Transcript: NYPD Commissioner Caban Appoints Rebecca Weiner as Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism

July 18, 2023

Mayor Adams: Thank you so much. And we're here to really make another appointment announcement as we round out our leadership team at the New York City Police Department. Yesterday I was proud to announce Eddie Caban as our new police commissioner and Chief Kinsella as our first deputy police commissioner, both history-making picks. And today, Commissioner Caban and I are proud to announce another key leader of our public safety team, and probably one of the most important aspects of ensuring our homeland is safe, both from domestic terrorism and international terrorism, and this pick is again a history-making pick at the New York City Police Department. And it is my privilege and honor to announce the appointment of Rebecca Weiner as the New York City's Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence, the first woman in the history to hold this role and join with me today. And the deputy commissioner is a person I look towards so often on these issues and that is Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Bill did not call me for any lobbying or appointments on anyone that we staffed in the Police Department. He only gave me advice. He only gave me guidance on those tough decisions, but he was extremely clear on how important it is for us to have the right person at the helm of intel. And in his complete list of 10 names, Rebecca, you were on all 10. He stated that we were fortunate to have someone within the agency that clearly understood the commitment and dedication and the seriousness of this job because we have been able to stop terrorist attacks or don't leave ourselves open. There's a reason they're called sleeper cells and we can never be asleep. We must stay vigilant, and the commissioner and I clearly understand the importance of this. The incoming deputy commissioner is an impressive and experienced intelligence analyst who has spent 17 years with the New York City Police Department during which she has held nearly every civilian title in her field.

Prior to assuming these leadership responsibilities, she served as the assistant commissioner of the New York City Police Department Counter-Terrorism Operations and Analysis sections, developing internationally-recognized intelligence, and a threat analysis program that has helped protect the 8.5 million New Yorkers who call our city home. The incoming deputy commissioner also served as the first representative of the local law enforcement on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Council, where she focused on transnational crime and terrorism. She previously served as legal counsel to the Intelligence Bureau's Intelligence Analysis Unit and as a team leader for the Middle East and North Africa overseeing intelligence collection and analysis related to threats associated with those regions. Before joining the NYPD in 2006, the commissioner was an international security fellow at the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a biotechnology consultant at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and a science and technology research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations.

New Yorkers should be proud of the fact that they have someone of this caliber and experience right here in our city and in the department that she loved and she has served. But it shouldn't be a surprise, when I looked over her resume, something jumped off the page: her grandfather was one of the last boats out of Poland before the Nazis invaded, immigrated to United States and faithfully serving this country as a mathematician on the Manhattan Project. And today, she's following in her grandfather's legacy and protecting our city and our nation's security. This is the American dream, a dream that they are protecting, have protected, and continue to protect throughout the generations.

As New York City continues to fight domestic and international terrorism, I am proud to join the police commissioner in appointing Rebecca Weiner, the Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism. We look forward to continuing to work to have this city as the safest big city in America. Something, ironically, started many years ago when Bill Bratton became the police commissioner. We continued that trajectory of being the safest big city in America. I'm going to now turn it over to the police commissioner of the City of New York, Edward Caban.

Police Commissioner Edward Caban: Good afternoon everyone, and thank you, Mr. Mayor. To Mayor Adams and all distinguished guests, thank you for joining us here at One Police Plaza. The Deputy Commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism is among the most important roles in the NYPD. It is the cornerstone and the foundation of public safety for New York City and beyond. Past holders of this title have been some of the best minds in the intelligence community, and today we have come together to elevate one of our own in this pivotal role. A longstanding and deeply talented member of our intelligence team, I am honored to have Rebecca Weiner on my executive staff, and it gives me great comfort to know she would now be looking after this most important work. Commissioner Weiner is a 17-year veteran of the NYPD.

A Harvard educated attorney, she began her career with the NYPD back in 2006 as an intelligence research specialist. From the very beginning, she was a standout. She helped build what has become the single best intelligence analyst program of any municipal law enforcement agency in the world. Her work has helped to foil terror plots, and track down those willing to cause harm. As the threat stream evolved over the years, so too has Rebecca's approach. Commissioner Weiner is not just an architect of the NYPD's counterterrorism efforts, she has also kept her finger on the pulse of new and emerging threats such as domestic terrorism, cybersecurity, and disinformation. Commissioner Weiner's devotion to the safety of New York City is unquestionable. Protecting the homeland is part of her DNA. Her grandfather Stanislaw Ulam was a mathematician who after escaping the Holocaust, came to the United States and would go on to play a central role in the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s.

