Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces Comprehensive Plan To Combat Car Thefts In New York City

September 6, 2023

Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III, Public Safety: Good morning. So, I'm joined here by the mayor of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD Police Commissioner Edward Caban, members of the NYPD, including the Chief of Patrol John Chell, Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry and Assistant Chief Joe Kenny from the Chief of Detectives Office. We are also joined by a member of the administration, Small Business Service Commissioner Kevin Kim.

We also have our invaluable partners from the auto industry representing the Greater New York Auto Dealers Association, Chief Operating Officer Ed Gazzillo, who we'll hear from shortly, and board member Mark Lacher of Koeppel Auto Group. 

Keeping the public safe is our top priority. You've heard the mayor say this before. You'll hear him say it again: the entire administration of New York City government is focused on protecting all New Yorkers. When it comes to public safety, crime statistics are not the only metric we use to gauge how we're doing, it is just as important to us that people feel safe, that they are safe. But we do rely on crime stats as an important indicator to let us know if there are any areas where we can improve.

So far this year there has been an overall decrease in major crimes as compared to last year. Statistically we're moving in the right direction, but we remain focused on safety and the perception of safety. But despite that overall decrease in crime, there is one category that is clear outlier, and that is grand larceny auto. Grand larceny auto is up approximately 19 percent for the year.

This increase is being driven by some very specific factors and trends. In particular, New York City has not been immune to a concerning trend that is happening across the entire country where certain models of Kia and Hyundai are being stolen at record rates. The theft of these vehicles was popularized on social media particularly on TikTok videos showing how to exploit vulnerabilities of these vehicles so they could be easily stolen.

This is an issue that the mayor has been warning car owners over the past year. See, when a person's vehicle was stolen, that's not just a loss of property. We rely on that vehicle for work. We rely on that vehicle to take our children to school. For many of us, it's our lifeline.

We are not going to stand by and let people be robbed of that lifeline. This is a deep issue. We're treating it with the utmost respect. The utmost seriousness. With that I'd like to turn it over to the mayor of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams:  Thank you. Thanks so much… Thanks, deputy mayor. And you know, it's interesting. It's not lost on me, as you were giving out overall analysis, that this is the second day we're talking about the role of social media and continuing the behavior of our young people, the number of cases that we've witnessed dealing with young people and social media.

When you look at the analysis of those who are caught up in the issues around grand larceny autos, it's a continuing pattern that we're seeing the involvement of young people over and over again. And the hallmark of this administration, among many things, is our ability to identify a problem, break it down into its components and come up with a full plan on how to address it.

We did it over and over again. We did it with the mental health crisis on our streets. We did it with the subway safety plan. We did it with how we recover our economy and we're going to continue to do it. So, we see a decrease in crime. New York City is the safest big city in America. I just need to see that as a headline one day. We're the safest big city in America, and we are continuing to trend in the right direction from the day we took office January 1st, 2022, when we were trending in the wrong direction.

We're trending in the right direction. Decreasing shootings, decreasing homicides, decreasing five out of the seven major crimes. Our issue is GLAs on several fronts, and the team did an impressive job on what's the issue and the combination of enforcement, education and stop the recidivism of it. Far too many people that are committing GLAs are repeated offenders.

But in addition to that, people look at GLAs as a nonviolent crime. Yes, the stealing of the car you may identify as such, but we are seeing a consistent pattern of these cars being used in crimes, drive by shootings, robberies of different commercial establishments, and they're becoming tools to be used to facilitate violent crimes.

I am extremely pleased with what we are doing. When we release our Blueprint for Community Safety, I said despite what it may perceive to be, we're moving in the right direction, as I would say over and over again. And the public safety and justice, they go hand in hand. They're the prerequisite to our prosperity, and we're getting it right because we know how to do it right as we continue to move our city to a safe place.

As of the NYPD's most recent data released this morning, as I stated, five out of the seven major crime categories have remained down as they have for the year. Shootings, 26 percent decrease, and when you look at the decreased numbers, we're talking about 315 people that were not shot this year as compared to the same time last year.

Homicides, nearly 10 percent down, and transit crime is down over 4 percent for the year. This is just a testament of the hard work of men and women who wear the police uniform every day. I continue to see the video that is sent to me, how these officers are running towards danger. Sometimes that's missed in the narrative: they're warning towards danger.

