Transcript: Mayor Adams Holds In-Person Media Availability

October 8, 2024

Watch the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjZlpcMEQ5Y

Mayor Eric Adams: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm sorry for the 12:00 o'clock start instead of 11:30. We had the great opportunity to show the amazing numbers that the team is doing over at the NYPD. And that's a cornerstone of my role as the mayor, is to keep this city safe. And we're going to continue to do that. 

And as I indicated last week, while a lot of your questions remain focused on the investigation, I want the team focused on moving the city forward. And once we sort of normalize these questions, we'll bring back all of the deputy mayors so they can answer the questions in their portfolio. But it is crucial to me that that hour that they're sitting there, they can be doing the business of the people. They seem like this is your focus. So I want to make sure I give you the opportune time to ask the questions that you want while they're doing the job of the people. 

And speaking of keeping our city straight and safe, nine straight months of overall crime is down in the safest big city in America. And we want to make it the safest city in America. Nine straight months. Real commitment and dedication. January 1, 2022, I inherited a city where we were witnessing a 40 percent increase in crime. And you're seeing we're moving in the right direction. This year, shootings are down 8.7 percent. And murders are down over 11 percent. And this is on top of the double digit decreases in shootings and homicides last year and year before as well. 

Overall, in September, we saw a 3.1 percent decrease in crime, including murders, robberies, burglaries, grand larcenies, and grand larceny order. Grand larceny order was a major problem when we came into office for a number of reasons. And the team took a full frontal approach to addressing the issue of grand larceny orders. And you're seeing the results. And these achievements are on top of the fact that we have removed 18,500 guns off our streets to make our cities safer than ever. And we will continue to move in the right direction. Safest big city in America. The goal is to make it the safest city in America. 

But we also must ensure that it's affordable. And last week, we will continue to push the City of Yes. We think it's imperative that this issue is voted on. It's crucial that we build more housing. You can't have a 1.4 percent vacancy rate in the city and expect for everyday New Yorkers of several different income bands are able to survive in the city. We must build more housing. 

But those that are in housing, I want to be clear, last week, we entered the heat season in New York City. And what does that mean? Now through May 31st, all building owners are required to provide tenants with heat according to the following rules. One, between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees, the inside temperature must be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., the inside temperature must be at least 62 degrees Fahrenheit at all times, no matter the outside temperature. 

And that also includes hot water. 365 days per year at a constant minimum temperature of 120 degrees, that hot water must be provided and must be handled correctly. And New Yorkers need to know that if there's a problem that you're not coordinating with your landlord, we got your back. Call 311 and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development will make sure we respond accordingly. And HPD is here to ensure safe, affordable housing to be provided for all New Yorkers. 

And to continue, before we open up to questions, I'm really proud to announce, I keep saying how deep our bench is, and I'm proud to announce the continuing importance of the work with a woman that's respected, both in private industry and public industry. I'm elevating to the position of first deputy mayor, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer. 

And what's, what's interesting, as we, you know, when we make these moves, we ask the peers on who they would like to be in a leadership to lead them, and it was fascinating how all the fellow deputy mayors clearly stated that D.M. Maria Torres-Springer was the right person to be elevated to the first deputy mayor's position with her knowledge, her experience in government, her ability to remain calm during rough seas and just come up with real solutions. And I say to her over and over again, some of the success that we've had in the area of housing, you know, and each year building the volume of housing, she has the ability of landing the plane, and she does it so well, and I'm just really proud to have her in this critical role and during this critical time and providing the connective tissues across city government to advance priorities and ensure we are working together to deliver for New Yorkers. 

Maria has more than two decades of experiences leading multiple city agencies and executing on one of the most successful housing and economic development agendas in the city's history. She has delivered for our city over and over again. She's a proud, proud New Yorker and a proud public servant, just being able to serve this city. She loves the work that she's doing and she brings in that energy every day. And one of the first tasks I have assigned Maria to do is to conduct an immediate review of personnel, programs and policies in conjunction with the chief of staff. 

But not to be forgotten, I really want to thank my friend, Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who headed my transition team, was just a constant, constant supporter. And she really, from the days of a mother of leading some of the initial fights against AIDS in the Black community, of growing up, understanding the needs of everyday New Yorkers, her role in non-profit. She has served New York as well over the course of our administration and to help expand access to child care, deliver free internet access to public housing residents and battling the scourge of gun violence, partnering with A.T. Mitchell for Man Up and other crisis management teams. 

She's a great New Yorker and I thank her and I wish her well in her future endeavors. And one of the biggest endeavors she has is she's married now. And so I say congratulations to you and Sheena, job well done. You make us all proud. So I want to turn it over to Maria. If you have any questions, she will make a quick comment and then she'll get back to doing the job of a first deputy mayor. Maria?