Though she may hail from New Mexico, Rebecca is a tried and true New Yorker. A resident of Brooklyn, she and her husband Drake are the proud parents of two sons. I know at times, there are sacrifices to be made when you share a loved one with the NYPD, but today I can see the pride on the faces of Rebecca's family. They're witnessing history in the making. There has never been a woman at the helm of the intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Bureau. And thanks to Rebecca, that glass ceiling is coming down today.

Rebecca is the right person for the job. Her experience, her care make her the obvious choice. I know she will continue to give her all as she plays a essential role in the protection of New York City. And for that, we all owe her a debt of gratitude. Thank you for all you do, Rebecca, and for helping to keep us all safe. I'm honored to have you on the team. Congratulations and all the best. Commissioner Weiner, can you please join me at the podium so I can administer the oath? Okay, please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I do hereby pledge and declare...

Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner, Intelligence and Counterterrorism, Police Department: I do hereby pledge and declare…

Police Commissioner Caban: That I'll support the Constitution of the United States…

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: That I'll support the Constitution of the United States…

Police Commissioner Caban: And the Constitution of the State of New York…

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: And the Constitution of the State of New York…

Police Commissioner Caban: That I'll faithfully discharge the duties…

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: That I'll faithfully discharge the duties…

Police Commissioner Caban: Of the position of…

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: Of the position of…

Police Commissioner Caban: Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism…

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism…

Police Commissioner Caban: In the New York City Police Department…

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: In the New York City Police Department…

Police Commissioner Caban: According to the best of my ability…

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: According to the best of my ability…

Police Commissioner Caban: So help me God.

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: So help me God.

Police Commissioner Caban: Congratulations, commissioner.

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: Thank you. Good afternoon everyone. Afternoon. Thank you so much Mr. Mayor and Commissioner Caban for this incredible opportunity and for placing your faith in me. Thank you to Commissioner Bratton for your tremendous support and your mentorship over the years. I could not be more grateful. I'm truly honored and delighted to be here today, representing the men and women of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau, an unparalleled team of experts and professionals who have dedicated their lives to protecting all of ours. My grandfather was a man of science who served this country to help end World War II. I'm very proud of that legacy, and I'm a firm believer in the power of intelligence, leveraging technology, harnessing knowledge to ensure safety and to save lives, to solve crimes, and also to prevent them. Like many of my professional peers, I was drawn to this mission and to this department after 9/11. I was living overseas at the time in France working for an international organization, the OECD. And while I didn't know how or when, I knew that I would return to New York and turn to counter-terrorism. I later learned that Commissioner Ray Kelly and Deputy Commissioner Dave Cohen were in the process of building what would become an intelligence and counter-terrorism apparatus that is second to none. And I wanted to play a role in it.

I could never have imagined at the time though the roles that I would be given the opportunity to play, helping build our intelligence analysis program, representing the NYPD on the National Intelligence Council and around the world, helping to bring internationally-recognized terrorists to justice, and working with all of our partners to thwart dozens of attacks on our city.

What makes the NYPD so special is the way that individually and collectively its officers take it upon themselves to do an unrelentingly difficult job every day. I'm proud to serve among them, to learn and to take inspiration from them and to be part of the executive team that will lead them.

I want to thank my predecessors, John Miller and Tom Galati, and outgoing commissioner, Keechant Sewell for their support. Their legacies loom large, and I'm ready to meet the challenges of continuing them head on.

I owe the largest debt of gratitude to my husband, Drake, my best friend, my wisest counsel, and to our two boys, Xavier and Damien, Brooklyn born-and-bred, despite my New Mexico roots, among the most stalwart supporters and defenders this department could ever have.

Thank you to my dad, Steve in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and to my late mom, Claire, who's looking down on this gathering right now and reminding me of our family motto, loosely inspired by Admiral William McRaven, "Remember to always make your bed, to stand up to bullies, to lift up the downtrodden and never give up." Thank you so much for this honor.

