Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears On PIX 11’s "PIX On Politics"

November 5, 2023

Dan Mannarino: Mayor Eric Adams is joining me from Gracie Mansion. So, Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here on PIX on Politics.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you, Dan. It's good to be here.

Mannarino: And Mr. Mayor, I want to begin with the big question of why— why you immediately left Washington D.C. when you got news of what was going on with that raid? Why did you feel that you needed to be on the ground here in New York as soon as possible?

Mayor Adams: Well, I think that you know, you answered the question, almost: on the ground. As long as you have been covering me you know I like to be on the ground. It doesn't matter if there's some form of emergency incident that takes place, that's who I am. And you know, the migrant and asylum seekers are a crucial issue. I was happy that part of our coalition, two mayors, were still there able to have the meetings.

But I was notified by our team that something was taking place with the campaign staffer, and I wanted to be here to make sure of that we fully complied, as I always state, any time there's any type of review, that we're going to fully comply. I have one of the best compliance teams that any campaign has ever put together.

Mannarino: Right.

Mayor Adams: And I felt the need of being here in the city.

Mannarino: But I want to talk about the optics of it all, because mayor, it doesn't look great, right? Leaving a high‑profile meeting on the migrant crisis after flying there for an issue that you've been really sounding the alarm on, you and I have had many conversations about this. To rush back to be on the ground for an investigation that you were not the focus of. So, what do you say to those who say maybe you placed more importance on this than perhaps the migrant crisis.

Mayor Adams: Well, I don't think any New Yorker would state that I've placed more importance on anything than the migrant and asylum seeker crisis. And because of how much I've talked about it and advocated on behalf of Americans in general but New York City residents in particular, we're now building a coalition. You see Chicago's mayor, Denver's mayor, Los Angeles, Houston, Massachusetts governor.

You're seeing the coalition so I don't have to fight alone. We're seeing the coming together of a coalition; and when that coalition was in place, two members of that coalition was still in D.C. during the meetings. And I'm going to return to D.C. and continue to advocate for relief for New York City residents.

Mannarino: Understood. So, let's talk then about the investigation with the FBI looking into your 2021 mayoral campaign to see if the campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive these illegal donations. It is complex, to say the least, but some would say that where there's smoke, there's fire. So, what do you know about the investigation? Are you at all concerned with the focus right now?

Mayor Adams: Well, first of all, where there's smoke there's not always fire. Listen, I make sure that we have real compliance. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure that it's done correctly, and we are going to comply with any agency, that review, whatever we do. And if anyone did something that's inappropriate outside of our compliance procedures, the law enforcement agencies will determine that.

This is new and evolving, and we're going to comply 100 percent. I have not been contacted by any law enforcement agency, and no law enforcement agency has determined that anyone associated with our campaign did anything wrong.

Mannarino: So, that brings me to the FBI raiding your campaign's chief fundraiser Brianna Suggs' apartment in Brooklyn. She's been with your office for a very long time, sir, back as an intern when you served as Brooklyn borough president, and then not long after she became this chief fundraiser for your campaign. Do you believe, looking back on it, she was qualified to make that jump to run the campaign fundraising; and, do you have full confidence in her?

Mayor Adams: Yes, I do. A very bright, energetic, smart young lady who worked hard. She led the fundraising numbers when you look at throughout the entire campaign, and I feel confidence in her integrity and how hard she works. And often, young African American ladies don't get the opportunities that others received in this business of politics, and she stood up from an intern, became a good staffer and ran our entire fundraising apparatus in this previous campaign and this one as well.

Mannarino: When is the last time that you spoke with Ms. Suggs?

Mayor Adams: I haven’t communicated with her since this incident took place. She's communicating with the team's attorney and they're going to continue to do so.

Mannarino: Okay. A few more questions on this topic, because she's been involved in your 2025 reelection campaign, so will you be keeping her on the campaign team while this plays out?

Mayor Adams: That's her determination. I have full confidence in her. She has done an amazing job and she will stay with the campaign team. I would love to have her continue to stay with the campaign team.

Mannarino: Understood, mayor. So, let me set this up, because it can get confusing. Your campaign receives a lot of donations, and one company with numerous donations in question now is the KSK Construction Group, which has ties to a Turkish hotel chain, and that seems to really be the focus here. So, let me just ask you point blank: do you know or have ever worked with anybody from the KSK Construction Group?

Mayor Adams: Not of my knowledge. And I cannot tell you— and I'm glad you said that, Dan—  how many thousands of people contribute to our campaign. I attend so many different fundraisers, meet so many different people throughout the part of raising funds. I am not familiar with this organization at all. It's one of the many different groups and organizations that contributes to the campaign.

And again, we have a very strict compliance.

Mannarino: Right.

Mayor Adams: Before any check is deposited, our compliance teams reviews those checks to make sure they meet not only the standards of the CFB but meet my stringent standards as well.

Mannarino: You know, there seems to be this fascination with Turkey. You boasted last week at a flag raising that no mayor has been to Turkey as much as you have. Some might say, what is the fascination with Turkey overall when it comes to New York City?

Mayor Adams: Well, I've sort of, you know, you have to ask yourself, no mayor has been to the number of African countries that I have visited and many other countries that I have visited from the first time. I don't know any mayor that probably went to Saudi Arabia or Oman or have visited some of the South American and Central American countries that I have visited.