First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer: Good afternoon, everyone. I would first like to thank Mayor Eric Adams for putting faith in me to serve in this role as the first deputy mayor for New York City. And I'd like to sincerely thank F.D.M. Sheena Wright for her tremendous and committed service to our city. 

Today is a very humbling day for me. I came to this role, as the mayor mentioned, after serving nearly 20 years in government across three administrations. I come to this role as well, carrying a deep and abiding love for our city. But I also come to the role carrying the stories and the dreams of more than eight million New Yorkers who I have faithfully served across different capacities inside and outside of government. I've walked your streets. I've supported your small businesses. I've helped build your affordable homes. I've connected your neighbors to jobs, partnered with local leaders, and have always worked to ensure that no neighborhood is left behind. This is my life's work, and I'm humbled that I get to continue this work in this new role. 

It's a very complex time in our city, but I think that my priorities are very simple. Working with the mayor, those priorities are to focus on the work, to support the incredible leaders we have across City Hall and all of the agencies, and most importantly, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the 300,000 public servants who continue to work tirelessly to deliver services and to improve lives. Now, to accomplish this in New York, we need partnership at all levels of government and all sectors, and that's what I've always done. 

I've already reached out my hand in friendship to many partners who are eager to build on the progress we have made in this administration, thanks to the mayor's leadership, and to ensure that we keep delivering for our neighbors. So I want to thank you again, mayor, for this opportunity, and I want to let all New Yorkers know that you are heard, and that I am ready to get to work as your first deputy mayor to keep our city moving forward. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Who would have thought, young Filipino, little girl, growing up, and one day to be the first deputy mayor of the City of New York. This is the greatest country on the globe, because we're the greatest city on the globe. So you can do your thing and run our city. Thank you. Thank you. Are we open to a few questions? 

Question: So Mr. Mayor, it would appear from the arrest today of Mohamed Bahi that the federal officials have a scorched earth policy as it concerns your administration. I wonder if, number one, you could react to the fact that they arrested him today in terms, in a straw donor charges and others. 

And secondly, given the fact that there are now, there are 10 people who have left your administration, you've filled some of the positions, but how will you fill all of them? And how will you convince the governor and others that you can actually run the city during this time of crisis?

Mayor Adams: First, if you look at it, we are doing it. We need to be clear on that. We're doing just that. Just look at the numbers. And that's what, that's what we must do. Let's analyze how effective has the team, how have they been over the last, what, 10 months, 11 months? You are seeing this city move forward. I just announced a decrease in crime. 

We announced last week what we're doing around our watershed. You're seeing the continuation of great initiatives moving forward and we're continuing to do the challenging job and that's what we're supposed to do. And we're doing that because I have an awesome team. I can't get away from the fact this team is amazing and we're going, we're going to continue to do that. That's our responsibility. 

The attorneys will handle the legal aspects of it. Everyone knows who my attorney is. Alex will handle that. My job is to continue leading the city and we're going to do that. I had a great conversation with the governor over the weekend. She gave me some of her suggestions. We implemented some of her suggestions. And at the same time, people were saying, Eric, I want to do other things in my life, like D.M. Banks, who I don't think we really fully understand what he has brought. A former chief of department.

He brought all of these initiatives and how to take down those walls and barriers that we had in law enforcement. And now we have a better law enforcement apparatus. 

And, you know, men and women leave government normally. And then they also leave government when they feel as though people are not treating them with the respect that they deserve. Like I saw how Sheena was treated when she was on, on her street. Government is hard and the goal is to do the work and I must make sure that I buffer my team from the inability to do the work. And that's my commitment to them. And they're going to continue to do the work

Question: What about the charges that were brought against Mohamed Bahi today that has to do with falsifying evidence and dealing with a strife going on situation?

Mayor Adams: Mohamed Bahi was one of the top Muslims liaison, even before joining the Mayor's Office. I always found him to be thoughtful. I always found him to be willing to go into all the communities, but what he has done to really bring down the noise in some of the conflicts that we're seeing today. 

I think the record will speak loudly for what he has committed, but he has attorneys, let his attorneys handle his case. And just as you know, attorneys should do that for any individual that's in contact with law enforcement, his attorney can speak for his case. I know he delivered for New Yorkers and I thank him for that.

Question: What does that mean for your administration, sir? I mean, there's just another charge of somebody else involved in what appears to be malfeasance, this time with donations to your 2021 mayoral campaign.

Mayor Adams: I think it means that we have to continue to do what I said do, stay focused and run this city the way we have successfully done for two years and, and, and, and 10 months, the courtroom will deal with the cases. I must deal with the case of affordable housing, educating our children, keeping our city safe, all of those cases that I must deal with. And that's what I'm going to do.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor. 

Mayor Adams: How are you?  

Question: Good, thanks. Two questions. On Maria Torres-Springer's elevation, is it correct that the governor signed off on her elevation? And is that sort of standard practice? Is it correct that the governor signed off on her being elevated to first deputy mayor? And is that sort of standard practice going forward for personnel changes to, to get the governor's approval? 