Mayor Adams: Last week, as again, I called him last night and asked him to join us today, I don't think history has been really understanding the role Commissioner Bratton has played in this city. Now he has changed the paradigm of policing throughout the entire country. As a young transit cop serving under him, watching how he transformed our subway system, and then later did the same in the New York City Police Department. We owe him a debt of gratitude of really professionalizing policing internationally and nationally. And I asked him as he made this historical appointment, could he find time to come out and join us today, I want to bring to you the former commissioner of the police department, Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good afternoon. Seems like old times. I want to thank Mayor Adams and the new commissioner for the privilege and the opportunity to participate in what is for me, a very momentous appointment of this young woman to this extraordinarily significant position.

I'll start off with a thank you and an apology, however, first to her husband and the two sons, a thank you for allowing her to basically protect the citizens of this great city and this country, and an apology for the many days, nights, and weekends that we took her away from you. And I spent many of those days, weekends, and nights with her in this building in the SCIF upstairs on the many threats that he and that she and her predecessor John Miller handle during my time and commissioner, that you'll get very used to that SCIF. That it'll be a home away from home.

If I may, and some of these, we will be a little redundant to some of what you've already heard, but my remarks. Rebecca, came straight out of the academy and into the NYPD where she has been fighting crime for almost 20 years, as you've heard, in some way that makes her a typical NYPD story, except the academy or the academic world she came out of was Harvard University, followed by Harvard Law School, think tanks and international organizations.

And while she's been fighting crime and terrorism since 2006, she's not a cop. Rebecca represents the heart of a new breed of employees who became essential to NYPD's mission in the post-9/11 world, the NYPD Intelligence analyst. And she commented about what drew her back to New York City and this department was that horrific day.

As David Cohen, who she referenced, a former deputy director of CIA who helped redesign the NYPD's Intelligence Bureau, envisioned it, it would operate like any other major intelligence agency with detectives carrying out the investigations and intelligence analysts sifting through the mountains of information collected in cases to help determine what it all meant in the largest threat picture to New York City. Most of what goes on in her world, you will never see, thankfully. You would not want to see a lot of it actually, because it is a very, very frightening world. But fortunately, this city is prepared better than any other to protect all of you against those fears.

As Rebecca moved up through the ranks of the analyst to become director, and then assistant commissioner, she guided the program along adopting it to the changing trends in terrorism, the shift from the threat of foreign terrorists to domestic terrorists, and then ultimately having the analysts dive into the more daily issues of a police department, like shootings and other major crime. Something that the mayor and the police commissioner have committed to driving down in this city.

Under Rebecca's leadership, her team of analysts work with David Cohen and Mitch Silber, and then John Miller and Tom Galati, who I was also privileged to work with. And they kept the NYPD's intelligence analysts on a par with their analytic counterparts at the FBI, CIA, and NSA. And on occasion as police commissioner, I would be told by other police chiefs, "We actually think NYPD's intelligence products are the best out there." And they are. We get them first, and they're tailored for law enforcement.

Commissioners and deputy commissioners have come and gone in the usual ways since 2006, but Rebecca has been that singular force, the continuity that is so essential, that steady hand who guided the NYPD's intelligence program forward, supporting investigations, and our many partner agencies. The NYPD has become known for its seamless partnership with the rest of the law enforcement community. And in no area is that more critical than in the area of terrorism, and for also setting requirements for future investigations based not just on what we know, but also what we didn't know.

Rebecca and her team of analysts and investigators have had a direct hand in 100 percent of the over 50 terrorist plots, that's right, 50 terrorist plots either emanating from New York or targeting the city, and almost all of them prevented by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau and the FBI in our joint terrorism task force. I know for a fact the work of Rebecca and her team contributed to saving many lives over these many years.

This is why it is an honor to be here today for this appointment. And Mr. Mayor and commissioner, I thank you again for that privilege of being here for this very important appointment. She has truly earned this appointment by long days, sleepless nights, the constant ringing of the cell phone, which I'm sure her husband is well aware of, and the rush to the car to get back into the building. And the ever echoing question in Rebecca's ears, "Is there something we could have missed?" As one who sat through many of her classified briefings, I can tell you the answer, she misses nothing.

