Transcript: Mayor Adams Holds In Person Media Availability

October 1, 2024

Mayor Eric Adams: First of all, I just want to let all of you know, all this is going in my book, you know, this is going to be one of the chapters that you're all going to reflect on. You know, you often heard me throughout my entire journey talk about the obstacles that I had to overcome throughout my life. And you sometimes you look over them and you'll say, listen, it could not have been that hard. And now you have the first front row seat of my resiliency during one of these moments that is challenging, but you're seeing firsthand my ability to stay focused. I have a city to run and I have an amazing team to do so.

And we shifted our normal off topics because for the last few weeks, if not months, most of the focus has basically been on the investigation. And my deputy mayors, my chief advisor, my commissioners, my legal team, they need to be focused on running the city. And so since the questions are on the investigation, I wanted to answer those that I can answer within the legal boundaries on the advice of the counsel. But if you have questions that's dealing with the very real issues of running the city, my deputy mayors are very much available.

So I want to just start from the top, just get some basic information to the city. We have seen reports from the White House that Iran is preparing an imminent missile attack against the people of Israel. I want to say to those New Yorkers who are here, moving towards October 7th, particularly our Jewish New Yorkers, we are taking every necessary step to ensure the safety of everyone in this city, especially with the High Holy Days upon us and last week's international actions, we're closely monitoring this situation.

New Yorkers will notice a high visibility, enhanced deployment of NYPD personnel in their communities because we wanted to make sure New Yorkers are safe. Tomorrow we'll be holding a media briefing with our Jewish leaders and the NYPD to discuss our security plans to keep New Yorkers safe this week. And as we approach one year since the terrorist attack on October 7th, we want all of our houses of worship and other Jewish organizations to be aware of what we're doing. Now we're doing things to keep New Yorkers safe and we will continue to do that.

There's so much movement that we are doing in the administration. I want to announce two new movements. First, I'm excited to announce that we intend to nominate Muriel Good-Truffant as New York City's next corporation counsel. She will be going through the entire process, as you know, because you're familiar with it. We went through it with Randy [Mastro.] So many of you are experts, Randy Mastro, so many of you are experts on the process and we're going to do so with Muriel. We're really excited about that. More than 30 years of experience at the Law Department, a lawyer who has fought for equity and justice. And she has served as the acting corporation counsel since this summer, and the entire team really have worked well with her. So we're looking forward to her taking the next step on her journey. Once formally submitted, I look forward to working with the City Council for the confirmation process.

And the second announcement I'm making today, many of you asked, is the appointment of Allison Stoddart as City Hall's chief counsel. Effective immediately, we spoke with Allison over the weekend. She was on our team since the beginning. Have a great deal of respect. She's worked on important projects, including the expansion of paid personnel and family leave and the removal of sidewalk sheds, among a few. And I would always say that her commitment, dedication, and ability to stay calm is what I really like being around Allison and what she brings to leading our team here. I say it over and over again, we have a deep bench. Not only do we have a deep bench in the administration, but we have a deep bench in the city.

And many people have called, as they see the movement taking place. And they stated that, Eric, I would like to come in and join the team. And as the openings happen, we will make sure that we fill it with qualified people. And as they come, if they come, we will make sure we make the announcements as we always do. So congratulations to both Muriel and Allison, and we look forward to their work. And we're going to continue our work. You know, you hear me saying the quotes over and over again, a thousand ghost cars off our streets. Commissioner Tisch and Deputy Mayor Banks, an amazing job over 18,000 illegal guns off our street. NYPD is doing a good job improving Black and Latino unemployment, 30 percent decrease in the unemployment of what we have done over COVID. And now we're on the precipice of City of Yes, 108,000 new homes in our city to deal with the homeless crisis. So we have a lot of work to do, and we're going to continue to do that work. So why don't I open it up to a few questions?

Question: Mr. Mayor, I actually have two questions. The first one is this, Commissioner Caban has resigned. David Banks has decided he's going to retire. Tim Pearson has resigned. Ingrid said that she's going to retire at the end of the year.
There have been a lot of people who are leaving the administration. I wonder if you expect more people to leave in the coming weeks and months, and will the new faces help to convince the governor of the State of New York that you can govern the city and regain the trust of the people who live here?

Mayor Adams: Listen, I think that number one, there's always movement in and out, in and out of administrations. And those of us who have been around, we know that, you know, Fabien is here. And I think that, you know, those who decide to go on with their careers, I remember sitting down speaking with the Commissioner Kavanagh from FDNY, and her and I are taking a walk together. And she says, Eric, I want to start a family. You know, people have different priorities.

It's been two years, nine months. And it's a, you know, it's a real wear and tear on your family. And so those who come in and come out, just as people are leaving, there are people who are coming in. And we're going to continue to see that. You see that in government all the time. And a great conversation with the governor in the last few days. She is clear on what we have done together, even over the last few months, that this investigation was taking place. The numbers are clear. No one can argue with the numbers, and I don't have to go through them for you. They're very clear. This has been a successful administration in having the city survive not only COVID, but 217,000 migrants and asylum seekers. And we're going to continue to move the city forward, and I am confident that we're going to do that.

