Transcript: Mayor Adams Calls In for Live Interview on GMGT Live’s “The Reset Talk Show”

September 20, 2024

Mayor Eric Adams: Hey, good morning, good morning, J.R., and all of you. I feel as though I see Pastor Straker every day now, you know? But it's great to be on with the Reset Talk Show.

And as you talk about these complicated issues, these are complicated issues. And I think that it's smart that you have the rabbi and the Palestinian guests also, so that we can hear from both sides, and people can make an educated decision on what's the best way to find peace globally. I say over and over again, when people talk about what's playing out in the Middle East, we cannot be just in one thought on being peace.

We got to really acknowledge what's happening in Haiti, in our hemisphere, what's playing out in the Sudan, what's playing out in so many parts of the globe. There needs to be a uniform call and mobilization to bring about this lack of it, this hate that we're seeing all over our planet. And I think it's so important that we do it.

Giddings: Yeah, thank you, Mayor Adams. Thank you for going there. Thank you for that guidance. But we have so much to talk about when it comes to New York City, where we are. By the way, you look great. I know you just got over a bout of COVID. Thanks for coming to the Reset Talk Show this morning.

Mayor Adams, 10 months ago, your phones were seized by the FBI. Since then, New York City Police Commissioner Caban and the City's Chief Counsel, Lisa Zornberg, has resigned. No one was charged. We don't know what the feds are looking for. Could you tell us if the city's leadership is being distracted by this scrutiny?

Mayor Adams: Well, first, let's go back. You said 10 months ago, as you indicated. And any time you want to ask a question, are people or entities being distracted, you have to look at what happened in 10 months.

In 10 months, the private sector jobs, record levels, what we have done with our school system, math continued to improve with our babies in school. And even reading is maintaining itself. The double-digit decrease in shootings, double-digit decrease in homicides, crimes are going down. Really turning around investment into foster children. The bond raters have leaned into how well we're doing. Housing, we keep breaking records with housing, the affordable housing that we're building, transition people out of a homeless shelter.

So when you ask, are we being distracted, the numbers don't match that. Every mayor that I communicated with told me that,Eric, there are going to be things that are going to happen. Little did we know we were going to be these major things like COVID and 217,000 migrants and asylum seekers. But in spite of all of that, we still maintain being the safest big city in America. We still bring jobs into the city, and we're still making this city move forward with tourism and all the other entities.

I would love, J.R., to sit down and talk as much as I can about this, because I live my life not doing anything wrong and following the laws. And listen, when you fight on behalf of the city you're going to get a lot of incoming from all over the place, but I am going to, number one, I'm going to be responsible and not irresponsible.

Our attorneys told us you cannot do these investigations in public spaces. You got to allow them to take their course, and that's what we're doing. But my job is to continue to move this city forward. That's why I was elected [by] over 700,000 people, and that's what I'm going to continue to do.

Giddings: Mayor Adams, the big question, the trending question from the audience at large is so many people in the administration that's being targeted by the FBI. Is that concerning to you?

Mayor Adams: And when you say concerning, what do you mean by that? Help me understand that.

Giddings: Well, basically, you would hear things like, okay, the police commissioner had to resign. Why did he have to resign? Why didn't the mayor come out and say something about that? This is someone that was chosen by the mayor. You know, questions along those lines.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, well, the commissioner didn't have to resign. Let's be clear. The commissioner stated that he did not want to do anything that's going to jeopardize the public safety of the city. He had an excellent team that he has built.

Under his leadership, we saw crime continue to drop. He made a decision to allow the Police Department to function, and he made that decision. That was his decision, so he didn't have to. I think after, I think, close to 40 years of service, he made the determination what was the next step on his life and what he wanted to focus on. And I really commend what Commissioner Caban has done for the city. His service from a rookie cop all the way to becoming a police commissioner and the first Spanish speaker to be the police commissioner of the City of New York.

Giddings: Mayor Adams, Councilmember Tiffany Cabán is sounding the alarm for you to step aside, stating that you're unfit to govern. What's your reaction to her statement, and what would you like New Yorkers to know?

Mayor Adams: Well, let's go back to what I said, again, 10 months ago. She was saying the same thing. 10 months later, we still get the results that we have. And so when you take the comments of many of those who are saying, oh, you need to step down, you need to step aside, they were saying that January 3rd, 2022. They have not stopped saying that.

But in spite of the constant naysayers, we continue to move the city forward, J.R. We cannot ignore what we did in cycling us out of COVID, migrants and asylum seekers, job recovery, economy recovery. We have continued to address the challenges that cities face. And we've done an amazing job in doing so because I have an amazing team.