And then also just on Mohamed Bahi in the indictment, it says that Bahi told one of these alleged straw donors that you believed that the donor would not cooperate. Can you just explain what that means that you believed there wouldn't be cooperation?

Mayor Adams: Well, first let's deal with the elevation.  I'm the mayor. I don't get signed off from other entities to make movement within the department or the agencies. And so I'm not sure where that question came from. You know, did someone tell you that the government governor has to sign off on our,  elevation? 

[Crosstalk.]

Okay. And you know, and you know, if it's reported, it has to be accurate. Listen,  I don't get authorizations to move around personnel. Matter of fact, to the contrary, the governor made it clear that you're the mayor of the city. You have an obligation to continue the success that we have done together. The governor and I have been extremely successful together. She's a partner and she's the chief executive of the state, but she has made it very clear. You have to pick your team and make sure that you can continue the success that you're doing. She's not sitting, she has to run the state and she's not sitting around asking what movement you're going to make. Let me make sure that that movement can be done. That has never happened. Whoever reported that gave you inaccurate information. 

And now that I'm dealing with your question around Mohamed Bahi, it's the same with everything. I will never instruct anyone to do anything illegal or improper. The only instruction I give people all the time. Follow the law. Follow the law is my number one instruction that I give people. Anything other than that, I don't give people illegal information. 

Question: Piggybacking off of Marcia’s first question. You've talked to the past about perception, especially when dealing with subway crime, the numbers coming down, but dealing with the perception that is out there among your constituents. So what do you say to the New Yorkers who are watching all of these resignations and they're wondering whether or not your administration can continue to serve them on a daily basis, whether or not you'll become distracted? What do you say to the New Yorkers who are watching all of this unfold day to day?

Mayor Adams: First of all, when you look at it, I'm really blown away that we're seeing all of these resignations. I have 300 hundred-something thousand employees. I have a ton of commissioners. 

I spoke with Commissioner Zach Iscol the other day. We had a great conversation and he's talking about the work that we want to continue to do. I sat down next to Commissioner Tisch when we talked about our impressive rollout and the revolution of change in how we're dealing with cleanliness in our city. She was clear. You know, she was clear that I'm serving with a mayor that's, you know, that's a visionary that's getting the job done. And so when people leave government, you know, we want to have the perception that everyone is fleeing. No, we have over 300,000 employees. 

People are here to serve the people of the city of New York and particularly my deputy mayors. I have a great team of deputy mayors and the elevation of Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer speaks volume of people are leaning into what bond raters are leaning into. They lean into sustaining our bond rating and the number of personnel who reach out to me, knock on my door, come to see me and say we have a job to do in the city and we're going to continue to do so. 

So I say to New Yorkers that are out there, look at what we have done since this investigation first was revealed to us and look at what we are continuing to do. And we're going to do what I was elected to do. And that is to take our city into a place that those who have been betrayed by government will no longer be portrayed. This is the greatest city on the globe and I'm going to lead it in the right direction with the right team and with my fellow New Yorkers and organizations.

Question: I wanted to ask you about the poll numbers. They were really bad. And I'm curious, do you see a path to re-election at this point? And how disappointing is that considering that David Dinkins did not get a second term?

Mayor Adams: I'm sorry, the last part.

Question: How disappointing is it to you that there might not be a path to re-election when David Dinkins did not get a second term?

Mayor Adams: First of all, I'm here to serve now. And I say over and over again, people often talk about what happens next. Tomorrow's not promised to any of us. So the question is, what do you do in the present? I'm present right now to serve the people of this city every day, all day. And I love the job of being a mayor and providing for New Yorkers. 

Many people don't recall, because I'm the mayor now, but go back. I was 13 points behind in the poll. Andrew Yang got into the campaign. He was riding a skateboard and he was all happy. He was measuring the drapes here. He said, I'm going to be the mayor of the City of New York. I was 13 points behind in the poll. And I would see some of you on the campaign trail, and they was like, you're 13 points behind, Eric. No one can come back for that. And what did I say? Stay focused, no distractions, and grind. And I stayed there. 

From those 13 points behind in the poll, and all the figures that came out, there were some very impressive people who were running for mayor. And they thought that our credential was going to be better. I was a blue-collar, working-class mayor, was able to connect with immigrant communities who were historically denied any presence from a mayoral candidate. I built this coalition of broken-class people. And because of that, they came out and elected me to be mayor. I look forward to doing that again. I look forward to showing people what I ran on. 

If you go look at what I ran on and compare it to what we've done, you have to say, this guy ran on these things, bringing down crime, educating children, all of these things, what we're doing about children with learning disabilities, how we're focusing on housing. What I ran on, I was able to accomplish. And that is what I'm excited about going on the campaign trail and speaking with people about the success of this administration. 