And one more thing about Rebecca Wiener, during an age where it seems like everything eventually leaks out, as has already been referenced by the mayor and the commissioner, that it's in her blood, that in terms of the history of her grandfather that worked on not only the development of the atom bomb, but the hydrogen bomb.

Again, I can't tell you how much joy I have at this appointment and how I feel in terms of safe in this city as it relates to the issues of terrorism and counter-terrorism. And with the new leadership team here at the department, Mr. Mayor, thank you for that team because they're going to go a long way toward making this city and continuing to keep it the safest large city in America, if not the world. Thank you.

Question: It's been referenced by the speakers that your grandfather was an instrumental figure in the Manhattan Project and also for the development of the hydrogen bomb, those weapons of mass destruction. That's something that you've kept sort of in the back of your mind as you approach this job as to the threat we could possibly face from nuclear devices of any sort.

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: Absolutely. I think that is a key driver of mine for choosing this profession, as it was of theirs. The scientists back in that time, including my grandfather, wrestled deeply with the question of how their work product could potentially be used, and the destruction that could be caused, and many felt very conflicted. I assume all of them felt very conflicted. I know my grandfather did, but they recognized, again, the power of using intelligence, of using technology to prevent war, to prevent crimes and atrocities. And that's something that was felt deeply in our household, and a big part of the reason that I have devoted the last 17 years to trying to ensure that we are all doing our part to protect this city from whatever it is that the threat emanates from.

Question: Congratulations, Commissioner Weiner. So what technology are you looking at these days or deploying or seek to use to combat either terrorism here or to protect the city?

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: So it's a great question. On the technology front, I think one of the things that makes this department so unique and our program so unique is the combination of leveraging cutting-edge technologies that protect us as well as the human sweat equity of the investigators, the analysts, the officers who work. And so conventional policing techniques performed by really hardworking, thoughtful expert personnel is ultimately the secret sauce in this program. It's a very powerful combination.

Question: Hi, commissioner Caban. I understand this is your first day on the job, but what was your role in these appointments working with City Hall on these appointments and what are you looking for in your senior leadership at the NYPD with the newly appointed commissioner we have here today?

Police Commissioner Caban: First and foremost, I want to say I'm very proud of the executive leadership in the New York City Police Department. For the first time in years, crime is down, subway crimes is down, violence is down, shootings is down, enforcement is down. It doesn't happen by chance. It happens by the great work of this leadership team and the men and women of the New York City Police Department. And we're going to always look to do better, to be better as an agency. Our appointments of First Deputy Commissioner Tanya Kinsella and our new Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner are all part of that.

Question: Thank you. Commissioner Weiner, commissioner, I guess right after 9/11, the primary threat we all saw as another Al-Qaeda style attack. That's obviously changed a lot since then from lone wolf to homegrown jihadist, et cetera. Talk a little bit about the various threat streams and how they've changed through the years and the difficulty in keeping your eye on what undoubtedly are many balls, so to speak.

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: Sure. The threat has certainly evolved considerably over the last two decades and that is clear on the headlines of newspapers around the world. But what's important to keep in mind about it, it is not from one to another, but an aggregation of different kinds of threats. So the old Al-Qaeda, ISIS inspired threat, which is still persistent, the threat of racially and ethnically motivated extremism, which is a growing, emerging threat of disinformation and conspiracy theory driven violence and individuals are often moved to engage in extremist behavior and activity by a number of factors that are really hard to predict. It's dynamic, but so are we. And I think that's the really important point. As the threat has evolved, our program and our capacities to mitigate it and thwart it has evolved as well. We've developed the nimbleness to meet it wherever it comes from and we will continue to do so as it will undoubtedly continue to change.

Question: Mr. Mayor, you said this was one of the most important aspects of combating terror in New York City. So why the delay in appointing a commissioner for this role?

Mayor Adams: I say this over and over again. You've got to get it right. You have to get it right. And even without a commissioner, a deputy commissioner in that position, we had experience that was there. Some of them are here with us today. This is a professional operation and when you don't have someone that's there to run the day to day for a short period of time, you still have professionals that are still in place. Our bench is deep as is the sports analogy, and that's really what is the benefit of having a well oiled professional machine.

