Transcript: Mayor Adams Calls in for Live Interview on GMGT Live's 'The Reset Talk Show'

October 11, 2024

J.R. Giddings: So, Mayor Adams, there is so much going on right now in the city and with all the recent resignations in your administration, there is so much talk that Governor Hochul is choosing the administration for you, the new appointees. How accurate is that?

Mayor Eric Adams: Well, first, let's go back to what you just stated. You said there's so much going on in the city. Do you ever know a time when a lot is not going on in the city? New York City, the most important and largest city in the most important country on the globe. Whoever wakes up hoping that nothing is going on, I don't care if it's COVID, migrants, asylum seekers, major criminal actions, the success, this is part of running the city and the ability to stay focused while things are going on is crucial.

And I want to address what you stated. You've known me for many years. Do you think I would be a puppet mayor and allow others to pick my administration? Is that who I am? Is that who I am as a person? The governor is a partner. She's always been supportive throughout the entire time in office.

We've done some great things together. And she has continued to be clear on one thing, Eric, tell me how I can help you during these times so that you can continue to move the city forward like we have moved it together.

And so it surprises me on one level, people have reached out and [said], you know, restructuring is a good idea. And then when you start doing restructuring, everybody says everybody's abandoned the ship. That is just not true. People were planning on leaving. Many were planning on leaving for some time. They wanted to go do other things in their lives. Three years in an administration of City Hall, all that we had to endure, you know, people want to do other things.

But the foundation of our administration is very much in place. And we have a deep bench. I've said it over and over, J.R., we have a deep bench in the city and we have a deep bench in our administration. What does that mean?

There are people who are capable of stepping up and filling positions. First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright departed, immediately we appointed a new first deputy mayor, Maria Torres-Springer, longtime government civil servant and provider of services in the city. She's already put in her transition and she's leading. And that is the same thing we did with the fire commissioner that left a few months ago. Robert Tucker stood up. Commissioner Tucker is now moving the Fire Department and continuing success with Laura Kavanagh. This is what good government is, being able to replace those who come in office or leave office.

Giddings: Well, Mayor Adams, we know that you're still leading the city. What about the New York police commissioner? There is all this talk about you're going to be naming someone permanent sometime soon. You don't have to disclose it here, but is that true?

Mayor Adams: I'm going to look to disclose it here on your show. I made it clear over and over again, there was a story yesterday in one of the tabloids that the commissioner would be departing on Friday, just as they keep trying to predict what is going to happen in administration. Everyone is walking around with a perpetual crystal ball.

I've said this a thousand times, when you ask our off-topics, you've heard me say it. When it's time to make personnel announcements, we do so. People who want to leak information or think they have so many sources, then they're going to prematurely write stories. When it's time to move from an interim status to a permanent status, if it's going to be Tom, if it's going to be anyone else that is from outside or inside the administration, we will make an announcement because the police commissioner is an important place for our city.

We have turned around crime at a level that no one thought was possible within nine straight months of a decrease in crime, including on our subway system, the safest August shootings in recorded history, the lowest number of robberies on our subway system in recorded history. We're seeing thousands of guns off our streets. So whomever is going to be the police commissioner in the City of New York, I'm going to vet and make sure that they continue the success that we saw under Commissioner Sewell, under Commissioner Caban and now that we see it under Commissioner Donlon

Giddings: Mayor Adams I'm going to bring in Pastor Straker for a minute before I continue. Good morning. Welcome Pastor Straker, how are you?

Pastor Louis Straker: I'm doing well, J.R.. Good morning, Mr. Mayor. So good to have you with us.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Always good seeing you.

Pastor Straker: Sir, we are honored to have you because you've been on this platform. You helped build this platform. You have been a mayor in very difficult times. You came in and COVID was rampant. You helped rebound the city. You've done a number of initiatives and programs that have really revitalized our city and allow us to come back and be the city that we know we can be.

But in the midst of all of that, there have been a number of raids and indictments and resignations and firings and some of these you've already addressed in your earlier statement. But you can imagine, you know, perception is always greater than reality. And you can imagine how skeptical certain citizens of New York are. There are some polls, I don't know if they're true or not, that are indicating that the citizens of New York feel that you should step down.

If you were the average citizen in New York, and you had an opportunity for a one-on-one conversation with Mayor Adams, what would you say to him?

Mayor Adams: I'm sorry I didn't hear the last part.

Pastor Straker: Yeah, if you were the average citizen in New York, seeing all of the things that are taking place, and you had an opportunity to have a one-on-one with Mayor Adams, what would you say to Mayor Adams?

Mayor Adams: I would say to Mayor Adams, like many people are saying as I move around the city, they say we've heard one side of the story. I don't blame New Yorkers who have heard one side of the story saying, wait a minute, something is wrong here. There's an opportunity of the second side of the story. And that's what we're going to have the opportunity to do so.

And let me tell you something, pastor, I would love to sit here and lay out the entire case on what I've stated, that I've done nothing wrong. I've always held myself up to a high standard. I would love to do that, but it really would be foolish of me to do that.