Question: Mr. Mayor, the second question is this. Your lawyers today filed papers in federal court saying that there should be sanctions against federal prosecutors for leaking information, not only grand jury information, but also information about their investigation. I wonder if you could talk to us about how you felt at each one of these leaks, which really sought to impugn your ability to do your job.

Mayor Adams: Of my understanding, grand jury testimony and actions are secret. That is the purpose of… Se have a system of justice where we try cases in courtrooms and not in boardrooms or the streets. And I spoke with my counsel over and over again and stated to them, you know, this is just not right. Throughout the 10 months to just have this leakage without just properly just do the investigation. We communicated to the officials over and over again. We did it in writing and we did it in verbal communications. And so the legal team will handle that. I must handle the running of the city and let them do that.

Question: Mayor, as my colleagues at Politico recently reported about Tim Pearson sort of trying to hook up a company called Remark Holdings with contracts with the city. What kind of guardrails are in place to oversee what he does with migrant contracts? And do you have concerns about this company having access to some of the data that way?

Mayor Adams: That's a powerful term, hook up. Our goal, and you've always heard me say it over and over again, my goal is to find the best technology to run our city more efficiently. I've said that on the campaign trail and I said that when I was in the election. And there are clear guardrails around procurement. We have rules around procurement. And of my understanding, no tax dollars were spent. And this was a pilot, of my understanding, of my preliminary review. But there are clear guardrails around procurement.

Question: Hi. Are you hopeful that your attorney's bid to dismiss the charges is going to succeed? And if yes, could you say why you're hopeful?

Mayor Adams: Again, any case, I'm hopeful because I did nothing wrong. That's where my hopeful comes from. I've said it over and over again, I know how I live my life, I did nothing wrong. And every elected official in this city that calls on behalf of a constituent should be concerned about what is laid out there. I don't know any elected official in this city that does not make a call on behalf of a constituent to address an issue. And I'm hopeful because I think, and I will continue to say, I did nothing wrong.

Question: Good morning. Mr. Mayor, do you plan, given that there's going to be this briefing tomorrow, do you still plan to attend your court appearance? And also, in the event there is a trial while you are mayor, have you considered appointing an acting mayor? And who would that be?

Mayor Adams: I will be at my court appearance tomorrow and I don't need an acting mayor because I'm an actual mayor and I'm going to continue to lead the city. That's what I was elected to do, and I think the numbers are clear that I have the ability to do so. And I have a great team of deputy mayors who are clearly focused on moving the city forward and we're going to continue to do that.

Question: Even if you're on trial and have to be there every day during a trial?

Mayor Adams: The charter lays out if the mayor is not either out of the city or for whatever reason can't carry out their day-to-day duties, there are mechanisms in place to address that and we will follow those mechanisms. How are you?

Question: Okay, thank you. I know you answered the last question by saying it was about whether more people will be leaving. I'm curious whether it's true that you're in discussions with the governor and some other politicians, maybe not about people leaving, but about bringing in any additional people to bring confidence to your administration at the top?

Mayor Adams: I think there is confidence in our administration. You're always going to have those who sit on the sidelines and for the beginning of the administration. You see the usual suspects. You've covered them. You do an analysis of some of the reporting no matter what happens in the city instead of aggressively stating how do we move the city forward. They critique. They criticize when we wanted to do involuntary removal to get severe mental health off the street. They criticize when we removed over 18,000 guns off the street. They criticize how we made sure we had pre-K for all of our young people.

These are the same voices over and over and over again. And so they're going to continue to raise their voice to this administration. But we have remained disciplined and focused during that period of time. When I came into office, I reached out to former and current elected officials and said, give us some names. We're going to build our team. Give us some names, some suggestions to build our team. And that continues now. We speak with those who are in and out of government and ask, give us some names because we want to build a first class team. And that's how I was able to build the team that I did.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: How are you?

Question: I'm good. So, Timothy Pearson, after four sexual harassment lawsuits and two DUI investigations, what was the final straw with him? And secondly, will the city still be paying for his representation in the sexual harassment suits?

Mayor Adams: Tim made the decision that he wanted to focus on another aspect of his life and deal with those items that he has to deal with. And he made the determination that it was time for him to go on with that. And I respect that. He served his city as a police officer and in private and public life. And he's moving on to the next level.

Question: And on the representation question?

Mayor Adams: Corp counsel can answer that.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor. How are you?

Mayor Adams: What's happening?

Question: You know, same old. So you've played down these upgrades and these severely discounted rooms you had. They're saying there's no quid pro quo here, right? Your attorney has argued that this does not constitute a bribe. So if not a favor in the future or in anything direct, what did you think these favors, these gifts were for? What did you think at the time? What do you think now?

Mayor Adams: Well, first of all, it's inappropriate. There is a case taking place, so it's inappropriate for me to go into that and I'm not going to do anything that is going to interfere with the continuation of the legal process. And all those questions will be answered, but right now, let's let the legal process take its course.

Question: Just a second question here. So you've repeatedly said that you're just going to continue fighting and working for the city, continue grinding. Then you said reigning, not resigning. But, you know, at what point are you going to have issues here with people not wanting to meet with you or having any issues with setting up meetings, maybe not wanting to have business with New York City? Like at what point does this become for the best for the city, not just for you?

