Transcript: Mayor Adams Hosts 'Hear From the Mayor' Radio Show

November 10, 2024

Gary Byrd: WBLS is proud to have a chance to welcome the brother who joins us as the 110th mayor of New York City. He's the second mayor of color and the first hip-hop mayor in the city's history. It's proud this morning for us and it's proud for our community and time to hear from the mayor, our mayor, Eric Adams on 107.5 WBLS. Mr. Mayor, good morning and welcome.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks so much, Gary, and to all your listeners out there who faithfully tune in to hear all the information that's brought forth, first by my brother, Lloyd Williams, and now I want to say welcome back to all of you to another episode of Hear from the Mayor, and I'm your mayor, Eric Adams. This is your first time tuning in. The purpose of this show is really just to hear directly from you, everyday New Yorkers, and our listeners should give me a call to hear directly from your mayor on what we are doing to build a better city. You can sign up to hear from me by visiting nyc.gov/hearfromEric, and you can sign up on our website to text with Eric and talk with me on what's at.

People who are listening today, feel free to dial in to 212-545-1075, 212-545-1075. Really happy today to join you and bring you into really some great episodes. We're talking with one of my commissioners that I really like, his commitment and dedication that he has served this city for so many years, and we're happy to have here in the studio Commissioner Hendon of the Office of Military Services, Department of Veterans Services. The commissioner has been just really leading the office in the right direction, and so we're excited about having him today.

We're also here joined by a real leader in the military community, and what she has offered to us all means so much to the city, and it means so much to the veterans, Captain Elias. Did I pronounce that right? Elias. Captain Elias. The first woman veteran to serve as CEO of a service disabled veteran-owned broker dealer on Wall Street.

She previously served as the once chief executive officer of a married vet securities, an MBE and security-owned financial service firm that specifically works with veterans, and we're really excited to have you here, Captain. You served this country time and time again, first as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, and then two years in a combat tour in Afghanistan, and now as chair of the city's Veteran Advisory Board.

So I really want to welcome both of you to this show, and I want to start with you, commissioner, because your agency is so important to our vets. People highlight this time of the year, but what you're doing is all year round. We're constantly seeing you move around and really taking the agency to another level, and the first of its kind in the nation. So can you share with us, number one, what Veterans Day means to you and some of the things that you're doing in the city for our vets?

Commissioner James Hendon, Department of Veterans Services: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor, again for having us on also, and just happy Veterans Day season to all in the tribe, all who have served past and present, and their loved ones. And happy birthday to our Marines today, too. I'm an Army person. I got to call out the Marines to celebrate their birthday today. Go Devil Dogs.

Now for us, for me, sir, when it comes to just what this season means, it's a time to reflect. It's a time to just think about all the sacrifices that our service members have made for us to have what we have. I think people take life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for granted. I always tell folks, you know, if you had to put a price tag on your freedom, what would that price be? And once you come up with that number, A, somebody else covered the tab, and B, the actual amount is far more than you could ever imagine. And so knowing all that, what are you going to do to be right by that soldier, sailor, Marine, airman, Coast Guard, and Guardian?

And so I think it's a time to reflect on these things. I think it's also a time to honor our people as far as recognizing what they've done in their service, their sacrifice. You know, I always tell folks, we've had about 45 million people serve in uniform in the history of the country out of 600 million total Americans we've ever been. And you have 1.5 million who've been wounded in action. You have 84,609 who are currently missing in action, World War II to the present. It's 658,088 who were killed in action. And so, you know, what are we doing to make sure that we give honors to all these men and women who've served, who've sacrificed? And the other thing this season makes me think about, sir, is we need to continue to prepare, keep refreshing. Veterans Day is every day. Veterans Month is every month. What are we doing every single day to be right by these men and women in their services? And we try to echo that through our actions at the Department of Veterans Services.

Mayor Adams: Well said. And, you know, captain, you know, when I think about, number one, you did a combat tour. What does that mean, you know, to people who don't know that? And does one volunteer? You know, how does one do an actual combat tour, particularly in Afghanistan?