And listen, I'm a New Yorker. New Yorkers don't quit. New Yorkers fulfill their obligation[s] and responsibilities. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to, I was elected by 700,000 people under the disappointment of those who had radical ideas to take our city in the wrong direction. New Yorkers heard me. They heard my prerequisite to prosperity is public safety. They heard me around increasing jobs and housing. They heard me and they said, this is who we want, this blue collar person to lead our blue collar city and fight for working class people.

And that's what we've done. Drop unemployment rates for Black and brown people by 30 percent within hiring increases, small businesses services, government being more responsible. So when someone says that, hey, he can't run the city and lead the city, the numbers don't add up. The numbers add up just the opposite that we are continuing to move the city forward. That's what I'm going to do. The lawyers, investigators will take care of the other aspect. I'm going to move the city forward and fight on behalf of New Yorkers.

Giddings: So Mayor Adams, so what I'm hearing is that you're not stepping aside. You're running for re-election next year. And that's where we are.

Mayor Adams: I'm not stepping down. I'm stepping up for the people of the city. That's what I've done from the days that I was a young police officer riding the subway system.

Listen, these are moments, I was in church two weeks ago and I talk about these are Job moments. Those of us who have any spiritual foundation, you know, you're challenged in life. And when you're challenged in life, you lean into your faith and you know who you are as a person and you stay committed and focused. So as I go through my Job moments, and I have many, trust me, in my life, many people have never undergone any real challenges in life.

But I've had many, J.R., many moments of uncertainty, you know, as I remind people from just having learning disabilities, my terrible encounter with law enforcement. There have been many moments of uncertainty, but if you stay true to your faith and you stay focused and don't allow yourself to be distracted and work hard, you're able to go through these Job moments.

Giddings: Thank you. As we talk about faith, let's bring in our faith leader, Pastor Straker. Pastor Straker, welcome back in. We have New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams here.

Pastor Louis Straker: Good morning, Mr. Mayor. So good to have you with us. I'm glad to hear that you've recovered from COVID and that you are back on the job Getting Stuff Done.

Just a quick question. I want to pivot from all of the other conversations and kind of talk about, you know, one year ago, I don't know if you can remember, I think it was about maybe one week shy of one year, we had some torrential downpours in our city that kind of held our city standstill. I think I remember even Ditmas Park in Brooklyn was flooded. Our sewer systems were overrun and it really showed its vulnerability and really the need to develop our infrastructure below.

We have seen high rises go up, multiple housing dwellings and units that are needed to solve the housing crisis in the city. But I want to know, has there been any studies done concerning, you know, the volume of water usage increased with some of these high rises, compound with, you know, the heavy rainstorms and other factors, what is being done to secure our sewer system and the infrastructure there?

Mayor Adams: Yeah, no, that's a great question. And what the problem is, is that our sewer systems, they were built many years ago, really they were not equipped to handle the volume of some of these large rainstorms. And these storms are coming more frequently than ever.

You always hear the story about the a hundred year storm is now coming every year. And it is a major impact. And so the commissioner of DEP, Rit Aggarwala and his team and our entire team are working to come up with ways, how do we retain water better than it is by some of the natural ways. We were out in Queens where we looked at some of the natural ways of holding water, retaining water, building out more green spaces. People don't realize those green spaces provide a real service and slowing down the absorption of water into our sewer system. Our sewer system was not built to handle this flow.

And then there are things we're doing with our partnership of cleaning catch basins faster, partnering with local communities to do so, to build more ways to retain water. Shoring up our shorelines, so that when you have an increase in the tide, that it doesn't overspill. So there's so many things that the Department of Environmental Protection, they're currently doing to address this issue. And J.R., I'm going to offer to have Rit and his team come on and give you a full overview of how we're dealing with the change in climate and change in weather. What we do as a city and what everyday New Yorkers can do as well.

Pastor Straker: And then also, mayor, while you're at it, can you, I don't know if you could talk about it or send the Sanitation Department to talk about the new bins that are needed in terms of disposal. I think the community and the audience listening need to hear some of the new bins and the requirements that are coming out.

Mayor Adams: That's great. That's a great point. That's what's good about this show because it get[s] information on the ground. Commissioner Tisch, Jessica Tisch, as everyone know, November, I think it's November 10th. Don't hold me to the exact date, but we are rolling out new bins where they're the number one tool that we can use to combat the rodent infestation that we have because these plastic bags are not doing it. We want to get plastic bags off our streets.

So the last level, the third, close to the last level, I should say, of those who are going to be a mandate to have bins of one to 10 unit housing, this is a great way to ensure that we are taking the garbage off our streets and we could have Commissioner Tisch come in and give you the full rundown, how to go about getting them, how to order them, of what are the size of them. They're durable. We brought it down, the price down from what the normal retail charge is, and it's a real win for New Yorkers.