Mayor Adams: No, it's always best for the city. And trust me when I tell you, I do not have a shortage of meetings and events, and people want to sit down. People understand that I'm still a mayor and there are things that need to be done in the city. I do not have a shortage of that. Trust me when I tell you the calendar is not short of people from local to international leaders who wish to sit down and communicate with me for so many different reasons.

Yesterday I met with the president of Metropolitan, incoming president of Metropolitan College and we had a great conversation. We are not short of people meeting and carrying out business because we got a good team. The city is still functioning and will continue to do so. And it's always about the people of the city. If I felt we could not do our job here in the city, I would not get in the way of the city moving forward. I love the city too much.

Question: Good morning, mayor.

Mayor Adams: Good morning. How are you?

Question: In the corner over here. In your comment about every elected official who made a call on behalf of a constituent should be concerned, how would you characterize the day-to-day work that goes on as you described it? And why do you think you, if you believe this, are being singled out for doing the same thing?

Mayor Adams: Well, first of all, my entire style as mayor, the outer borough mayor, you know, I think it was a New York Post that wrote the article one day when a young girl in I think LaGuardia High School text me and stated they're doing a walkout because the school or the principal was unfair. I forgot the exact reason. And I text her back in like probably 35, 40 seconds. And the article was on like all that this mayor is doing, he's texting a high school student telling her to get back in school. That is who I am.

You know, people elected me. I'm on the subway systems, I'm in public housing, I'm in the streets, I communicate with people. Every elected official in the city, I believe Rubén Díaz responded to it. I believe also Councilman Riley responded to it. Every elected official in the city fields calls from constituents asking to somehow navigate the bureaucracy of government. If an elected official tells you they do not do that, then they're not doing their job. So if someone is asking me to assist in navigating the bureaucracy of government that I do all day, every day, that is what I do. And that's what I will continue to do. And so why, you know, we're looking at Eric Adams over assistant constituency. That is a question you have to ask the investigators.

Question: Hi Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: What's going on, Kelly?

Question: I'm good. How are you?

Mayor Adams: Good.

Question: I wanted to go back to Tim Pearson. Yes. You said that he left on his own accord, but did you ask him to stay? And was there any pressure in his departure, involved in his departure? And then I have another question.

Mayor Adams: Well, you need to ask them both at the same time.

Question: Oh, okay. The second question I have is there's reports that there's Black political officials that are preparing for your departure. Do you think that that's premature? What is your reaction to that?

Mayor Adams: Okay. I don't know about that plot that's being played out in the basement somewhere. So I don't know about it. You know, you know more than I. So I don't know anything about it. And again, any conversation I have with any employee, including Tim, is a private conversation. The reason people are comfortable with speaking with me, they never hear what they share with me. They never hear it on the outside again.

People are extremely comfortable with knocking on my door or stopping to talk with me because once you talk with me, it stays there. And my conversation with anyone that is in the administration or leaving an administration is those are private conversations. Unless they tell me, Eric, I would like for you to share it.

Question: [Inaudible.]

Mayor Adams: Again. You know more than I. You have to speak to those officials. You know more than I. You have to speak to those officials.

Question: Mr. Mayor, thank you for your [inaudible.] The announcement you just made on the new corporation counsel post, which my understanding is would be needed if a inability community scenario was created that could have the power to eventually vote you out, sir. Why is the post being filled now? And then a quick question. Do you think that the governor's tone towards you has changed to be more positive, more supportive rather than asking the mayor to think in the next few days what he's going to do and what is the path?

Mayor Adams: First, I have not communicated with the incoming proposed corp counsel. I'm sure she's an independent thinker and she would carry out her roles. You know, she's a professional and I'm pretty sure she would do her job.
With the governor, I think that the governor has worked with me for the last few years and she knows I'm a grinder. She's a grinder, you know, blue collar upbringing from Buffalo. She always talked about the role in the steel mills and the life she lived. And so I think that she has a sense of fairness and that's so important. That's at the cornerstone of who we are as a country and as individuals. And she knows how hard I work. She knows the obstacles that's in front of me. And she saw how I handed those obstacles from COVID to the migrants and asylum seekers and the obstacles of my life. My life has been filled with obstacles, folks. I can't, I don't know how I can get that any clearer, you know, you know, when you wake up one day and you're losing your sight from diabetes, those are real hurdles. When you have a learning disability and then you ascend to be the mayor of the City of New York, those are hurdles.

And so obstacles are no reason to surrender, you know. And so I think the governor knows I'm going to work hard. I'm going to continue to move the city forward and I'm communicating with her to let her know some of the things that we are doing. She shared some of the things she would like to see. And I think she is doing like other New Yorkers are doing. We want Eric to succeed because he's the pilot right now of the City of New York.

Question: Have you felt any pressure from state Democratic officials, Jay Jacobs, for instance, to step down? And then also on your legal defense trust, you know, now that things are in court, are you burning through cash in there very quickly? Are you concerned about running out of money?

Mayor Adams: No, to the first thing and to the second, of, you know, I have legal bills and I'm going to pay my bills. That's how I live my life. I will pay my bills. And thanks to those New Yorkers who stepped up and responded and assisted. And there are others who are calling and saying, listen, we want to help, Eric. We want to help you.

[Crosstalk.]

Question: I want to get through a handful of questions.

Mayor Adams: No, you don't have a handful, Chris.