And listen, no one wants to go through this, folks. Let's not kid ourselves. No one wants to go through this, of all that's going on in this city. No one. But no mother wants to go through losing their child during violence. But she gets up and starts an organization, Harlem Mother Save. No person wants to sit in a doctor's office and the doctor gives them a terrible diagnosis. But they start an organization to walk against cancer. This is who we are as a city. And so, yes, this is a tough time. But this is a tough city. And I'm a tough mayor. And I'm going to live up to my obligation of serving the people of the City of New York. And the re-election will take care of itself. Right now, I have to run the city.

Question: Some of your top aides who have recently resigned served in newly created roles, such as Tim Pearson's role as senior advisor for Public Safety and Phil Bank's role of deputy mayor for Public Safety, a role that hadn't existed for several decades. To that point, because these roles were created for specific people, do you plan to replace them and fill them again?

Mayor Adams: Yes, I definitely need a deputy mayor of Public Safety. And I received six calls from people who are outside of government who asked, could they be considered for the position? And I have some people in government who reached out to me and stated that, could they be considered for the position.

One of the best things I did was deputy mayor of Public Safety. We did the graduation with all of the law enforcement communities coming together. Many of them never were in the same room together to celebrate together. We started to say, no matter which color your patch or uniform is, the role is to keep the city safe. I need a deputy mayor of Public Safety that can think long-term, that can come up with good policies and procedures. What Phil did, you know, it's just unbelievable what he did on many of these areas. And we also are going to look at how do we utilize that senior advisor position as well to go in and monitor, you know, particularly when we deal with those migrants and asylum seekers to make sure that we were saving taxpayers' dollars. So I'm looking to fill those positions. 

And I cannot emphasize, we are not having a shortage of people who are asking to be part of the administration. There's no shortage. People want to serve government and want to serve the people of the City of New York, and people are going to step up and do that. And we have a deep bench in the city, and we have a deep bench in the administration. There's a lot of talent in the administration. 

Question: Two questions. Thank you. The first question is, there are 300,000 people who work for the City of New York, obviously. There have been 10 departures, right? And you have been projecting strength and leadership and focus in this season of crisis for City Hall. 

What would you say to New Yorkers who might require a softer, more conciliatory tone saying, yes, this is happening in response to this, and maybe any type of acknowledgement of that, right? People need different things. 

So what would you say to New Yorkers who might not need to hear something other than the focus and the strength in light of what's happening in the culture right now? And then secondly, with this opportunity to rebuild your team with these 10 vacant positions, what does that look like? Is that a huddle? Is that a retreat? You know, what is that process of really coalescing and getting that team, you know, again, they're already within the city, they're already public servants moving forward, but is there, you know, going to be some type of, just what does that process look, rebuilding, the rebuilding process? Because there's going to be a transition, obviously.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, that was part of the announcement that I just stated, that first deputy mayor and chief of staff is going to sit down and do an analysis of all of those pieces. And we sit down and we [clear] communications on how do we continue to staff up? How do we get focused again, refocus? Because there's a lot going on. 

And that is the role that they're going to do. I look forward for them coming back to me and sit down with their vision. Now let's respond to your question about, as I stated, no one wants to go through this. I cannot get any clearer. But I got to leave for the city. And, you know, many of you hear me often talk about, you know, mom, you know, the challenges. She said, mommy didn't sit down on the edge of her bed and says, “Woe is me.” She never did that. She didn't sit there and say, you know, the universe dealt me a bad hand. She took what she had and she provided. And it was challenging. It was tough. I cannot tell you how tough it was. But there was not one day I saw her fall apart. She would go in her room, close the door. She would cry. I remember when they would try to take her house away from her. She said she went to the 179th Street train station. And as the trains went by, she yelled, she screamed, she cried, she dried her eyes. And then she went home and made sure that her children had that house that we still have. 

So, yes, to New Yorkers who are going through stuff, because New Yorkers are going through stuff. I'm out here. I'm in the streets. I'm hearing the pain that New Yorkers are going through. And so I want them to know, you know, we all go through something, you know, but I'm not. I'm curious that people, are people expecting me to go into Gracie Mansion and hide and say, you know, why are they doing this to me? 

No. Life is tough. And they elected a tough mayor that has gone through a lot. And I need to help people that are going through a lot. And I'm willing to do that. And so I go through my personal stuff. I need to make sure that everyday New Yorkers are able to get over their personal stuff. And I can do that.

Question: Mr. Mayor, the last time that we got together, you talked about your faith, really in the jury system, those New Yorkers you just referenced. And you said that you were putting your faith in that part of the system. 

By this kind of defiance stand you've taken, you understand that in essence, you're kind of a repeat of your earlier part of the career when you took on criminal justice as a police captain. Are you kind of revisiting that in a way of putting the criminal justice system and trying to make it accountable by fighting this defense so vociferously? 