Pastor Straker: Thank you, sir.

Giddings: Okay, before you leave, Mayor Adams, I'd like to bring in Nicole Jordan-Martin and Roger Archibald, reason being that we say we have some of the best minds in the country. And when we started this platform, we all were here together. So I'd like Roger and Nicole to say good morning to you. It's just like old times.

Mayor Adams: Yes, yes. I knew Roger and Nicole were there back in the day when we were talking COVID and masks.

Nicole Jordan-Martin: Good morning, Mayor Adams. It's wonderful to see you. Thank you so much for always embracing this platform and giving us the opportunity to hear directly from you. It's so important.

And I listened to you earlier, the way you responded to a couple of J.R.'s question. I have to say you epitomize what leadership is about, and you really embrace the notion that challenges in leadership are opportunities to grow and innovate. And you are, I think, the walking embodiment of that because you see everything exactly that way. So I just wanted to note that and to thank you for continuing to serve us. And as you said, you're going to continue to step up.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Thank you so much.

Giddings: Roger, say hello to the mayor.

Roger Archibald: Good morning to you.

Mayor Adams: Hey, Roger. How are you?

Archibald: I am well. It's been a while since we've had a direct conversation, but it's a pleasure as always. My question, go ahead, Eric.

Mayor Adams: Your daughter must be finished law school by now.

Archibald: No, she's started. Yeah, my son is finished at law school, but my daughter just about to start law school. But thank you for putting out that plug for my young ones who are hopefully going to follow in my footsteps.

Mayor Adams: Love it. You were saying your question?

Archibald: Yeah, my question deals with policing and mental health. And it seems to be that there is an inordinate amount of shootings of individuals with mental health when either the family or the person themselves call 911 for an intervention when someone is having, for lack of a better word, a meltdown of some sort.

And what training in particular is there for the beat cops to understand and appreciate the intricacies of a mental health breakdown and to avoid it turning into a deadly confrontation? And so many of them have turned into deadly confrontations and the community is screaming out for something other than the use of deadly force.

Mayor Adams: A great question, Roger. And so many, you know, anytime you have the loss of a life that a person has gone through a mental health crisis, it's alarming. And although there's, you know, you have one is too many, but you have hundreds of thousands that don't turn into the loss of a life.

And one of the most challenging jobs you can go on as a former police officer, I know, is dealing with someone that's going through a mental health crisis. It's extremely unpredictable. That in itself is challenging. And we have, the Police Department has been able to subdue and control by different mechanism, hundreds of thousands of these cases.

What really elevates the problem is when there's a weapon involved, a knife, a hammer, a gun. We had one case where a person went through a mental health episode and he put the gun to the neck. He shot one family member and he put the gun to the head of his mother. He was about to shoot her as well. Those are so challenging. And we continue to train, evolve, use devices such as tasers, shields, other objects before you escalate to the place of using your firearm. That's the last episode. That's the last tool you wanna use, but it is an extremely challenging encounter.

And I know we hear about the cases that the officer discharges his weapon, or even some cases you can use a taser and a person can sustain serious injuries from this taser. But when you look at the volume of calls, of how many calls are made, with B-HEARD now being incorporated into it to go to some of these cases, when you look at the volume of calls, there's clearly an overwhelming number that ends without any loss of life that officers are doing daily.

So we wanna continue to train, we wanna continue to evolve. Our goal is to have zero deaths from these encounters, but it is an extremely challenging response to some of these cases when people are dealing with extremely severe mental health issues, and particularly when there's a weapon involved.

Archibald: I have a follow-up question. For example, in certain jurisdictions, whenever a call goes out that it's someone that's experiencing some type of mental health breakdown, that they dispatch with the officers, mental health professionals who have the training to deescalate those situations.

Are we in New York City planning on implementing, or do we have anything along the lines of where, depending on the nature of the call, a mental health professional is also part of the response team?

Mayor Adams: Yes, and that's the B-HEARD initiative that we have. It's called B-HEARD. But you know what's interesting, Roger, some of these cases come over, it doesn't state that the person is going through a mental health episode. It can say that, listen, this person is high on some form of drug use. This person is, you know, for whatever reason. So it doesn't always come across.

But by the time police officers get there and they realize what they're dealing with, you may not have had the B-HEARD team responding and are there. So it's very important to realize that not every case comes over that clearly describes what we are dealing with. They learn when they get there, and then it has elevated to the level of where they have to take appropriate action.

Archibald: Understood. Thank you for your response.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. J.R., I got to bounce, you know.

Giddings: I completely understand. You know, thanks for your time this morning, as always. We'll see you very soon.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care.

Giddings: Thank you.

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