Question: You know, you said that we have to ask them all up front, so let me get through them. I was wondering, you said earlier about constituent work that every single elected official calls constituents. Why did you consider the Turkish consulate in Manhattan a constituent when you were Brooklyn borough president, number one?

Number two, since news of the indictment broke, you and your attorney have insinuated at the very least that this indictment is the cause of some sort of political vendetta. I'm just wondering, what exactly are you and your attorney saying, that the Biden administration sicced prosecutors on you as a political retribution, and what sort of evidence do you have that they did that?

Lastly, I just wanted to ask a broad question about your legacy. Are you concerned because of this, that you'll be remembered as the only mayor in modern New York City history to be indicted while in office, and that that will be a big part of your legacy?

Mayor Adams: First, no, I'm not concerned, and legacies have different aspects of it. You take every aspect of who you are. That is part of your legacy, who you are. I always talk about this book that I've been making journal entries every day, and I'm excited about pointing out all of these parts of who I am. It's going to be a real transparent book on every one of these moments, of the emotions that are attached to these moments. I think it's going to be an exciting look at how you deal with obstacles, how you deal with uncertainties in the heart of the most important city on the globe. So I'm not worried about my legacy. My legacy is going to be strong, when a young child from West Africa is going to own his major corporations because we allowed them in, when a child from Venezuela or Ecuador is going to be able to state that he's a doctor because here we allowed them in and Eric didn't turn them away like others wanted to do. That is going to be my legacy.

Now, some are going to try to emphasize on one aspect of my legacy, but others are going to really look and see this is a mayor that had a great level of humility and he was able to turn the city around during his most difficult moments. The question about what is my opinion on how this is coming about, I'm pretty sure all of that is going to play out over time, and that's some of the stuff that you're going to read in my book on what I feel about that. Now is not the opportune time because we have a case that's underway. What was your first question?

Question: Why was that a constituent of yours when you were a Brooklyn borough president?

Mayor Adams: Brooklyn had one of the largest Turkish population, definitely the largest Turkish population in the city. I think that the first largest is in, I think in Patterson, but it's the largest Turkish population in the city. My uniqueness as the mayor, I was invited to the global look of Brooklyn. I had meetings with the consul general of Peru, of all these other, Mexico. We had one of the largest Mexican population. I would communicate with the consul general of Mexico when there were problems. So this was not new.

The constituencies in my borough of Brooklyn, which was the largest borough in the city, those constituencies often ask, can you bring in the consul generals from our various constituencies and develop a relationship? Former Borough President Marty Markowitz had an amazing relationship. He was the one that introduced me to the consul general at that time. And so whomever called, I would get calls as the borough president from issues that were in Queens, that was in the Bronx, that was in Staten Island. I was a very forward looking borough president. People knew me as the borough president and when they had problems and someone lived in another borough, they will call and say, Eric, can you help us? And I'm not going to turn away people merely because I was the borough president of Brooklyn. I wanted to help New Yorkers, the city I love. How are you?

Question: Oh, sorry. That's right. I'm a radio guy, but I'll let you hold it. Okay. You said from Gracie Mansion, then before the Post and Times broke the story about what's happened now, 'I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers, that I would be a target and the target I became.' That's one question. I want to know what you meant there. And also, a little off topic, but we now have the first major dock strike since the 1970s. And I was wondering if you think that President Biden should invoke the Taft-Hartley Act and get both sides to the table.

Mayor Adams: Yes. And I'm going to stop over and see the striking workers. You know, I know what it is to be on a picket line and to fight for your rights as an employee. And I'm going to stop over and see them and show my support. I'm going to do it later on today. And I think my comment speaks for itself. And I would love to go in depth. There's some pieces that we're knowledgeable of, but I'm not going to do anything that's going to interfere with the case. My attorneys will handle that.

Question: I'm just wondering if you're going to say yes, that you didn't mean that President Biden should sign the Taft-Hartley Act, which would end the strike and bring them back to the table. Do you support that?

Mayor Adams: No, no. I support giving these workers what they deserve so they could provide for their family, like I did with 97 percent of my unions, including the ferry boat operators that had a 13-year contract that was outstanding. I support workers getting and receiving what they need to provide for their families.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: You guys love holding the microphone, that's like a [inaudible].

Question: On your legal representation, why did you hire Alex Spiro and his firm when you already had WilmerHale representing you? Is there something that he's providing you that those existing lawyers were not? Also, just if you could say a little more on your legal defense fund, how has the fundraising been these last few weeks? Have you held any fundraisers? Any particular supporters you would like to shout out?

Mayor Adams: I'm sure whenever we post them, you will look at them, you will call them, and you will ask, why are you donating to Eric Adams? You shouldn't be donating to him. What I love about those who have donated, although they've been blasted in the papers and they've been harassed, they say, listen, we believe in this guy. If it means that I've got to be called names and I have to be called by everyone when they see my name, we're still going to be there for him. That's what's great about this city. People know you. When you committed yourself so much to this city, people know you. They're willing to go through the inconvenience so that they can stand with you. I cannot thank those New Yorkers who are doing that over and over and over again.
WilmerHale, Brendan and Boyd, who are my counsels there, they're still very much connected to what we're doing. Listen, Alex is one of the best trial lawyers in the country. I looked up all of his cases. I saw what he did in the Baldwin trial. I saw what he did in some other high-profile trials. No one is going to get away. He's one of the best trial lawyers in the country. People know different specialties. He was someone I was communicating with. As you know, he was handling the case for me, and so I'm happy that he decided to take the case and that he's on board. I'm really excited about having him represent me. It's official in the records.