Now we have a head there that's going to continue the work that's already was there and I don't know if it was lost on everyone, Rebecca was here. It wasn't like we brought her in from the outside. She was here. And she was here, she was doing the job already. She did it under several commissioners and she was still guiding us through. When I got my briefing, when I became the mayor, Rebecca sat across the table and briefed me. And so we had a good team. We are blessed in this city that we have a deep bench of those professionals that can continue the job.

[...]

Mayor Adams: Marica, how are you?

Question: When you were at the swearing in of Commissioner Caban, you also praised your Correction commissioner, Louis Molina.

Mayor Adams: Yes.

Bratton: And I wonder how you feel about him today in light of the fact that the US Attorney for the Southern District has now joined in the call that there should be a federal monitor appointed to run the jails. Do you support that idea? Do you reject that idea and do you think Commissioner Molina can lead this department out of what's been going on?

Mayor Adams: The Department of Correction has been a dysfunctional system for generations. I can think about over 25 years that I have communicated with correction officers and just saw the condition, the condition of inmates, the conditions of correction officers and what they have gone through. Human waste thrown at them, weapons created, people preying on those who were trying to just serve their time and year after year, if you go back through history, you will see me standing with correction officers, advocacy groups, talking about the problem of correction. I am well aware of that. And when I took office, unlike others, I did not view correction from a distance, I visited. I was on it on Rikers Island, probably more than any other mayor in the history of this city. And I was very clear when I picked Commissioner Molina and stated that we needed to move on a pathway to turn this system around that was dysfunctional at the highest level, dedicated workers not getting any support that they deserve and just really treated unfairly.

And so in April of this year, there was a report that was put out in April. Let me quote from that report. Real change has occurred since the action plan was ordered by the court. The practice and cultural changes that are being initiated have real potential to move the department towards reducing the imminent risk of harm faced by people in custody and staff. This was in April. This report came out, that Eric Adams' administration has finally started to turn the corner in the Department of Correction. This report, these words were never used under the previous administration, never. But under this administration, after just being in office for a little over a year, the monitor said, this guy Eric Adams is moving us in the right direction. What happened? What happened three months later that now we've gone from, hey, real cultural changes.

Now we're moving to that, we need receivership. Something just doesn't add up. I respect the US attorney in the Southern District. I think he's a great leader there. But something is just not adding up that I went from, Eric is turning the corner to, now we need to place it in receivership and we are going to analyze what the beliefs are. We going to look at the report that is going to be presented to the judge and then we're going to make the appropriate decision. I am the best person in this administration to finally turn around the Department of Correction. I think I have personally committed myself to doing so, no matter how busy my job has been.

I have been on Rikers Island last year in November. I visited the young girl who was the there with her baby. I've attended graduations. I walked the facilities. I walked and saw the improvement, the cleanliness from what I saw the first time I was there. I communicate with the correction officers, with the inmates, their programs where inmates speak with different counselors. I sat in those programs. You are not going to find a person that's more committed to turn around the Department of Correction that I have shown as the mayor of the City of New York.

Question: If I could just follow up, sort of ironic that this happened because at the same time that the US Attorney [inaudible] basically said that in the last month there have been reductions in violent actions. There have been reductions in stabbings and things like that. He also said that he found that more people [inaudible], so that happened today, just minutes ago.

Mayor Adams: Yes. So think about it for a moment. Think about it for a moment. We inherited a department when no one was coming in. We turned that around. Now people are coming in. We inherited a department when violence was high on inmates and other practices. We turned that around. We built out a new area for those who are filing offenders. People are looking at the numbers. The numbers are showing that we are moving this in the right direction. And it was only April. We're not talking about last year. We had four years of no activity in the Department of Correction. I was moving in the right direction. And the irony of it all, the people who are calling for receivership, they were in charge. You had the people who were running Department of Correction are now saying let's get put in a receivership.

And so there are various levels of government, the judicial, the legislative, and the executive. I respect each level. And if determination is made, we're going to abide by the law. That's one thing that we're going to do. We're going to always do that. But I just can't find the logic, April, cultural changes, this administration is doing right. Something we never heard in the previous administration, we never heard it. And I don't even know how many time previous mayors actually went to Rikers Island. So now you have a mayor that's leading from the front and saying, "I'm going to be responsible for DOC," and you are seeing the results that we are doing, and they're saying, "We're going to take it away from you, Eric."