Anyone that understands the criminal justice system, they know the first thing you should do is listen to your attorneys. My attorneys are saying, Eric, we're handling the case, you need to handle running the city. And if you get in the way of us putting on a successful defense for you, you'll be harming yourself.

So it's a lot of discipline of sitting back, hearing accusations that's made against you that's not true. And you want to respond. I would tell that average citizen, when you want to respond, would you listen to your attorneys and allow them to do their job? So I'm going to allow my attorneys to do their job while I do my job.

And I say to the average person that is listening here, look at the numbers. Since we first learned of this investigation almost a year now, we've witnessed a complete economic turnaround, more jobs in the city in the city's history, continued decrease in crime, really going after medical debt, saving hundreds of millions of dollars on medical debt, paying for the tuition for our foster care children, improving in education, bringing in great investments in the city. We have not missed a beat. We've continued to evolve as a city, and we're not just surviving, we're thriving. And we need to continue to do that and not get in the way of that.

Pastor Straker: Mr. Mayor, just a quick follow up question, if I may. The governor, from what we understand, has been supportive from what you've told us. But she does have the power to remove you from the office. If Governor Hochul came to you and said in the best interest of New York, New York City, that it is in the best interest that you step down as mayor, what would your response be to her?

Mayor Adams: I would say what I've said to all New Yorkers, the best interest of the city is to allow me to continue to do the job that we have been doing. I have an amazing team of deputy mayors, I have an amazing team of commissioners, and just dedicated New Yorkers. Let us continue to do the job. And that's what many New Yorkers want us to do. And that's my goal would be my conversation with the governor, let me continue to do the job that I'm doing. And the governor has been a partner in allowing me to do that and continue to move forward the city in the right direction.

Pastor Straker: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, praying for you.

Giddings: Mr. Mayor, just one more question. And this is not legal. This is just to put people's heart at ease a little bit. Okay, your defense attorney, the man of the speedy trial. At the end of your mayoral election, if that doesn't happen, would that impede you running in 2025?

Mayor Adams: No, I have a case to run, I have a case to run, my attorney will handle the legal case. But I have a case for New Yorkers and New Yorkers would be the decision makers on did I do a good job as mayor, and everything I ran on J.R., if you were to do an analysis of the items that I ran on, as the mayor, you will have to walk away saying this guy has delivered for New Yorkers.

Including MWBE's. For far too long, Black and brown and other minority communities and women were not getting their share of contracts in this city. We're talking about billions of dollars. We changed that. I promised to deliver high speed broadband to NYCHA residents. We now paying for high speed broadband to every NYCHA resident in the city. So they're given the same opportunities with remote work in telemedicine.

And so I think that these are the items I'm going to run on from safety, to productivity to financial experts, our bond raters are leaning into that they believe our bond rating should continue to remain at the level that it is because that well we have managed this city. And so that's what I'm going to run on. I'm going to run on the fact that 217,000 people were dropped in our city without any real financial assistance, and we were able to navigate the city and move us in the right direction. And so I'm looking forward. And that's one of the exciting things about campaigning, you're able to get out there and you're able to run on your record. so I'll be running for reelection.

Giddings: Mr. Mayor, you list a number of things, but what achievements are you most proud of today? And what are your top priorities looking into the future?

Mayor Adams: Oh man, you know, it's always difficult when people say give us one or two things that you're most proud about. But it's safety. I said it over and over again, the prerequisite to prosperity is public safety.

I'm proud that we've been able to continue to decrease crime when I became mayor in January 1st, 2022, we had a 40 percent increase in crime, 40 percent increase in crime, we turned that around. And that is very important to me. So I'm excited about the fact we've been able to close illegal cannabis shops over a thousand over 1,100 now and remove ghost cars off our streets. But what we're doing in education, starting under Chancellor Banks, and now transition under Melissa, who is now the incoming chancellor.

We've done major strides in education because our children can't be just academically smart. We wanted them to be emotionally intelligent. Everything from dealing with the stress of being a young person, looking at mental health in our educational school by giving them Teenspace using technology so they can get around the clock mental health care under Dr. Vasan.

So I think that if I had to point to a great achievement, I won't only look at how well we've done business and, you know, bringing the jobs in, I won't look at what we've done around navigating COVID and the siloed state, because I probably would point directly to education as first and recovering our economy and putting money back in the pockets of everyday New Yorkers, $30 billion, to be exact. Everything from reduced fare, MetroCards, to medical debt relief, to paying for tuition for our foster care children, to, you know, the high speed broadband, not charging for that.

So all of those things accumulated together, place money back into the pockets of New Yorkers to make the city more affordable, including the thousands of units of affordable housing that we finance. So with our focus on education and affordability as what I'm really pleased about.

Giddings: Well, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for your time. I always come to the Reset Talk Show to unpack all the details. A lot of people, I can tell you, a lot of people are tuning in across the city, across the country, and across the world. You're that popular. People call me from all over. So I'm glad that you're here this morning.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.