Question: Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: What's happening?

Question: Not much. Yesterday, your attorney, Alex Spiro, told us that you were not required to disclose foreign trips, including a Turkey that you took while borough president and as mayor. Can you just walk us through what your understanding is of when those trips should be disclosed and why it appears in some cases you didn't disclose them? And then also, I know you said you don't want to talk about this, yes or no question, do you believe the Department of Justice is targeting you because of your criticism of the Biden administration?

Mayor Adams: Both of your questions you ask I think is too closely affiliated to the case, and I'm not going to do anything that's going to jeopardize a fair hearing outside in the case. I'm not giving you any generality. You don't do generalities when you are fighting a case. Nothing I say is going to interfere with my ability to be a defense. My attorney told me what are the boundaries, and I respect my attorneys, and any of you that are in something like this, you should do the same. Mona, how are you?

Question: I'm well, sir. So I guess my question would be considered off-topic today because I actually want to ask a question that's not related to this, that the rest of New Yorkers actually really, really do care about.

Mr. Mayor, with regards to school safety, last week we had a school safety town hall, Inspector Mulet and others from NYPD and Mark Rampersant participated, but Mr. Mayor, there's been a rise in guns in the schools. There's also been a rise in shootings around the perimeter of the school, as well as a lot of slashings and stabbings. And my question, Mr. Mayor, is, you know, we're still understaffed with school safety agents. I'm still waiting on some type of, you know, latest update with regards to the assistant school safety agent position, which is just lost in limbo. But for school safety agents, Mr. Mayor, there's a waiting list of about 4,000 people who are waiting to be called. So it's not like people are not applying for it, and we really do need more school safety agents.

My second question, also related to school safety, Mr. Mayor, that families want to know, all families, is when it comes to charter school families, I know that in the past as borough president you were in support of the city paying for security for charters located in private school buildings. This has come up again, Mr. Mayor, and I'm going to ask you, with everything happening and with the charter school kids being our kids, too, you know, if we can provide funding from the city for private schools, why are we not providing for the charter schools in private school buildings, and would you support that again? Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Yeah. All of our children matter to me. All of our children must be safe, and I, too, I'm concerned about just how young our children are that are carrying guns. You know, that's why when you look at the number of guns we move up the streets, and I was focused from the beginning of putting in place our anti-gun unit. It has been extremely significant in what we've been able to do thus far, and we're going to continue to do. When you look at those numbers, they're getting younger and younger, those young people who are armed with guns.

And so the goal for me, Mona, is to look at how do we bring in, you know, if that waiting list, if we have thousands of people on that waiting list, we need to get them hired. And so I'm going to speak with the commissioner of DCAS and find out what's going on with that list, because you remember on the campaign trail, there were those who were calling to remove school safety agents, and I was clear, as the mayor, that would never happen. There were a number of shootings around the schools. We've done a great job of keeping guns out of schools with our scanning and warning program. We need to see whatever way in those areas where we're seeing a gun problem in the area to go after guns that are in the school. You know, thank God we have not had any shootings inside our school, but we should not wait for that to happen before we respond.

And the numbers are clear, 18,000, over 18,000 guns removed off our streets. That's a significant number, and it shows what the NYPD is doing and what they're doing in partnership with school safety. Some of those guns you were talking about, we caught before they were being used, you know, and students are stepping up and reporting guns in their school, and that's the partnership that we need. But we will look at those numbers.

Oh, the charter school. I need to look at the parameters that what prevents that from happening, and I'm not clear on that right now, but we will find out and have a response for you.

Question: Hey, Mr. Mayor, how are you doing?

Mayor Adams: Good. How are you?

Question: I'm good. Two questions for you. One was, it looks like one of those fire chiefs involved in the case might be taking a plea. So my first question was, are you concerned? I'm sorry, which case? The case involving you and the same federal. I'm wondering, are you concerned that they or anybody else that might be involved in this, that they might be cooperating with the government or testifying against you at some point?

My second question was, your former police commissioner, Eddie Caban, stepped down, and one of the things he highlighted was he didn't want to be a distraction. So for you, at what point do you become a distraction? At what point does it become too much, this investigation or potentially any others that might crop up?

Mayor Adams: If someone takes a plea, they should plea on what they did that's wrong. They should not be lying and saying that Eric did something wrong. I've been very clear on what I expect from those who are associated with my campaign as one of the texts that you saw that say no foreign donations, been very clear. And I think that people should say, are you being a distraction? I want to be clear. If I couldn't do my job, I would never do anything that's going to get in the way of this city. I love this city. I wore a bulletproof vest protecting children and families of this city. I put my life on the line for this city. I'm never going to harm this city. I can do this job, and I will continue to do this job, and I have the right team to do the job. How are you?

Question: I actually have a question about faith. I'm curious, you've always been publicly a man of faith, and last week when you had the press conference, you were surrounded by a bishop and clergy, and over this weekend. So I'm curious if you feel like the Black church or other religious types are the only ones standing with you publicly when so many Black city officials have effectively abandoned you and called for your resignation.