Even the most vociferous critic, they know 911. And they will call 911 when their family is in need. But it's the grand larceny autos that's putting a blemish on our success. They've gone up 19 percent for the year and 24 percent in August. And so we're going to take the wheel of this crisis and drive it and put it on the right path. Commissioner Caban has made this a top priority, and he's focused this, and we're doing, as we have done with so many issues, we have a 360 degree approach that will consist of precision policing with education, partnership and outreach, and outreach is really one of the most important things we can do.

Each police precinct now has a vehicle dedicated to combatting car thefts that is equipped with two mobile License Plate Readers, also called LPRs, great tools to be used to identify stolen vehicles that are on the road. This car will be on patrol 24/7 and flag vehicles that have been reported stolen or missing so that our officers on patrol can respond swiftly. In addition, our crime analysis unit has a GLA coordinator to enhance data collection or stolen or lost vehicles. We'll also deploy additional investigators to identify trends in vehicle related crimes and stop the violent crimes that are involved in these stolen vehicles.

And we're doing something else this time around. We're partnering with car dealerships and the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association to proactively educate buyers about car theft. We cannot thank them enough. We had a meeting with them at City Hall, and they were all on board. They realize that this is probably one of the largest purchases a consumer will make, and they want to be partners with us. We just have to really take our hats off to the partnership that we developed with them.

We want to fix the problem with Kia and Hyundai. Kia and Hyundais are vehicles that led to the TikTok challenge where young people have participated and we're encouraging buyers to install tracking devices, a cheap device that will save your expensive vehicle. We say over and over again, you like your car, so does a thief. And we need to make sure, if it is stolen, we need to track it as well as give real tips to consumers on how not to participate in a theft of their cars.

We're partnering with the New York Automobile Dealers Association and Spectrum TV to create a public service announcement to help educate New Yorkers on how to prevent their cars from being stolen. But that's not all. Car theft is a crime of opportunity. There are some easy things all of us can do to prevent theft, and it may sound simple, but don't forget to lock your door.

There's an entire process where individuals are walking up and down the block, pulling on door handles, and when the door is open, it allows them to go in and to steal the car. And don't get out of your vehicle and leave the engine running. That is an invitation for your vehicle to be stolen. Countless number of times we have witnessed these types of thefts.

So our 360 degree approach additionally includes working with the New York State DMV. A different way of thinking. We're going to use the DMV as a partner to alert car owners whose vehicles are being targeted for GLAs so that they can take the necessary precaution. Oftentimes, people are unaware that their cars are on a focus group...or focus by thieves and they're targeted. We're going to educate and update the information.

We're working with violence interrupters, schools and administrators and others to reach out to individuals, especially young people. These numbers speak for themselves: over 51 percent of those arrested for GLAs since September '22 have been under the age of 18 and more than 88 percent are age 25 and under.

We want to protect not only the car owners but we want to protect the future of our young people. A joyride does not bring about joy when you have a permanent criminal record that could impact your livelihood in the future.

We encourage people to take the necessary steps, the necessary precautions. It is this 360 degree approach that is going to allow us to put the GLA crisis on the right path and really turn it around and see a further decrease in the successful decrease of crime we've witnessed in the city. Thank you very much.

Deputy Mayor Banks: Thank you. Now we'll hear from the Police Commissioner of the city of New York, Ed Caban.

Police Commissioner Edward Caban: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And as the mayor stated and it bears repeating, New York City is the safest big city in the nation.

Now if you've heard the most recent crime numbers for the month of August we will continue to drive overall crime even lower: fewer shootings, fewer murders, and this is happening at a time when historically crime often spikes.

These reductions are not by chance. They are driven by the hard work of the men and women of the NYPD, who, rest assured, we understand there's still more work to be done. One crime category has defied this downward trend, and that is the crime of stealing a vehicle, also known as Grand Larceny Auto, or GLA.

When it comes to GLAs, this past month and the year as a whole we are seeing double digit increases. This is simply not acceptable. There are some who think that you can steal a car in the city and get away with it. Well, they are sadly mistaken; and today, we are launching a new initiative that will make that message very clear.