Question: The commissioner has been talking, and you've been talking about shootings going down, other crime going down, but what are you doing about the perception of safety? And how do you propose to change that perception?

Mayor Adams: I don't know if you guys remember back last year, when I said, "Perception is as important as reality." And I mean, front pages what [inaudible 00:36:35], I think you even wrote a article attacking me on that. Everybody was beating me up, because public safety is actual and perceived. We agree with that.

But let's not kid ourselves, that people in this city are not enjoying this city. See, we need to start looking at the numbers. Ridership is up in the TA. We peaked at 4 million riders. Times Square is booming. Tourism is booming. Booming. You walk the streets, people are out enjoying our parks. So, people are not imprisoned by these random acts of violence that we're zeroing in on.

So, we have to look at what are the numbers. And I always like pointing this out, Giuliani, who many of you considered to be the mayor of public safety, his last year, we are 20 percent lower in violent crimes than when he was mayor in his last year. So now, if we're going to keep moving the goalpost, if we're going to go from, "Eric, what are the numbers?" To, "Eric, well, you know how people are feeling?"

How many times we moved the goalpost? I'm governing this city. I mean, can we just be honest about that? Can we write an article that this mayor inherited a city that was basically out of control, and we are governing. Now, Marsha, did you sleep well in May, June, and July? You know why? You didn't hear any fireworks. Do you remember June and July of '20 and '21? We thought like we were in Iraq. You're not hearing those fireworks anymore.

Remember those three-wheel motorcycles that used to run up and down our streets, and do whatever they wanted to do? Where are they now? The city is functioning. And you have a mayor that committed to doing this, of turning our city into any and everything goes, into a city where everyday New Yorkers are going to have the opportunity.

Now, have you seen pictures of some of these other cities with the encampments? Have any of y'all seen those? Where they have rows and rows and rows of encampments, tents. People living in streets. Public urination, defecating, using drugs. People are afraid to run down streets. Do you see that anywhere? Do we have that in our city? Do you see that, chief? You see that in our city?

Well then, you need to let us know, because you know why? We rectify it right away. You let us know, we have a sick system of rectifying it right away. I was driving today on... What street was I on, Tommy?

Tommy Torres: 86th and Second.

Mayor Adams: Second Avenue. What was it?

Torres: 86th.

Mayor Adams: 86th. Driving down 86th and Second Avenue, I saw a person sleeping on the divider with a blanket and everything. What did I do, Tommy?

Torres: Called it in.

Mayor Adams: Called the precinct. Speak to the desk officer. I said, "You mean to tell me you didn't see this on patrol? Get that sector over there, and correct that condition." When I do my midnight rides? I'm riding around the city to see where are the encampments? Where are the streets dirty? I'm on the subway system seeing what's going on. I am going to be the inspector of the product that we say we are going to produce. Because you heard me say this over and over again, "If you don't inspect what you expect, it's all suspect."

What are you smiling about, Julie?

Question: Hey, Mayor Adams. Andrew with Fox News. Do you have any updates on the shooting in Times Square and the stabbing on the Upper East Side from yesterday?

Mayor Adams: The team, we have a few leads. Chief of Detectives is here. These guys are amazing, as they bring these guys to justice. We have a few leads. We're going to move on those leads, and we do our job. We're going to apprehend these bad guys.

What's interesting, and I'm sure that, Chief, you would say the same thing. Often time when we catch them? They are frequent flyers. It's the same people, committing the same crimes, over and over again. And I bet you, when we catch these guys, you're going to find the records. I mean, you're seeing young people showing acts of violence, and we got to really zero-in on that. And so, we have a few leads, and we're going to bring them to justice.

Question: But there's no arrest…

Mayor Adams: No arrest in the Time Square at this time. Yeah. Chief will update you on it.

Deputy Commissioner Weiner: Mr. Mayor, as you know, a number of Fire Department chiefs have filed an age-ism suit against the department, against the fire commissioner. They amended the complaint last week, and they added the deputy mayor, Phil Banks, as a defendant. I just wanted to get your take on that, what you think might be behind him being added as a defendant?

Mayor Adams: Yeah. Listen, we have an excellent, excellent civil justice system. The courts determine, anyone could put their suit in front of what they believe. The system is going to speak for itself. We don't discriminate against age. We don't discriminate against gender, as that's evident. And so, people feel that something happened that was inappropriate? There's a system to do so, and we'll follow that system.