Mayor Adams: Well, first of all, I'm a man of faith. And not only Black clergy leaders. I grew up in [Brooklyn] and yesterday had a beautiful event, I'm sorry, out in Queens, a beautiful event. My imams reached out to me, my rabbis reached out to me, my Sikh leaders reached out to me.

When you look at these faith leaders, they're not political, they're people. And you know, I think there were those who immediately say Eric needs to leave without even being an indictment. You know, I said from the beginning, I'm going to say again, when you look at the fact that all of these elected officials, which you should ask all of them, do you make phone calls to assist the bureaucracy of constituents or anyone in the city? I'm pretty sure they're all going to say yes.

I lean into my faith and I will continue to do so and I don't lean into my faith during hard times. I do it during hard times. I've been consistent throughout my entire career on the power of my belief in faith. And those leaders know me and they know I authentically care about the people of the city.

Question: Hi, Mayor Adams.

Mayor Adams: How are you, Katie?

Question: I'm great. Thank you. I know a few weeks ago, first, is anyone going to replace Tim Pearson in his role? A few weeks ago, you and your chief of staff said you pulled together examples of Tim Pearson saving the city millions. Is that ready to be released to the public? And is there any consideration or any review from the Law Department that says Alex Spiro might not be able to represent you in both cases? I don't know if that's been an issue with that.

And also, I know we had asked about Winnie Greco's trip to Israel. I don't know if you wanted to speak a little bit about Winnie Greco and if that was approved. It was last year. Your office hasn't been able to provide us any details on who approved her trip to Israel. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: I would first speak with corp counsel to talk about with Alex and doing what he can do. Corp counsel can answer that. I want to be accurate in what was stated. We will make announcements on who's going to fill roles or who's going to be removed from roles as they come up.

And your first question about Tim? We'll give you a complete analysis of those dollars that were saved, millions that were saved based on the renegotiation of contracts. We'll get that for you. Fabien will get that. We'll get it for you. Fabien will get it to you.

Question: Hello, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: How are you?

Question: I have a question. With everything you said today and in the previous days, do you trust the federal justice system? You always say you trust the process. Right now, do you trust the federal justice system? And the second question is short. Are you still planning on attending the Pulaski Day Parade on Sunday?

Mayor Adams: Thank you. I trust the system of justice we have in this country because the beauty of it is that you're judged by your peers. And to me, that means a lot. And I trust the system of justice we have in this country. And the scheduler will determine where I am during the parade.

Question: Hi, Mayor.

Mayor Adams: How are you?

Question: It's a packed house today, mayor. Two questions. One, you've had staff meetings, 8 a.m. staff meetings the last two days. Can you tell us, share with us what you've said to the staff to reassure them that you're going to stick around and that you can do the job?

Mayor Adams: You know, it's interesting. I met with the staff, I met with my commissioners. I met with my staff here that are actually in the building. And I've had several meetings with my deputy mayors. And once we had those meetings, the team moved on.

My 8 a.m. calls, we're not talking investigations. We're talking about what are the issues that impact the city. We talk about the strike. We talk about the amazing announcement we made yesterday that I'm really excited about that started under previous administrations. We talk about the real work. These deputy mayors understand the attorney will handle the case. We will take care of the city.

Once we did the foundational conversation, we moved on to running the city. This is not even discussed on our 8 a.m. calls. We talk about just the work of the city. We made that clear. We have a job of moving the city forward.
Question: The second question, quickly, the indictment doesn't say that you specifically ordered anything. Do you believe, as your lawyer said, that this comes down to essentially one person?

Mayor Adams: I'm glad my lawyer said that yesterday because my lawyer handles the case. I'm not going to do anything that's going to get in the way of the case. And I think that as the case unfolds, some people are going to say, you know what, we may have jumped the gun on Eric Adams. And this is a test for folks who automatically just come with their hearts in one way. This is going to unfold, and I think the information is going to continue to show that I do not break laws.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: How are you doing?

Question: I'm doing okay. I have two questions. The first is, at some point in the administration, you had a certain security clearance that enabled you to have briefings and access to information. Do you still have a security clearance at that level, or has it been downgraded? The second question, just broadly, why do you like to travel?

Mayor Adams: That's a great question. That's a very interesting question that you ask. First, the federal government makes a determination of security clearance, and you have to reach out to them, and they will tell you. Why do I like to, again, reach out to the federal government, and they will tell you. They determine the level of clearance. There's several levels of clearance, from top secret to et cetera.

Growing up in South Jamaica, Queens, it was a distant thought that even owning a passport, it was something that was not even in our conversational communications. The thought that you would leave the boundaries of St. Albans was just impossible. When I graduated from high school, I wrote on the back of my high school picture a hundred places that I wanted to see, and I wanted to really just expand. I did that. I wanted to make sure that I saw the globe.

Some people look at that and say there's something suspicious. Why does he want to go to these different countries? Because too many children that look like me believe the globe is in one square mile of their home, and I want to constantly remind them that the globe belongs to them. To be this young man from South Jamaica, Queens, my parents never left the country at all. Everybody on my block never left the country at all.