And the second question I have is Pacifica, as part of a radio network. One of the things we're dealing with is a failure of broadcast radio around the United States to be able to provide accurate information in the event of Helene. And we're seeing right wing radio describe and sabotage the effort of the FEMA to get information to people and letting them know that this is functioning well. 

We have an affiliate in Asheville, part of Pacifica, that is informing that the federal government is functioning well and meeting the challenge. And yet what we're hearing, unfortunately, is a distortion, sometimes by right wing Christian nationalist radio. And how important is accurate information at a time of crisis, which you know so much about?

Mayor Adams: No. So accurate information is crucial. You know, we're seeing that play out across the entire country. And of the stations, these nonprofits, these stations are providing such vital services to your listeners and your ability to do it on a shoestring. 

You know, you're not receiving major sponsorship like so many others, particularly in right wing radios. And you need to continue to fight and fortify that and push forward to it with it. You know, many people who are here who are covering me don't know my history. And many of you do. Many of you have been around a small number of you. You've been around me for thirty five, almost 40 years. And you when you see me, you say this is the guy we've always known. 

You know, I mean, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement. I was in the Police Department, in the Police Department as a rookie cop standing up against racism in the police department. I was a rookie cop standing up. Sergeant, lieutenant. When I was a captain, they wanted to fire me because they didn't do what was right for the City of New York during an emergency. So this is not new ground. 

Many of you are saying that [you] know me, this is vintage Eric. So to those who just introduced themselves to me, they have a different belief. There has never this has never changed who you're seeing in front of me. I say to all of you, as you do your research on these stories, go Google back in 84, 85, 86. Rookie cop. Rookie standing up saying we need to treat people with dignity. We need to treat people fairly. The criminal justice system must be right. Going to the State Senate, and traveling to the state facilities upstate to see how we were treating inmates inside visiting Rikers Island. As someone alluded to the other day, this is vintage Eric. You know, this is to someone like yourself and a few others in this room. All you're saying is we don't expect anything different from Eric Adams.

Question: Hey, Mr. Mayor, how are you doing? A couple of questions for you. Last week, federal prosecutors said that you're hearing that there was a city hall staffer who carried a message from you to straw donors saying that they should not tell the truth to the FBI. 

And fast forward today, Mohammed Bahi was charged with those. I think it was witness tampering and other charges. Are you did the first question is, did you tell Mohammed Bahi at all to communicate to straw donors that they should not tell the truth to federal investigators? 

My second question is, if you do get charged in either a superseding indictment or just a separate set of charges by the federal government, in addition to what you already have. Are you worried that the support that you do have from people like Al Sharpton or Governor Kathy Hochul, are you worried that would go away?

Mayor Adams: One, I'm going to… I think the call the question was asked over here. I would never instruct anyone to do anything illegal or improper. I have one saying in people that know me, they would tell you, Eric's been saying this for years. Follow the law. Always follow the law. That's why there's a level of comfort that I have, because I know I follow the law. I did nothing wrong. Follow the law. 

That is my complete belief. I say it over and over again. And if assisting a constituent for services such as with the TCO issue is breaking the law, then a whole lot of elected officials are in trouble. This is what we do every day. I follow the law and I would not instruct anyone to do anything that is breaking the law, period. And I stand by that. And everyone that knows me knows that is how Eric is. What was the second part of your question?

Question: Do you get more charges by [inaudible]?

Mayor Adams: Okay, Okay. Listen, I am going to serve my term and run for reelection. And those who are supporters and I think on both sides of this come out, people are going to have a second look at this entire event that's taking place around me. And that is what we're hoping for. You've got a one sided view of this. Extremely creative. And I think my attorneys are going to show both sides. 

I'm going to do my job as the mayor and the people of this city is going to determine who's going to be the next mayor. And if support comes, because as it sees now, people more and more people are coming and say, you know what? I really dug into this. I really read this. You know, you need to get the support you need.

Question: I wanted to talk a little more about this restructuring of government. The people have described the organizational structure as a, quote, shit show. And I'm wondering if you can speak to what's going to change with that. 

Obviously, first deputy mayor coming in is an opportunity. And then second to that, we've seen a ton of resignations. Can you confidently say that we've seen the end of, you know, high profile or larger resignations in the administration? Or could there be more to come? 

Mayor Adams: Yeah. And I think it's very important. You know, three point eight million people of eight point three million people. Thirty five million opinions. You know, like when people come to me and say, you know, Jeff writing is a shit show. I said, stop beating up on that guy, man. He tries his best. He's not the best reporter in the city, but at least he tries. 

So I understand when those numerical minority come to you with their opinion, because everybody has an opinion in the city. You know that. And I know that, you know, the reality is take that show that you're talking about and then go look at the numbers. Look at how much housing we built and how much housing we put on the line. Look at the numbers of how many people we moved out of shelters into permanent housing. How many people are participating in the FHEPs voucher program? More in the history of the city. 

