Transcript: Mayor Adams Participates in Live Interview with La Mega 97.9 FM

September 15, 2023

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] Mr. Mayor, welcome. 

Mayor Eric Adams: Hola, mi gente. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.]  

Mayor Adams: Well first of all, you have not arrived as a mayor if you’re not on La Mega 97.9.  

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.]  

Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar, Strategic Initiatives: Mayor, what brings you to La Mega? Please, tell us.  

Mayor Adams: Well I think that this is the number one station, numero uno, and you have communicated directly with listeners, and the power of, really of our spanish speaking community throughout this entire city.  

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Inaudible.] Highlighting how you are a member of the community, how you visit and attend every parade, whether that be the Dominican Day Parade, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the Cuban Day Parade.. And you’re always there for the community. That he has seen at least three mayors, while living in New York, Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor de Blasio, and now you, and you have always been there with the community, in partnership, visiting every community in the City of New York.  

Mayor Adams: Listen, I’m clear, I am one of you, your struggles are my struggles, everyone knows my life, you know growing up, in New York City, being dyslexic, being arrested, rejected, and so now that I’m elected to be the mayor of the city, I’m not going to leave the people who have always been around me, I’m at home in these communities.  

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Question: So, Mr. Mayor, um… I’ve been a big critic of you and your administration, but also, I want to talk about [inaudible], so Governor Hochul and President Biden have let this crisis go… how do you feel about that? [Inaudible] left alone in this place? 

Mayor Adams: Well first, I don’t think you have been a critic to this administration, you have been analyzing us, holding our feet to the fire, and making sure we produce what we said, and I am proud when you do an analysis, that we are stepping up every day. And just to answer that question directly about the asylum seekers, I think it’s unfortunate what is happening to the migrants and asylum seekers, everyday New Yorkers, and what is happening to our city. This is unfair to us and for the most part, we've been carrying the weight of this. Governor Hochul has been a partner, and we need more from the state, but clearly the national government has not done their job on this issue.  

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: Mr. Mayor, there is a question about whether you are completely satisfied with the work you have done up to now or do you believe there are things left for you to accomplish? 

Mayor Adams: Yes. Yes. We are at almost the halfway point, 20 months into this administration, and I had to build the right team and make sure it looked like the people of New York. I'm the first mayor in the history of this city that has a Dominican as a [first] deputy mayor, that has a Puerto Rican as the police commissioner, as… I have a Puerto Rican as the head of Department of Correction. 

When you look at my administration, you see yourself, and we are really moving forward in dismantling those things that have historically denied us access. We've just got started. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: Why so many Hispanics in your [mandates], Mr. Mayor, because that's something that we see, for example, like we have, as you mentioned, like Ana Almanzar, we have Edward Caban. Like, why is that? You support like the Latinos communities right now, like in your mandate? 

Mayor Adams: Well, when I look at [Steven Victor Cruz] and [Sean Cruz], my two nephews, and I grew up in a community of Spanish Harlem where I saw the contribution the Spanish speaking community has made to this city for so long. You were able to be number twos, you able to sit in the bleachers. You never were allowed to get on the field. Under this administration, you're no longer in the bleachers, you're no longer number two's, you're running the show in the major entities in our city. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Mayor Adams: And I just want, this is so important. When I appointed Ana to be deputy mayor and I stood next to her mother, I thought about the mothers of all of our Spanish speaking leaders and people who one day hope that their children will be treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve. And when I hugged her mother, I saw my mother, and I realized how proud she was. 

This is so significant, what we're doing, to have Eddie Caban, whose father fought for inclusion, and now his son is the commissioner. So, these are legacies that I'm fulfilling the same way I fulfilled the legacy my mom laid for me. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: There has been some negative comments about precisely what makes you a real human being, which is being in the community, being at the parades and showing up in representation of all communities. But that could be a criticism for you not being… What was the word you used? 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: Oh, that you weren't… That you're not doing the real job behind the desk. 

Mayor Adams: Well, I think that first of all, I am authentic. I'm not going to stop being who I am. I enjoy being around people, and this is a 24/7 city, and I'm going to enjoy every part of it and be with the people throughout. 

When you look at the record decrease in homicides, decrease in shootings, decrease in major crimes, 99 percent of the jobs have returned into our city. When you look at the success we have done around housing, you're seeing real quality things. Being the mayor is symbolic and it is substantive, and we're doing both. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Mayor Adams: Listen, just because I like to salsa, I like to smoke a cigar and drink cognac doesn't mean I can't do my job. If I'm out with the boys at night, I'm up with the men in the morning to get the job done. 