So to be able to have visited a substantial number of those countries that I wrote on the back of that graduation photo back in '78, and to look through that list and see that many of them I touched and many of them I visited, it means a lot. It's a personal, personal hurdle. I'm sure all of you have your own personal hurdles, maybe not as silly as mine, but we all have our personal hurdles that we wanted to accomplish, and that was why I wanted to travel.

How are you?

Question: Good, thank you. So two questions for you. The first one was, in the absence of a corp counsel, because that doesn't seem like that might happen even like, you know, for a month, just with the nomination process. So who is making the decision right now to pay for Tim Pearson's legal fees?

And then second question, with the bar owner outside, a Brooklyn bar owner says, is alleging that Edward Caban's brother shook him down and forced him to pay cops. So I guess, have you spoken with Edward Caban since he resigned, and are you concerned with these allegations being laid out?

Mayor Adams: Yeah, we're never absent of a corporation counsel. We have an acting corporation counsel. Muriel was doing that. So the seat is never vacant. There's an acting corporation counsel. And there's a deep infrastructure. We have hundreds of lawyers that are there, if not more, who are carrying out the duties. The city's functioning. You know, we have several cases, people taught decisions, lawsuits from all over, making legal decisions. So corporation counsel is functioning.

These entities do not disappear from mayor to mayor to mayor. This is the permanent infrastructure of an amazing city that can operate no matter what happens. I haven't read the case and the accusations, but no one should treat a business owner unfairly in any way. And I'm pretty sure corporation counsel will look at that case.

Question: Does being charged but not convicted of federal crimes give you a different perspective on the people being held on Rikers, people awaiting trial that you have said are bad?

And second question, there are a lot of different phrases on these boards around you about your accomplishments. But if you had to choose one of these accomplishments or any accomplishment that you think New Yorkers should keep in mind when weighing whether or not you should finish your term, which accomplishment would that be?

Mayor Adams: Okay. First, I have been on Rikers Island more than any mayor in the history of the city. I was rebaptized on Rikers Island with inmates. The dysfunctional system that holds those who are charged with crimes for a long period of time is wrong.

And I not only advocated against that as the borough president, as the mayor, but go back and look at my record as the ranking member of crime and correction when I visited these facilities across the entire state and what I've done for those who are in correctional facilities. And so I don't need to go through something to identify what people are going through. I have a long, rich history of being there for those who are incarcerated. And that is not going to change. Your second question was the?

Question: Pick one, sum up why New Yorkers should have confidence in you to keep going.

Mayor Adams: Oh, it's hard to pick one. It's hard to pick one. I think that the, as I say over and over again, the prerequisite to prosperity is public safety. I ran on public safety. If I had to, if you are compelling me to pick one instead of being proud of my dyslexia screening and proud that I dropped unemployment and proud that I have more jobs in the city and the city history and proud that tourism is back and proud that the crimes of the subway system have, they have decreased.

If you're making me pick only one, I would go with the fact that we inherited a city with a 40 percent increase in crime and look at where we are now. New Yorkers want to be safe. And that is what I want to say to New Yorkers. You had a mayor that promised you safety and a mayor that delivered you safety. And that is one of my proudest achievements.

Question: Alcalde, buenos tardes. I was listening to you that you love traveling and I just, you just made me remember that on the documents from the court, it said that you used to travel a lot with your girlfriend and I just thought about something else that it was that she, in the past she was the superintendent of one school and she was making like [$110,000] for salary and then suddenly. She just got an upgrade, 23 percent of increase, [$221,597] per year. Is that something that has to be with you? What do you have to say about it? Because that was in the paper from the investigation.

Mayor Adams: Which case was that? I didn't get to hear.

Question: The case is in the court right now. The district, the South District. The South District Court. They were saying that your girlfriend was making a certain amount of money and then it was like an increase of 23 percent -

Mayor Adams: Oh, Tracey. Tracey was a phenomenal educator for over 30 something years. And when you look at her promotion as in alignment with the promotion, there was a job vacancy. She filed for it, being the significant other of the mayor should not stop your track.

She has her own pathway from what she did in schools, turning around schools, PS 316. She's a phenomenal educator and even my senate concept of social emotional learning came from her. And so she earned her right and she earned what she has done for over 30 years as an educator, not only here in New York, but also in New Orleans, her role as a principal, her role as an administrator. I'm just really, I'm proud of her, of her educational skills.

Question: [Inaudible] explain that she didn't show up to the job for so long, it was a peer that was saying that she didn't show up.What do you have to say about that?

Mayor Adams: Again, Tracey does her job and she does it well.

Question: What was the event that you attended on October 9th, 2023 in Weehawken, New Jersey that is mentioned in the indictment? Did you participate in any subsequent events with those individuals? And what do you say to claims?

Mayor Adams: Okay, do that slow because you lost me.

Question: Sure, I'll start over.What was the event that you attended on October 9th, 2023 in Weehawken, New Jersey that's mentioned in the indictment? And did you participate in any subsequent events with those individuals? And what do you say to claims that that group had to raise $25,000 and give it to your campaign for you to appear at the event? Were you charging appearance fees for campaign donations?

And second question, have you or members of your political team communicated with former Governor Andrew Cuomo or his team about running for mayor? And what do you make of his potential entrance into that race?

Mayor Adams: There's a lot of names that are going around, and that's the beauty of the city. New York City is the most important city on the globe, and it's the top of the mountain. If people were not trying to get there, something would be wrong. You know, so there are people are going to be running, people are going to be coming in.