Most of us know someone who has either had their car stolen or who have had their own car stolen, which is why we understand that for those who have unfortunately experienced crime, it is an invasion, a violation of space.

Our vehicles are often an extension of ourselves, of our homes; and if taken, it leaves a lasting impact. This is one reason we are ramping up our proven crime fighting tactics to go after those who commit those crimes. Another important reason, we are seeing this time and time again, those who steal cars often commit other types of serious crimes.

Everything from robberies to shootings happen with stolen cars. Stolen cars have become the broken windows on wheels, which is why we must stop it before things escalate to other crimes, more violent crimes.

Rest assured, we will meet this challenge where it lives, on our streets. And as you've heard, for the first time ever, every precinct in the city will now have a patrol car dedicated exclusively to addressing stolen vehicles. As with everything we do, there will be technology involved, this includes a vast digital network of license plate readers that help officers pinpoint and track stolen vehicles.

Additionally, officers assigned to this new GLA role will be given specialized training in tactics and the law allowing them to become experts in this field over time in turn will help them to work with prosecutors to build the strongest possible cases.

Now, nearly half the vehicles stolen in our city have been taken in the Bronx and here, in Northern Queens. This is where our focus will be, and that is why we are here today.

It should also be noted this initiative is by no means one dimensional. Working in partnership with the stakeholders, the mayor already mentioned we are implementing a strategy of education and enforcement. We've already begun a crime prevention campaign on social media, and that work will continue. We're educating New Yorkers and consumers in how they could avoid becoming victims, also giving them the tools to protect their property.

The NYPD has always taken the crime of GLA seriously, but these new coordinated efforts will ensure we are going even further. The inclusion of community partners outside of law enforcement such as the Small Business Services, the DMV, the Department of Probation, and many others, is also in alignment with the mayor's approach to many other issues in our city, which is to say we are one team working together toward a common goal: enforcement, education and partnership.

These joint efforts will reverse the trend we have seen in vehicle thefts and will also lead to reductions in other violent crimes. This is what New Yorkers expect from the NYPD, and this is what we will deliver. I want to thank everyone involved for this initiative for their hard work. I know together we'll drive down GLA as we have in so many other crime categories. Thank you very much.

Deputy Mayor Banks:  Thank you, commissioner. Now we'll hear from Ed Gazzillo.

Ed Gazzillo, Chief Operating Officer, Greater New York Auto Dealers Association: Hello, everybody. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm a big fan of the mayor. I'm a Brooklyn guy, born in Brooklyn, New York. I was a New York City teacher. Taught with Tom, Brooklyn. It was great.

[Laughter.]

Good times up here. [Inaudible] Auto Dealers Association, we're here for the [inaudible] and we'll leave the enforcement to you guys. I would like to thank Mayor Adams and Commissioner Caban for inviting me here for this important announcement to address crime in the city.

As you all know, the auto industry is a vital part of the economic engine of New York City, and we're committed to help combat the disturbing increase in vehicle and catalytic converter thefts. At a recent meeting at City Hall with the mayor and his team, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association made an announcement that we will put together a PSA. The spot aims to warn people about what they can do to prevent thefts.

We are pleased to announce that the project is already in development and clearly highlights the action the public can take to protect their property like locking the doors, you know?

The association has also agreed to create an educational outreach program at next year's New York Auto Show, which the organization produces in the springtime, with a special booth dedicated to handing out important vehicle theft and safety information to the hundreds of thousands of people who attend our show every year.

The retail automobile industry in metro New York is pleased to partner with mayor and commissioner and commend him and them on taking a leadership role in this important issue. One of your favorite thing is get stuff done.

Mayor Adams: That's right.

Gazzillo: Get stuff done, we're committed to work together through our auto show and our 400 plus local new franchise dealers whenever we can. Once again, thank you so much. We appreciate the partnership. We look forward to it.

Deputy Mayor Banks: Okay. On topic questions, who is going to handle it?

Question: For the deputy mayor, police commissioner, I'm wondering what percentage of the cars that are stolen are Kias or Hyundais that don't have the immobilizers that are recommended to prevent the thefts, do you guys have any sort of numbers or percentages?

Police Commissioner Caban: Thank you for that question, I'm going to pass it over to John Chell.