Question: They say he rubber-stamped, they're accusing him essentially of rubber-stamping Kavanagh's decisions.

Mayor Adams: Okay. Well, I think you made a good term, accused. This is a system of justice, where anyone could accuse, but the court decide if you did anything wrong. And I have a lot of faith in our criminal justice system. Phil is doing a great job as my deputy mayor of public safety. I knew it when we brought him on. His experience has been amazing. And I'm just glad that he's serving us well as the rest of the team. We've got a great team.

Question: My name is Juliana, from Vision Latina TV. I have a question in terms of the correctional facility, and also the improvement of the city. What are you planning to do with the immigrants that have an order to go to jail, but they trying to do their legal process right now?

Mayor Adams: Immigrants that are ordered to go to jail?

Question: For acts in illegally, the country.

Mayor Adams: That were here. We're not ordering immigrants to go to jail, and migrants.

Question: They're from California, but they are here in New York.

Mayor Adams: Yeah. I can't speak on behalf of other municipalities. Here, we have done an unbelievable job with 87,000 people coming through our system, and making sure that we provide everything from education, to healthcare, to food, all of those basic needs that people need. But it's not sustainable. I said this over and over again. Our cup has runneth over months ago, and we're going to continue to pursue it to get the support.

So here? No one has been compelled or incarcerated, just the opposite. We are giving them the support that they need. And what could be more anti-American than not having the right to work? That is just so anti-American, to be told to come to America, all of our ancestors came here with the right to work. Nothing should be more anti-American than that.

And we just want them to have the right to work. That's all. And that's what they're asking for. But we are not using any draconian measures to take care our migrant and asylum seekers.

Question: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The monitor has found, in reference to Rikers Island, has found numerous instances of transparency being shut down, and also reports of violence not being reported appropriately. How do you respond to that?

Mayor Adams: I'm sorry. In where?

Question: This was in June, when the federal monitor came out with the report saying that there had been numerous instances of transparency being shut down at Rikers Island.

Mayor Adams: In June?

Question: Yes.

Mayor Adams: I'm sorry?

Question: [Inaudible.]

Mayor Adams: The recent report?

Question: No, it's not in the recent report. But this is a report… But this is about the transparency, and I'm wondering how it...

Mayor Adams: Wait a minute. We're in July now. You said that June was the most recent report?

Question: This was the one [inaudible].

Mayor Adams: Not the one that… Listen, we should all-

Question: I'm talking specifically, though, about instances of transparency that have not occurred. You mentioned the April report, the improvements that you've made, but these are also criticisms that have been made of the department. And I'm curious about what you think about that.

Mayor Adams: If we're talking about the report, the recent report that went back to the court, and that was in June. The report that came from the monitor that listed, I believe it was five acts, that there was no notification appropriately. Then let's correct that. Let's correct that. If we have a belief that we should have known, we didn't require notification, and she has a belief that it does require notification? Let's sit down and correct that.

But you don't go to receivership when we're showing officers coming back to work, which was part of a problem. Decrease in violence, decrease in violence on inmates. All the areas that we said were important, we corrected those. We're trending in the right direction. So, if the monitor felt that, listen, there were five areas we should have been notified, and we weren't? Let's sit down and talk.

Let's work together towards a goal of how do we correct the system that a mayor has made clear, he has committed, not only as mayor, but he was committed before mayor, in correcting the system. And so, we want to make sure communication is at the key in the heart of turning around Rikers. We must turn around Rikers. That's what we must do.

And in April, we were told, were on a direction of doing that. That's what we were told in April. "Eric, you and your team is moving in the right direction." And that was in writing. I just gave you the quotes. I just gave you the quotes. So, if the turnaround is because the five times someone was not reported, that's a lot to all of a sudden go to receivership.

So, again, I respect the US Attorney in the Southern District. I know that his goals are the same as mine, to make sure Rikers is functioning. And I believe that I'm the best person to make the Rikers that we all desire, not because of what I did while mayor, and what they wrote in their report of saying, "Eric is in the right direction." But what I've done my entire life on dealing with Rikers for over 20-something years. Okay, thanks a lot.