Remember my race? I had everyone in it. I had Andrew Yang. I had great financiers. I had great housing experts. I mean, that's supposed to happen. This should be competitive. You know, we have to convince the voters to vote for us. And when I was 13 points back in the poll, and people said it was impossible for me to be the mayor of the city, I never forget one reporter who I sat down and had lunch with, and he said that, you know, in our industry, they said you're too lazy to be the mayor. And I said, well, watch me.

So people should be in the race. That's what this city is about. And I'm excited about, again, selling my story and success to the voters. The difference between those who are entering and me, I have a record. And you can say what you want, but that record is an impressive record. That's why we have these billboards here. I have an impressive record to stand on.

And if you do an analysis of what I ran on, and do a comparison, 80 percent of those things, we accomplished. Sometimes we have to finish, but we accomplished over 80 percent of them. Now, the event, I'm not sure what that event is. And again, I have very clear guidelines from my counsel. Do not interfere with our defense. And I'm not going to do that. You have your own mic? What's going on?

Question: Yeah, yeah. We got two here. Hey, Haisten Willis with the Washington Examiner. Former President Donald Trump has come to your defense saying he predicted your indictment after you spoke out about migrants in New York. Do you welcome his support? And I have one other question as well.

Mayor Adams: Listen, I welcome support from every American. No matter where they are and who they are, I welcome support from every American. Those who know me and know how I am, and those who are just reading up on this. So every American in this great country, I welcome support from.

I just want to just quickly, Fabien gave me a notice that missiles have been launched against Israel, air raid sirens across Israel, and so I'm praying for the people of Israel as this attack is underway. And there's also appeared to be reports on terrorist attack in Jaffa, right outside of Tel Aviv with multiple injuries. Just wanted to make that announcement.

Question: Do you plan to attend the vice president debate tonight? Any thoughts on how that's going to go for the two candidates?

Mayor Adams: You know, the country has to move forward no matter what is going to happen. There are elections that's taking place, very important elections. And I'm going to sit down and watch the debates from the comfort of my couch where I like to watch the debate. How are you?

Question: I'm good. I wanted to ask, I imagine in the next few months, you're going to have a lot of important hearings, court hearings, meetings with your lawyers. How can you convince New Yorkers that you're still going to prioritize the work of the city over your own defense? Because that's what they want in a mayor, that they want them, New Yorkers want themselves to be the most important priority for the mayor, but yet you're facing a criminal charge.

Mayor Adams: Well, go back, you've been following this for the last 10 months, almost a year. Has it stopped me? Has it stopped our success? Has it stopped the movement of the city? I have a team here and the most impressive aspect of our team are the deputy mayors. And I'm not quite sure why we're not really acknowledging that this has been going on for 11 months. But our city has not moved backward, it has moved forward.

All of us go through stuff. Some of you are going through your own personal stuff, you know, a medical diagnosis, a legal issue, a family matter. Do you sit home at your desk and say, woe is me, or do you come out and cover the mayor? Just as you could do your job with a multifaceted of things going on, I've shown that I could do my job with a multifaceted of things going on. Stuff has always gone on in my life, always.

No one knew that I was going blind when I was borough president. No one knew when I walked out of our doctor's offices and he said, in a year you're going to lose your sight. I serve the people of the borough. I can deal with a multiple things going on. We have shown that.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: How are you?

Question: I'm just trying to go off of Kim's question, considering the indictments, you said you'll fight this with every ounce of your strength and spirit. How are you going to effectively perform your duties as mayor of 8 million people fighting these charges?
You have a court date tomorrow. I assume you're going to have court dates going forward that you'll have to be at. How are you going to continue to be mayor, and are you at least considering resigning?

Mayor Adams: I need to do a recording of this so I could just say it one time and everybody could hear it. Let's think about this for a moment. What message would I be sending Jordan? What message would I be sending to that young person that's going through a struggle? What message am I going to send to that mother that just had a traumatic experience in her life?

Every day New Yorkers are hit with bad news. Every day. And the message is that when you reach an obstacle, just throw up your hands and give up. I mean, that's not who I am. And if that's who I am, then I should have never have put myself in this position to be mayor. So I can't be any clearer. Obstacles don't stop me. They strengthen me. That has been my life story.

It's a shame for those who all of a sudden are impacted by a difficult moment in their life when they're on the battlefield. I've been dealing with difficult moments throughout my entire life. And in spite of all those difficult moments, I'm called the mayor of the City of New York. How are you?

Question: Very well, thank you. I have two questions as well. One is, if you were sitting here as a journalist, what would you ask Mayor Eric Adams?

Mayor Adams: Would I ask Mayor Eric Adams? Uh-huh. That was one.

Question: And the second question, of course, your answer. The second question, how was the menu and service on the Turkish Airlines, and would you recommend it?

[Crosstalk.]

Mayor Adams: You know, I love that question. Great service, great service. And if I were sitting here asking a question to myself, Eric Adams, I would ask him, are you the person you say you are. That you're able to deal with stress and strife and still maintain that discipline, that posture, and still serve the people of the city that you've served for much of your adult life? And then making myself the mayor and answering it, I would say, yes, yes, I am. Thank you.

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