John Chell, Chief of Patrol, Police Department:  This year we have over 2,000 Kias and Hyundais stolen. Last year, only 300. That's a 587 percent increase in these cars, and each borough has an increase, but by far the Bronx has the most of these autos altogether.

Question:  Why are these cars targeted specifically on TikTok?

Chief Chell: All right. July of '22 video comes out on TikTok and it shows the world how to take one of these vehicles. It was a defect in the ignition. So the plastic cover that covers the wheel, easy, pop it open with a screwdriver, the ignition switch, the same switch you use for a USB port, common iPhone, plug it in and turn it and the car goes. That's why we're having this conversation today.

Question:  You were saying that most of the cars are being taken from the Bronx and Northern Queens...

Commissioner Caban: Say it louder, please.

Question: You said most of the cars were being taken from Bronx and Northern Queens, why are those areas and where are you recovering those cars if any?

Chief Chell: So most...85 percent of these cars are being recovered. That speaks to joyriding. I think the mayor mentioned the age range, 15 to 19, young kids, via TikTok challenge know how to take the. Car joyriding we see.

Unfortunately, time and time again these cars are being used for other crimes, robberies and other shootings. They're being recovered mostly in the borough they're stolen from and close by the precinct they're stolen to, and it speaks to our strategy of LPR readers in isolated areas because we know the cars are coming back to us.

Question: The joyriding, are any of these cars [inaudible].

Chief Chell: All the above.

Question: Are you saying that the Kia and Hyundais, they're not equipped with the technology, with GPS technology that you can easily track it?

Chief Chell: Some of them are older cars. That's why we're advocating to put the tracking device in the car secret it, wherever you like to secret it, we have the opportunity when the car is moving besides on the plate we can track your car real time.

Commissioner Caban: Just to go back to your question, that's why the mayor had convened a bunch of auto dealers a few months back and impressed upon them that their cooperation in letting the purchasers, whether they're buying used cars or new cars, to be able to see whether or not you can afford to have a tracking device, and if you can't, we should just have low cost products that mayor used his influence, donated partners, we distributed them out because if we can track the car, your car, we can have positive results that's part of the education aspect that the police commissioner spoke about.

Question: Gentlemen from the automobile association, you were talking about tracking you were just talking about that, of the dealers in the different out there, how many would say are new cars?  How are these tracking units...

Gazzillo: I would say every car is equipped for auto theft prevention. They have all these new technologies in there and everything else. Hyundai is just doing a software update that they're inviting people to come to the dealerships to get this update and it's going to help prevent auto theft. We have one of our dealers, Mark Lacher, Hyundai called him and authorized him to work with mayor and City of New York to help people who own Hyundais, they can come to it and get the software update for free.

Mayor Adams: I can't overemphasize how the dealers have been a real partner here. Their job is to sell cars, but to come in and say, hey, this is a problem in the city, we want to be a partner here, they came in, sat down at the table. We put our heads together. Combination of PSAs, combination of understanding what's happening on the ground.

And then to bring in the Department of Motor Vehicles, they're aware who owns the Hyundais, the Kias and other cars that are targeted and to be able to notify those residents, because when you drive a car drive off the lot with a car you don't realize, hey, my car is one of those cars that are more likely to be targeted and be stolen.

By informing them using communications, we are actually preparing people to make sure when you get out of the car don't leave it running, lock your doors. There are signals. If your mirrors, if your rear view mirrors or side mirrors are pointed out, it's an indicator that the car is unlocked.

There's so many secrets that we're going to now educate the public, they are going to be our partners in this. We see the partnership of law enforcement, education and corporations in the car dealer entity that's helping us with the 360 degree approach. It's a real win for our city. It's a win for car owners, and it is a loss for the bad guys when we send a message correctly.

Question: Mr. Mayor, talk a little bit about the frustration your administration is feeling. You drove down all those major crimes you talked about, homicides, shootings, et cetera, but this GLA is really a thorn in your side.

Mayor Adams: So true. And the commissioner and I, we sat down, the team did a presentation of not only that GLAs are high, the question the commissioner asked, okay, dissect. Why are they high? How many were because people left their doors open? How many were because the keys were left in the car? The car was running? How many didn't have tracking devices?