Our children are outpacing the state in reading and math. Our subway system. The lowest number of robberies in recorded history. I could go down and out. All of you heard this before. And so those who are outside and that have been criticizing the administration since January 2nd, 2022, and you go to them and seek them out and say, let me hear something bad about Eric. Of course, they're going to say something bad about Eric. They were saying something bad even when we were turning the city around. So let them have their opinions. But facts don't lie. You, [are] a good researcher. Go look at the facts. This show has been a great show for the city.

Question: It's going to be restructured, some changes, right? 

Mayor Adams: Why shouldn't we? Why shouldn't we? I mean, only a fool would say, what can you do to improve? I've been on retreats with administration businesses going retreats all the time to say, as someone mentioned, I think Marcia mentioned. You know, you go back and say, what could you do better? What could you learn from? Isn't that part of growth? 

So we I want to grow. I want to be the best I can in my position. And not only are we hearing from internal, because you don't want to only talk to yourself. I'm reaching out to some of my external people who have been around us and have been extremely supportive. The business community, you know, I'm sure the business community would tell you we've had a mayor that has been clearly responsive to our needs. 

So, yes, we're going to go in. We're going to look at what we could do better, what we can build on, what we were successful. And we're going to continue to move forward. But anyone who states that this administration has not been an administration that's produced for New York. You're not looking at the numbers. 

Question: I just want to circle back. Are we expecting more resignations? And at what point does it become just too many investigations, indictments, criminal convictions for your admin to survive?

Mayor Adams: Well, I can imagine a mayor or a head of an agency or head of the business saying, no, we're never getting any more resignations. That is just that's not like… people come in and out of government.

Question: [Inaudible.] 

Mayor Adams: Why is that? With 300,000 people, you think that's a stellar amount? You know, it's like it's like the ability. Some people are departing because they want to do something else with their lives. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. And some people we thought was not a good fit. So there's a combination. But the goal is don't remain stagnant. Be willing to evolve and grow. I can't get that any clearer. I want to continue to produce a great product for the city and whatever it takes to women up and man up, we're going to do it. 

Question: Emma asked a variation of my question. I was going to ask you if you're running for mayor. I think you for reelection. I think you've answered that question. But I wanted to ask you, why does your campaign seem sort of invisible? Right? There's no officers listed. There's no campaign Website. We don't see any sort of online fundraising. It's it almost seems invisible. So one looking from arm's length might think maybe you're not really running for reelection?

Mayor Adams: Well, first, my methodology is you don't spend too early. I have a great team and infrastructure that's in place, a great body of volunteers, great advisers. And so you don't want to start hiring up until you have to. And many campaigns run out of resources because they want to be so fancy. And I'm on the ground. My volunteers and supporters and all these different entities and communities, particularly in the immigrant communities, you know, the Nepalese community, the Pakistani community, all of these different communities, the Caribbean communities that have been historically ignored. They are really fired up. We communicate with them on a regular. And, you know, you don't want to peak too soon. And every campaign that I did, we never peak too soon. We follow the right flow and you want to know when to hit the ground. So all this fluff, fancy stuff that costs money, you're wasting money.

Question: Separately, do you think it's hard to campaign for reelection? Is one of the reasons also that, you know, with all these investigations going on, it's kind of hard to be out there and ask for a second term when this stuff hasn't played out yet. Is that part of it? And then a question from my co-worker, Jonathan Dienst. Are you denying that the issue of straw donors ever came up with Rana Abbasova or Mr. Bahi between you and them?

Mayor Adams: Okay, what I what I'm not going to do, and I'm sure you can respect, any questions dealing with the case at all, any case, attorney. Alex is a great attorney. Let Alex handle those questions. I will go back to what I answered here and I answered here. I would never instruct anyone to do anything that's improper. Never have. Never will do that. 

Question: At the time of your indictment, if I recall well, you said that you would fight the injustices with every ounce of your strength and spirit. Yes. Despite everything that's happening and will happen. What is the source of your strength? What do you seek it? What do you find it? What keeps you going there?

Mayor Adams: I like that. I think somebody asked me the other day, you know, I think whenever I'm going through a major difference in my life, I go back and say, OK, how are you eating? How are you exercising? How are you breathing? How are you meditating? Because, you know, when you're not going through stuff, you can live on emotional junk food. When you going through stuff, you need to make sure you're prepared for the journey. And my source of my strength is, as many of you know, my spiritual base. 

But also, I think absent from the body presence in the spirit, I keep hearing mommy's voice, baby, you're alright. And baby, you got this. And that's the source of my strength. She's been here with me just because she transitioned physically. Still feel mommy's here spiritually. And she has guided me through all sorts of things. And, you know, she didn't bring me here to be the mayor, to abandon me.

