Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears On ABC 7’s “Eyewitness News At 5:00”

December 28, 2023

Sade Baderinwa: It’s not much of a stretch to say that 2023 was a tumultuous year for New York Mayor Adams.

Bill Ritter: It's a year when the mayor had to tackle major issues like the multibillion-dollar asylum seeker crisis, which this fall led to cuts in the budget of every department in the city.

Baderinwa: The mayor has taken on crime and homelessness in the subway and now facing down a federal investigation into his 2021 political campaign.

Ritter: And perhaps no surprise here, because of all this the mayor has a record low approval rating, just 28 percent. It's a big deal, even though the confident mayor brushes it off.

Baderinwa: As our N.J. Burkett found out when he interviewed Mayor Adams about the year just ending and the one beginning.

N.J. Burkett: Eric Adams is about to end the most difficult year of his political life, a year that saw crime trending lower and fewer mentally ill homeless on board the subways and in the streets. But a rising tide of migrants is flooding New York, overwhelming the shelters and upending the city's budget by billions of dollars.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating his 2021 campaign. His opponents on the left are plotting to run against him. And his job approval sits at just 28 percent.

You think you're doing a great job...

Mayor Eric Adams: Yes.

Burkett: ...under difficult circumstances.

Mayor Adams: Right, since COVID.

Burkett: So, why is your approval rating so low?

Mayor Adams: Well, people are angry!

Burkett: Adams says New Yorkers are right to be angry but not at him.

Mayor Adams: People thought that I have the authority to stop buses from coming into the city. They thought I had the authority to tell people, no, we're not giving you housing, I have the authority to move people out of the city that are migrant and asylum seekers.

Burkett: The migrant crisis is not his fault, but it's his problem. City Council Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan.

City Councilmember Justin Brannan: We've been saying since day one that it should never have been the responsibility of New York City alone to manage or finance a migrant crisis. But the Buck stops with the mayor. So, people are upset, they're going to be upset with the mayor, that's just how it works.

Mayor Adams: He's right. I want the buck to stop with me. N.J., we were able to get over 50 percent of the migrant and asylum seekers self-sustaining. I mean, think about that for a moment. Not one child or family sleeping on the streets in our city. That's not happening in other cities.

Burkett: Adams insists the blame lies with the Biden administration, and he hasn't been shy about saying so.

You don't regret that, do you?

Mayor Adams: No. No, not at all. I could have easily stood back and remained silent, but I took bold steps and stood up and spoke on behalf of cities in general but specifically New York City. And I think when people look back over this administration people are going to see that this mayor got no assistance from the federal government on a national problem.

Burkett: Do you think the investigation is politically motivated?

Mayor Adams: No. I believe investigators are going to do their job, and it's not up to me to determine if it's politically motivated or if it is. All I know is Washington needs to do its job on the migrants and asylum seekers.

Burkett: Adams admits the migrant crisis might well define his mayoralty; and in some respects, it already has. How he handles it could determine whether he wins a second term. That, and the outcome of the federal investigation. N.J. Burkett, Channel 7 Eyewitness News.