Host: Eh, you dancin' the merengue... 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: Nice. Mr. Mayor, you mentioned Edward Caban before. So, my question is related to that, because I know, we all know, that you have a good relationship with him. What can we expect for the NYPD now that we have Caban as the new commissioner? 

Mayor Adams: We're seeing it. The continuation of diversity because the Police Department must look like the residents that they are protecting, and the leadership rank. His dad fought for inclusions of Hispanics in the Police Department as a transit police officer, and now his son is there. 

You're going to see safety with the proper police practices, not heavy-handed policing, but we have to be safe, and he's going to make sure that it’s done. So, this is a brother that came from the community, and he rose through the ranks and now he's leading the largest Police Department in the country. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Mayor Adams: And you know, one thing we need to really appreciate this moment. I am a blue-collar union mayor. There's nothing special about me, and I don't try to fake it. And he's a real authentic person. And it has to feel good for all of us in the city to see someone like Ana as a deputy mayor, Sheena Wright. You're seeing just everyday down to earth people finally running the city. I didn't go to Harvard and Yale; I went to jail. You know, but I was able to come back from my mistakes. This is our story. And now you've got everyday New Yorkers running the most important city on the globe. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: The history is going to remember you as a real good and decent human being and leader. Having said that, however, with the current humanitarian crisis with the asylum seekers and the statements that were made a few weeks ago, how would you describe that and describe what is happening today? 

Mayor Adams: Well, first, we have to be clear on the statements. People attempted to take those statements and said that the asylums and migrants are destroying the city, and that's not what I said. I said this issue is. 

We are going to have to spend $5 billion in our November plan. That money is going to come from basic services in the city. As the brother stated earlier, this is a national problem. New York City taxpayers should not be weathering this storm alone, and the migrant and asylum seekers should not be living in this condition. 

We need to give them the right to work. They want to work. People who criticize me, they didn't sleep in a shelter with the asylum seekers like I did. They're not down at the shelters speaking with these men and women that are coming from all over the globe from Africa, from Central America, South America, from Russia. That is the issue here. 

And so I'm going to be remembered as being one of the humane treaters of those who are seeking to pursue the American dream. But that dream starts with a job, we need to give them the right to work. 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: What is the end goal to solve this issue for you. 

Mayor Adams: If we all think about it, think about our parents or our grandparents: no matter how challenging it was coming to this country, they were able to allow us to be where we are now because they had the right to work. 

We need to give people the dignity of the job. Right now, we are not allowed to allow them to be employed. If we can just give them that right, it will help this crisis greatly. We have a lot of jobs that are available, and we have a lot of available people that want to work and they're not allowed to. We need to allow them to work. 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: she said that she understands that there are many, many issues that you inherited as you, as you mentioned, came in 20 months ago. But thinking about her community in the Bronx and what she sees in the street, a lot of fentanyl use, a lot of cocaine use, a lot of heroin injections and what is being described, New York City zombies. What will you do to remedy the situation? 

Mayor Adams: And it's so important, what you just raise, because whenever I stand up and push against those quality of life problems, people think it's only what I want. But when I go to town halls, I'm hearing everyday New Yorkers, hey want to stop the illegal scooter use, they want to stop the drug use, they want to stop the violence. 

And I'm speaking on behalf of everyday New Yorkers because I'm an everyday New Yorker, and that is what I tell my commissioners, that's what I tell all of our team. We must deal with the quality of life issue that everyday New Yorkers don't want to see and don't want to experience, and I'm going to continue to do that. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: La Mega has about...over four million listeners across the city and across the country through their website and the...oh, God. The radio, the radio… 

I'm going mute today. I'm going mute. And he would like for you to take this opportunity to send a message of how important the Hispanic community, during Hispanic Heritage Month is for you and for the City of New York. 

Mayor Adams: No, so important. American history is Hispanic history. The Hispanic community throughout history has been a major building block for our success and our prosperity. The reason La Mega is successful is because they are authentic, and they're real. They do not apologize for being deeply rich in Hispanic culture. That is what it's about right now, that's what we have in common. I'm authentic in what I do, this station is authentic in what it does, and that's why I have arrived, because I'm on La Mega, 97.9. 

Host: [Speaks in Spanish.] 

Host: Mr. Mayor, congratulations [inaudible]. Thank you very much. 

Host: Mr. Mayor, if you ever need a talented, Dominican, skinny, smart woman I'm right here. 

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: And a CUNY graduate, right? 

Host: Yes, of course, of course. 

Mayor Adams: Listen, I'd like to say, you know, my family's from Alabama, but I'm Dominican, baby.