Question: So with this restructuring and with the recent resignations, I know you said it's not that many compared to 300,000, but I mean, eight or so in a week is a lot. And these are all senior officials. Are you saying none of this is connected to your indictment and the federal investigation surrounding the administration? Because it seems like that's kind of the tone, that this is all just the usual shuffle that happens after a few years.

Mayor Adams: That's exactly what I'm saying. Not one person that has decided to do something else with their with their life said Eric it’s because so much is going on. Not one person. Not one person. And many of them, like a D.M. Banks stated months ago. And I said, I need you to finish some of the stuff that you're doing. Not one person has stated that. The chancellor made it clear that, you know, this is what I wanted to do. We expedited it because we wanted to give Melissa a good chance. So not one of the people who you're stating stated that there's too much going on around your case that I need to leave. Not one have said have stated that. 

Question: [Inaudible.]

Mayor Adams: Not at all. I think that people of… I like people to leave when they can't do their job of delivering for the City of New York. Long as you can deliver for the City of New York and hold to the high ethical standards that come with it, you could you could work for me. But people wanted to go on with their lives. And, you know, working in government, it's hard. I'm telling you, you know, and sometimes people just say, listen, I think David said it best. 

He said, I ran out of gas, especially when you bring everything you got to the job. Some people can go through the motion. They come in and sit down and just go through the motion. But when you when you give everything you have to the job, morning, noon and night, you run out of gas. And David said it best. David said, listen, I'm running out of gas. I couldn't do it at the level that I'm used to doing it at.

Question: So Rana Abbasova was fired yesterday. Winnie Greco resigned and [inaudible] was fired about a week ago. Can you provide any sort of explanation for why these three lost their positions? Can you provide any explanation for why these three people lost their positions? 

My second question is, we reported earlier this week, the Evolv Pilot is under investigation. What's going on with that pilot? You claimed over a month ago the city was still analyzing the data to see if they'll deploy the scanners elsewhere. Are you still analyzing or are you abandoning the product and not moving forward with more installation?

Mayor Adams: So let's do it in pieces. First, a number of people you talk about. There's a firewall that the administration is doing, the determination on those who are fired. Of those who resigned, they can resign, an employee [can] resign any time they want. And so the terminations were done by the firewall. I didn't make those determinations. The administration firewall based on our legal team thought it was the best way to do it. And so we're not going to go into the personnel, the personnel issues that involve them. But I didn't make those determinations.

Evolv, we want to get it right. We don't we don't want it right now. We didn't have we did not have to spend no taxpayers dollars doing this. And we want to really kick the tires, make sure that it can produce a product that we want. I had a conversation with Commissioner Daughtry, said, how are we looking? What's going on? OTI wants to do an inspection. 

Because once we go into contract and you bought the product, we don't want to have buyer's remorse. We want to get it right. We're pleased with what we're getting thus far. But we want to make sure that the product we're buying can withstand the rigor of our transportation system. And so we want to get it right. 

And once we get it right and we feel confident, we’ll make a determination. We're going to keep it, expand it, or we're going to look and see others, because other companies can come and do it at the same time. Whoever can give us the product we're going to go for. 

Question: [Inaudible.]

Mayor Adams: We're still testing, still testing, still testing.

Question: You say that you stay in the moment and must be a very difficult time to be doing everything you're doing. But the court still has not picked up a day for trial. If it's delayed, how will that impact your running for mayor? New Yorkers will want to know whether you'll run a second term. What will you say to those New Yorkers if the trial gets delayed? That's one question. And the other question would be about Governor Hochul. 

You've said that you have a great relationship with her. You're talking to her. She's been supportive. You've talked about the new structure of your new administration. She's been guiding you. Has there been any talk about the possibility of new charges on you? You've said that the prosecutors are very creative, so that could be a possibility. Has that come up on the conversations between you and her?

Mayor Adams: I'm not going to go into private conversations, and only the prosecutors can determine what they do. They don't coordinate with me. I don't have any coordination with that. I need to stay focused on running the city, and that's what I'm going to do. And the legal team, my attorney, Alex, if there are any questions, I'm pretty sure he's willing to answer dealing with that. I'm not campaigning right now on City Hall property. I am doing a role as the mayor right now.

Question: First question to you about Sheena Wright's departure. Did she have a conversation with you about leaving? Did you speak to her yesterday? And can you just go into a little bit more detail about what you mean the disrespect that she received in the last couple days? 

And you mentioned earlier that there's 300,000 city employees, but they aren't appointed by you. They don't run city agencies. And so in any normal administration, seeing so many people leave in one month separate from the federal investigations would raise red flags. I'm wondering why that is not something that you're… you don't see or something that you're not understanding from the outside looking in.