It's a fascination with the diversity of our city. We have one of the largest Turkish populations in New York City. I think Patterson, New Jersey, is the only place that is higher than ours. I had a deep relationship with the community when I was in Brooklyn as well as other communities.

I believe in the diversity of this city, and I think nothing does more than when you visit the homeland of these various countries and communities and shows your respect for it.

Mannarino: Right. But Turkey is really at the center of this investigation now. Do...have you ever done business in Turkey or spoken to leaders that may have wanted to contribute to the campaign, because that seems to be what they're zeroing in on.

Mayor Adams: No, Dan, not at not at all. No business interests. I have sister city agreements with Üsküdar, I visited the border in Gaziantep when the Syrian crisis took place. Many of the mayors that I've interacted with in Turkey, they wanted to establish a very rich relationship, and it really came from the former borough president, to his credit. He had a very strong relationship with the Turkish community, and I continued when I became borough president and that relationship has continued to develop as the mayor.

Mannarino: And I want to get other topics. So, do you believe, sir, that this is a distraction from the day‑to‑day operations of the city?

Mayor Adams: No. Listen, we're New York. I mean, how many times have you heard me say, stay focused, no distractions and grind. You must have heard those three letters said repeatedly as I was on the campaign trail and now as the mayor. This is a very complicated city. Every day there are things that could distract you. We're going to continue not survive, we're going to continue to thrive. That's why you see...

Mannarino: Okay.

Mayor Adams: You know, we have the largest job population in the history of the city. That's what you see crime continue to go down. With all of these things that happen, if you're the mayor of the City of New York, you have to be able to stay focused and not be distracted by everything that comes up.

Mannarino: And let's talk about why you did go to D.C., that is the migrant crisis, Mr. Mayor. And there's a lot of talks now about, what are the next steps here with the migrant crisis, right? And there's been a lot of rumors about tents, tents being purchased, tents popping up in certain areas where migrants will be housed. Are there plans to purchase tents, and are there areas being looked at as possible tent locations for tent cities?

Mayor Adams: Well, the beauty with you, you don't have to worry about rumors, I come on your show.

Mannarino: I know, that's why we're setting these rumors straight.

Mayor Adams: I give you real information. You know, we don't have to [laughter] we don't have to deal with rumors, you go right to the source. And if there's a policy that we're going to announce, I announce it publicly. And if we allow rooms to get in our way, then we won't get a real clarity on what the vision is to deal with this crisis that has been dropped in our lap.

Think about this for a moment, Dan. Over 50 percent of the people that have come through this system, they are self sustaining themselves. 

That's a remarkable achievement when you look at over 100,000 people who came into the city that couldn't work, could not provide for themselves.

Now they're providing for themselves or they have gone on to other locales. So, we have put in place successful initiatives to address this crisis, but we need help. It's not sustainable what we're doing, and I continue to say that.

Mayor Adams: And I want to also talk about this other big topic and move in your administration, including a new role for the Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina right now. He told me he was dedicated to the DOC just a few weeks ago on the PIX 11 Morning News. You've now promoted him to assistant deputy mayor. Why the role change?

Mayor Adams: Well, what he's dedicated to is to fulfill the assignments that I need for him to carry out. The law enforcement apparatus— everything from probation, to parole, to Department of Correction, to NYPD, the park police— all of these law enforcement entities are crucial to have the right leadership. Deputy Mayor Banks has introduced so many new initiatives, and I need of the brainpower of the deputy mayor and the assistant over there...

Mannarino: To have a...

Mayor Adams: ...to continue to expand what we're doing. A prerequisite to prosperity is public safety, and he's a good person to do it. We're going to continue some good leadership at the Department of Correction.

Mannarino: Briefly here, do you have a name for a new commissioner?

Mayor Adams: No. We're looking at some...but thank goodness we have a good bench, so we'll be able to fill the position. There's some great people there and there's some great people that we're looking at outside of the city area.

Mannarino: And lastly, mayor. I'm out of time here, but I want to end with what's playing out in real time. The NYPD reporting hate crimes up seven percent overall in New York City since the Hamas terror attacks in Israel. So, what is the city doing to combat this rise in hate crimes?

Mayor Adams: Well, a combination. But first I want to say I think it's deplorable that, you know, those who are participating in pulling down any photos of those who are the missing, we need to ensure that Hamas is destroyed and we need to bring home the hostages. But it's also deplorable those who are striking Palestinians and using hateful terms against them.

There is no room for hate in New York City. So, we're taking a proactive and a reactive. Proactive, we're listening to all the chatter out there and identifying those who will potentially be dangerous to New Yorkers. And when you look at what we're doing every day, we had almost 120 rallies, demonstrations, other forms of display [of] one peaceful manner to demonstrate and without any serious violence after that.

We saw what happened with some of the previous years where people would display their anger and were destructive in the city, we are not seeing that now because of the job the Police Department is doing and we're going to continue to do the make New Yorkers safe.

Mannarino: Understood. Mr. Mayor, I appreciate your time in a very busy schedule for a host of topics. You're welcome back any time. Good to see you, sir.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care.