So once his team dissected the problem, we were able now to do what we're doing today, say here's the plan. Now we're going to execute a well thought out 360 degree plan to go after GLAs.

We've got to bring down GLAs for so many reasons. Number one, it is bloating our crime numbers, but also it is destroying the lives of a lot of young people. They think it's just a joyride. We're just having fun. That's on your record for the rest of your life, and it can prevent you from really fulfilling your role as a productive citizen.

So we need to drive them down, particularly with this population. 88 percent under the age of 25 or under, a significant number of young people who are involved in this. So hats off to the commissioner and his team for analyzing, coming up with the blueprint, now we're going to deploy that blueprint.

Question: You mentioned yesterday how you had worked with social media to take down the videos of subway surfing. Is there an element of that here as well given that you mentioned the TikTok challenge and social media?

Mayor Adams: Yes, yes. I've been saying this since last year, when we've been looking at some of the patterns of drill music, when you look at GLAs, when you look at subway surfing, there is just a common denominator here. Those of you who have children, we used to be able to stop the negative things from coming into our households, now our babies are sitting inside their rooms being educated on antisocial behaviors.

And social media must play a role. Dr. Vasan did the summit last year, earlier this year, where we looked at...we looked at the role of social media and how it impacts the lives of young people. There's a real responsibility. There's a common denominator, when you look at all of these actions, it keeps going back to this, the role of social media.

Teaching young people how to steal cars, that's insane, and we have been communicating with them, coming to the table and saying, let's just show a level of responsible behavior. We should not be showing young people how to do things that is going to harm them in the future.

Question: Could you respond to the comptroller's letter denying funding for DACA.

Mayor Adams: The letter clearly we were given approval previously of doing the emergency contract, and we're going to move forward with it. We can't change the rules in the middle of the game. I think the comptroller probably saw an opportunity to just get in the conversation, but we have a ruling from him, his office, during the emergency contracts.

We're just going to continue to do that as we deal with this humanitarian crisis that has been dropped in the lap of everyday New Yorkers, of you know, we have done an amazing job in doing so. Those who are not on the field should not be far removed and just critique everything. They have to get in the game. So, we're going to continue to do emergency contracts.We got the approval from them.

Question: Mr. Mayor, you haven't spoken publicly yet about Eric Duprey who was killed now two weeks ago. Could you speak a little bit on that incident, what happened, and also we looked at more broadly maybe you and Chief Chell, your strategy on low level drug crimes. The data shows that arrest and arraignments for crimes like CPCS seventh have gone up a lot last year.

Mayor Adams: For which?

Question: CPCS seventh.

Mayor Adams: Possession?

Question: Exactly. But at the same time that case has been dismissed...

Mayor Adams: I'm sorry. That's okay, half the cases.

Question: About half the cases in each borough are dismissed at that level. 

Mayor Adams: Got it. First, the case. Listen, our tactics, as the commissioner has stated, our tactics, we don't throw coolers at fleeing suspects. And so it's going to go through, the AG has the case now. My heart goes out to the family. A terrible incident that took place, and that is not in our patrol guide procedures to throw a cooler at someone that is fleeing.

And the AG has the case. She's going to do a thorough investigation. The law was passed in cases like this is turned over to her, and then the department will have the internal investigation through the internal affairs bureau to make sure that justice is served in this case.

As you stated, we're making arrests. Once we make the arrests and apprehensions, it's up to the courts to determine the next levels. When I came in office, there was a complete dismantling of going after street level drug dealing and uses as well as other quality of life issues, such as even prostitution, our initiative that we did over in East New York.

So we're going to continue to do our part of this relationship in the criminal justice system. We're the enforcers. The prosecutors have their role. The judicial aspect they have their role. We're not going to stop our role. We're doing it. The numbers are there. Chief of patrol, narcotics units on the ground, we're not doing the games of yesteryears where we ignore it. We know attached to illegal drug trade is violence, and we're zeroing in on that and we're going to keep doing that.

Question: Going back to the DACA contract. I want to know overall when it comes to the migrant crisis, how is your administration choosing these contracts, who has been making that decision, when they come up for requests for proposal, what does your administration look for when they contract?

Mayor Adams: There are many different layers and many different entities that are connected to the contracts. We have the cleaning contracts. We have the contracts on food services, all those contracts go through the traditional vetting process. We have a Mayor's Office of Contracts.