Mayor Adams: OK, first of all, I'm not going into Sheena's, my conversations with Sheena. You know, again, I say this over and over again. People enjoy confiding in me and speaking with me because they never hear it again. And not many people have that reputation. You know, you tell someone something, they immediately running out the door sharing what was told. You speak with me. It stays with me. I don't go around talking about what we say. And I'm glad I have that reputation. I'm going to maintain that. 

I think what happened on her block, I thought that was really just inappropriate. You know, as she's on her on her block, you know, and that's my belief. People have a different belief and that's fine. But that's my that's my… why you… Okay, you want to be the union member? You know, so that is that. Like I said, that is my belief, you know, and when you talk about appointment, I appoint all my commissioners, all of them.

Question: 300,000 other employees, those are city employees that aren’t appointed by you. And your D.M.s run city agencies [inaudible] and at any normal time, regardless of the probes, so many top people leaving would raise red flags and so I’m wondering do you say you’re focused but that… it’s just the juxtaposition there is… how is it not [inaudible]?  

Mayor Adams: I disagree. Not only do I appoint all my commissioners, my commissioners have appointment powers within their agencies, my deputy mayors have appointment. There's a large number of people who are appointed by city government. And when the administration comes, comes in. And so when you do an analysis based on three years in… three years in, not only do we talk about three years we're in. Think about the three years. 

The same people who were on the front line for COVID had to inherit the migrants and asylum seekers. Up all night. I think about Zach Iscol. Nights of calling him 2:00 a.m. in the morning, you know, leaving his family to come out to make sure that we were going to deal with the 4,000 migrants and asylum seekers. We were getting a week. This wears on you. When I spoke with Dr. Vasan and Dr. Vasan was sharing just his personal aspect of how much this, you know, just took out of him. 

And so, you know, on a normal circumstances, it's a lot. And then when you add any aggravating factors like the migrants and asylum seekers, like COVID, like the other issues we have to face, it wears on you. And if people want to make a determination, it's time to cycle out. All I can say is thank you for your time, sir. 

Monica, good seeing you at the Polish parade. Drinking the wine and eating the bread. Doing the dance.

Question: Exactly. Polish hospitality. Thank you for coming. Mr. Mayor, thank you for that. Today, I want to ask you, will these investigations or everything that's going on affect the way you are interacting with ethnic and immigrant communities in New York?
And the second question, the New York City restored the original road [inaudible] for McGuinness Boulevard. Why now? Because the community has been going through these changes and now again change. You spoke of a business community supporting you. So why this change now?

Mayor Adams: Well, actually, there were great conversations responding to the McGuinness Boulevard. There were great conversations with business leaders, community leaders, Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, the borough president. And they were able to come up with what we thought was a win-win. 

Now, if everyone is not happy, I learned that's a good win. And so we were able to come up with a way to get the items that were important to both groups. And hats off to them for doing so, to bringing both groups to the table, because it was so far apart. And now these groups seem to have come together and to be able to come up with a solution. No one is 100 percent happy, but they are New York happy.

Question: Why is this 100 percent not happy better than the previous 100 percent not happy? People were not happy and now different people are more unhappy than the others. So why is the change?

Mayor Adams: Well, that's not what I got. I got that both groups said we can live with what the changes are going to be. Now, I know because I was a lieutenant in a 94 precinct, I know that's a heavily Polish community, you know, good working class people that are there. But from what I got, that of when I spoke with Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, I got that both groups say we can live with this because they were entities that were negotiating for different populations. And they both said we can live with these changes. 

[What was] your first question? 

Question: [Inaudible.] 

Mayor Adams: Oh, yes, yes. That's a great question. That's a great question. A part of my campaigning was that I stated I wanted to go with those communities who were traditionally ignored. Going into the Bangladeshi community, going into the Chinese community, the Nepalese community, the African diaspora, the you know, the Italian community. I wanted to go into those other communities and tell them you could participate in government, there are ways to do so. They were afraid. And you look after my election, my strong support in the Korean community. You started to see because of empowering these communities around participating in politics. You started to see diverse groups starting getting elected in this city.

And I am concerned that this can be a real chill on these communities. You know, when I went into the Polish community, people were not coming out to the Polish community and really supporting them to be in politics. So I'm concerned that this is considered chilling impact to those communities who finally said this is a mayor candidate that listens to us, that speaks to us, that attends our events. Look how many flag raising we did. People attacked me for doing flag raisings, not realizing how important those flag raisings were for those communities. 

And so I brought these communities in government. I brought them into places they'd never been before. These communities have come here to City Hall. They hold their heritage events at Gracie Mansion that they never were allowed to do before. You know, we have first time ever flag raises never done for these communities before. Coming here in my roundtables, never done for these communities before. And so I'm hoping they do not go back into a shell, that they don't look at this as a moment that they should not participate in the politics of this city. You know, but you can imagine it could have an impact when you give the impression of what, you know, some people have given. So I just got to keep doing what I'm doing. Thank you. Thank you very much.

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