question: Last year when New York City released a nuclear attack PSA, the city said it was important for New Yorkers to understand that the city had plans for all sorts of imminent things. But yesterday, Zach, you said that there was no off-the-shelf plan for wildfires. And I'm wondering, given the growing preponderance of wildfires and global warming, why there were no off-the-shelf plans for that, and was that a failure?
Mayor Adams: Zach, you are not answering that. Let me be very clear. Climate change is creating unpredictable weather patterns. This administration, and the previous administration, let me be very clear. under de Blasio, under Bloomberg, probably those are the three mayors that really had to deal with this. Bloomberg, de Blasio and Eric all had to deal with this. There are going to be uncertainties. We are going to try to figure them out. We are going to respond as they come.
So if someone wants to be built into, "You didn't figure out every type of climate catastrophe. Hey, a meteor fell to the planet Earth. Y'all didn't have a plan for that?", we're not living that way. We know where our hearts are, we know how well we do our job, we know how well we execute and we are going to continue to do that.
So if you want to play, "Why didn't you know every problem that this is going to create?", that's up to you. I know how well this team responded. I know what Zach and his team has done over there during these emergencies, the deployment and execution, and we are going to continue to do that.
And as these new parts of climate change is going to hit our city and country, we are going to be the leaders in that. And that's what Zach and his team is doing.
Question:: Yeah, Mr. Mayor, is there any plan to use, let's say, Sanitation Department or Fire Department? Sanitation Department has the street cleaners where they inject the water to tamp down some of the dust and soot that accumulates. Or have the Fire Department, I don't know, maybe use the sprays?
Mayor Adams: Tell me about that. Because if you got a good idea, I would like to know about it.
Question: Usually you hose down your front because there's pollen in the air.
Mayor Adams: Yes.
Question: And it just tamps everything down. It'll tamp the dust down and tamps down the pollen.
So I didn't know if city trucks could be used for something like that.
Commissioner Iscol: I don't know if that would work for smoke, but I'm happy to look into it.
Mayor Adams: Since you always have some great suggestions, you and Kate, we will have you connect with that.
Commissioner Iscol: We're hiring too, so…
Mayor Adams: And we are hiring. We have better benefits than 1010.
Question: Mr. Mayor, so earlier in the week, several council members, the speaker, finance chair, went down to D.C. to lobby for migrant funds, among other things. You've been calling on them to do that, go to Albany, go to D.C. for a long time. What do you think about them doing that? Would you like to see more of it?
Mayor Adams: April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April. It's a lot of months. Been seeing this for a long time. I'm happy that they did. I'm glad that the speaker brought a delegation down. This has been a real feeling as though this was something that only we saw. This is the number one crisis in our city right now. Number one crisis. Every representative should be talking about this issue.
And so the speaker's going to brief me. I spoke with her yesterday. She's going to brief me on the trip. But we all need to be advocating on behalf of New York right now on this crisis, and we're looking forward to getting everyone. Everyone should go down. By the way, did Brad go down? He did?
Question: He didn’t.
Mayor Adams: I'm sorry, I didn’t hear you. What? Brad Lander, the loudest person in the city, has yet to go to Washington to deal with the number one issue that this city's facing. Think about that for a moment.
The loudest — "I think Eric should…" — The loudest person in the city has yet to go to Washington, D.C.
Question: Have you asked him?
Mayor Adams: I have many times. But think about it, think about it. Do I have to ask the comptroller that must have our financial stability, should I be asking the comptroller that determines our financial stability that, "Hey Brad, how about going to Washington and tell them we should get our share?" The loudest person, we have not seen him in Washington, D.C. I mean, y'all don't find that strange? You got to find it strange. The loudest person. And I want to say this again. The loudest person who is in charge of our finances, he's called Comptroller Brad Lander, he has not gone to Washington, D.C. and fought on behalf of New Yorkers to get their fair share. He has not gone to Washington, D.C. Stop trying to be the shadow mayor and be the comptroller and go to Washington, D.C., Brad, and get us our fair share. I'm sorry.
Question: Coalition For The Homeless has released a statement saying this air quality situation is highlighting issues with amending right to shelter. We have more New Yorkers on the street with the air quality situation. Just your comments on their statement, and has that been an issue with this air quality situation?
Mayor Adams: Well, I'm not understanding their statement. What are they saying? That people should stay on the streets?
Question: They're saying since right to shelter changes are being sought, that more people will be on the street for an air quality situation like this. Has that been a problem and what is your confidence with that?
Mayor Adams: Oh my God. No. Next question.
Question: Mayor, you've twice now very diplomatically resisted calls to force the cancellation of big events that are coming up, and I acknowledge you say this is very unpredictable. The Yankees game is in four hours though, sir. We seem to have some sense of what four hours will look like. Why are you not pushing that one to shut down based on what your own health experts are saying?
Mayor Adams: No, we have not been diplomatic. I think Dr. Vasan has been clear. These are our recommendations, you know? We are not at the point where we are mandating the shutdown. We're giving very clear, sound recommendations. I thought Dr. Vasan was very clear. Now each entity must make the determination of how they're going to use our recommendation. We're at the recommendation phase.
Question: Sorry, sir, but are you not worried about the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who will go, "I paid a few hundred bucks for this. Weather be damned, I got to go?"
Mayor Adams: I think we've been very clear with our recommendations. Now each venue will make the determination based on those recommendations. If we ever reach a point — as we have shown — if we reach a point where you have to shut down things, we're willing to do so. The precedent is already there. We're not at that point. We're at the point where each entity will make their determination based on the sound recommendation by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Question: Hey, Mr. Mayor. It's still unclear whether the state legislature will get to a deal on housing this session. Are you frustrated by the potential…
Mayor Adams: Which one?
Question: Get to a deal on housing discussion.
Mayor Adams: Yes.
Question: Are you frustrated by the potential lack of…
Mayor Adams: Yes. Yes. You know, I think that… Housing crisis is real, and every survey you saw, people talk about public safety and housing. And the reason we have a housing crisis is the inventories. Everyone knows that. We have Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer and our chief housing officer, we had a 500,000 ambitious moonshot plan to build more houses. We need to convert the millions of square feet of commercial real estate. We can convert it into housing. We need to raise the FAR. We need a stimulus with, we call it 421-a, but it's a tax incentive. We need to build more housing.
If we don't come out of Albany with a housing plan and put those bills on the floor, then we are not going to have housing in the pipeline. And we had certain units that would have been built with the tax incentive, but because of Covid, they had to hit pause. So we should at least say, "Okay, let's go to those buildings that would've been built if we didn't have Covid. We knew it was an emergency." And so if we leave Albany without a housing plan, then all that advocacy that people are saying that we need to have more housing, more housing, more housing, and we're not doing what's needed to build that housing. that's a travesty.
And I'm hoping that cooler heads prevail. I've had conversations with the leaders up there and they've been very cooperative and some major victories we're going to walk away this term. We're really pleased with what we have been able to accomplish. But housing is one of our top issues and we need to come out of Albany… I'm hoping in the next couple of days we come out of Albany with a housing plan.
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