We have inside the various agencies. They do their vetting. We have NYCEM that's involved, and we have an overall team that is analyzing all of these contracts. And we're looking over...because you have to shift from emergency to functionality. You can't stay in an emergency phase.

So now that we're shifting over, little did we know 15,000 migrants ago that we would be at 110,000. We would have thought the national government would have resolved this issue, but we are now looking at the next level of how we're going to address this crisis that's going to be around for, seems like to be, a period of time. So there are many layers to vetting these contracts.

Question:  Question for either Chief Chell or Chief Kenny. There was an incident in the subway where a woman was seen beaten with a cane. Apparently an officer interviewed the man, the suspect possibly responsible and let him go. Is that [inaudible].

Mayor Adams:  I'll answer that because I was briefed this morning by Chief of IAB, Assistant Commissioner Daughtry and the team gave me an update on the incident of the...under no circumstance should this woman have been beaten that way. There appears to be, preliminarily a cross complaint situation here and it's going to be fleshed out.

But IAB is examining, actively, what was the role of the police officers that responded as well as the supervisors that responded. It's currently an active investigation that did not start after the story was reported. It started on, I believe, Saturday when we first got wind of this and once we flesh out exactly what happened we'll make sure everyone knows what took place.

Question:  You just mentioned critique of the controller. Possibly you said you're not bothered by critiques of others but sometimes [inaudible] last week and I'm wondering are you at all bothered when you get the critiques from other leaders like Brad Lander and other politicians, how do you deal...

Mayor Adams: First of all, I think an accurate observation of someone who displays buffoonery, I'm just giving a definition of what a buffoon is. I'm not criticizing him. I'm just giving him the proper definition.

I don't think I attacked Brad Lander by saying they gave us an approval. After the approval we went ahead. That's not an attack or criticism. It's giving an accurate description of what happened. We got approval. We went to them before we did the emergency procurement contract. They approved us.

So I'm sharing with you how we got here. That's not a critique. And being mayor, the role of being mayor is critique. Guy stopped me the other day, my wife divorced me, mayor, I hate you mayor, what's that got to do with it?  Listen, the mayor is the closest person when you stub your toe you're going to look to and complain to. That's the role of the job.

If people know me, I am probably the most visible, the most approachable...I'm out in the streets talking to people. So, listen, I don't mind the critique. This is a quote you should go with. What God means for you, no man can take away. What God does not mean for you, no man can give. I've been critiqued all my life.

Question: Back to the migrant crisis. You've been asking for months for help from the federal government. If Biden doesn't offer this help before the election, are you still going to support his run?

Mayor Adams: Listen, the president and I...we disagree on what I believe we should be doing more of on this issue, this issue. And I'm not a fair weathered friend, that if I disagree on one issue, all of a sudden our relationship is severed. Anyone who has been in business relationships, marriages, relationship with your children, we disagree. I disagree with myself sometimes.

And so the goal is to say, hey, what kind of president have you been?  You navigated us out of Covid. You brought back substantial resources for us when we were fighting crimes and overproliferation of guns, really stabilizing ATF. Some of the economic things he's done in bringing back jobs in our country, similar to what we're doing in the city now.

And so I believe that we should be doing better things on this issue, the migrants. This is a national problem. It should be handled by the national government. And we're going to continue to say that and advocate for it, and I'm so happy that so many of our partners have joined us and really have started to be part of this voice.

But let's be clear. This mess is...as Trump like Republicans mess. Real immigration reform, you know, I'm hearing those who are coming out saying Eric is right, Eric is right. Well, don't pick half of what you say I'm right on, pick the other half.

That Trump Republicans created this mess and we need to fix this mess with real immigration reform. And I don't care what anyone says, nothing is more anti American than you don't have the right to work. Whomever is unaware of that, I don't know they have studied American history. Every group that have arrived at this country, arrived here with the understanding you could provide with your family.

And so we want a decompression strategy at the border. We want an emergency status to our state. We want this to be properly funded. We want access to federal land such as Army bases and others so we can place migrants there, and we want our partners in Congress to have a real immigration policy. This should not be helping to El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Massachusetts, no city or municipality should be handling a national problem.