Transcript: Mayor Adams Delivers an Address

September 12, 2024

Mayor Eric Adams: My fellow New Yorkers, earlier this week, I spoke to you about the ongoing investigations that have recently come to light. I was as surprised as you to learn of these inquiries and I take them extremely seriously. I spent more than 20 years in law enforcement, and so, every member of the administration knows my expectations that we must follow the law. I also made clear that our administration will remain focused on delivering for the people of our great city and we continue to do that.

A short time ago I accepted the resignation of the NYPD commissioner, Edward Caban. He concluded that this is the best decision at this time. I respect his decision and I wish him well. Commissioner Caban dedicated his life to making our city safer and we saw a drop in crime for 13 of the 14 months he served as commissioner. In his time as part of the NYPD during our administration, we removed more than 18,000 illegal guns off our streets, had the lowest number of robberies in recorded history [ ] in our subway system[ ], and just had the lowest number of shootings above ground ever in [ ] recorded history in this city in [an] August.

To ensure crime keeps going down in our city today, I'm taking immediate action in appointing Tom Donlon as interim police commissioner. Tom is an experienced law enforcement professional who has worked at the local, state, federal, and international levels. He served as New York's director of the Office of Homeland Security, ran the FBI's National Threat Center, and the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force, and worked as the co-case agent investigating the 1993 Twin Towers bombing, as well as the attacks on the U.S. embassy in Africa and the USS Cole in Yemen by al-Qaeda. He is also a Bronx native. Tom joins a team at One Police Plaza that is relentlessly dedicated to public safety and protecting New Yorkers. That is why New York is the safest big city in the world and why it will continue to be. I thank Incoming Commissioner Donlon for stepping in during this critical moment.

As always, the men and women of the NYPD have my gratitude for their dedication and professionalism. I thank them for their command and their decision-making as we move forward and for the continued service that they deliver to all New Yorkers. Thank you, and God bless our great city and [our] bright future ahead. Thank you.

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