Mercedes Elias: Yeah, you know, yesterday I was with a friend, and we saw a play, and it had reference to World War II. And we talked about how close our generation was just to a lot of the service members who served. And you think about the younger generations now, some of them don't even know that much about September 11th, I remember. But my generation served in direct response to September 11th. Everything that happened was when I was of age to be able to serve.

So, for me, it was very important because my father, who was enlisted in the Air Force, he had served during the Gulf War, which wasn't exactly like, you know, combat time. So, for me, I went in knowing that if we're going to want to have the same freedoms in the United States, if we're going to be able to protect democracy, then you're going to need people to stand up and say, hey, I'm willing to fight for that because what I don't want is to end up like some of the countries that we were fighting against. And so it's been a challenging time.

You know, my last duty station on active duty was at the recruiting district out here in Long Island. And so all of the recruiting stations in New York fell underneath that. And especially during COVID, when we've been far removed from combat, to get the younger generation to see like, hey, service isn't all about, you know, hand-to-hand combat. There's a lot of, you know, you have to think about AI. You have to think about Space Force and strategic communications. And so I think it's just a new way of reaching out to the younger generations to say like, hey, combat is going to look different for every generation. We're not fighting in tanks anymore. There is more cyber warfare.

You know, the commissioner and I have been lucky to sit on the interview boards for young men and women looking to serve at the service academies, whether West Point, Naval Academy, the Air Force. And you'd be surprised how many really patriotic youth that we continue to have. But, again, you just have to tell them, you know, this is what we went through and this is a lot of the positive things that we gained from the military. And there's a lot of opportunities either during in the military and after that.

Mayor Adams: You know, and I'm glad you said that because oftentimes people think about the men and women who serve in the military while in active duty. But we have a great deal of men and women who, after active duty, continue to serve. And they bring the skills that they acquired in the military because I still, you know, utilize those skills I acquired in the paramilitary operation of the Police Department. But those skills for those employees who are looking for dedicated, committed, hardworking people, know who knows how to get up early in the morning. It's really a great opportunity. I know, commissioner, you do things around employment, around that transition.

Commissioner Hendon: Both of you. Yeah, absolutely. And, Mr. Mayor, as you mentioned, the largest employer of veterans in this city is NYPD. So roughly 4,000 of the more than 36,000 uniformed members of PD are either active, guard, or reserve. So speaking exactly to your point as far as service beyond service.

You know, for us, we do everything we can to get the word out to the service members who do come to New York to make sure they know about all these opportunities as far as being able to obtain employment, be it through city service or be it through the private sector. Con Edison, of 15,000 folks who work there, 800 are veterans and or guard or reserve. And so a lot of our work also is it's 200,000 people who leave the military each year. Five thousand come to New York City alone. We try to make sure that as they come, we greet them with open arms and we put them in touch with anything that involves- be it service at the municipal level or service, you know, on the private sector on the job front.

Mayor Adams: So, captain, you took your experience and now you're helping vets with financial services. Number one, how do they find you? And number two, why is this important as they transition?

Elias: Yeah, so my firm actually works with Fortune 500 companies through debt capital markets, equity capital markets, public finance, my last firm. But a lot of what we did was recruit veterans to work in finance, which is an incredibly difficult industry to break into. A lot of veterans don't have that same network that the good old boys came into that were born and raised in the families that, you know, are part of the financial powerhouses.

So a lot of what we did was give veterans a platform and really a leap pad to get into the larger banks. We would come in, an investment banking firm, teach them very, you know, strict fundamentals, talk to them about that transition into corporate America, and then help place all of them at the larger banks. You know, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America. And really what we're trying to do is create a new ecosystem of those veterans with those skill sets that are going to help like-minded individuals with that same type of training that they went through, because that's really the fabric of what America is built on.

Mayor Adams: And commissioner, if I'm a listener now and I have a family member who's a vet or I'm a vet, how do I go about acquiring services and what type of services are we providing our vets?

Commissioner Hendon: So first off, you can always reach out to us. It's nyc.gov/vets is the website. The phone number is 212-416-5250. The social media handle is @nycveterans, and they can reach out at connect at veterans.nyc.gov as far as ways to access us.

We work to assist veteran military families in the areas of healthcare, housing, benefits, culture, education, and employment. So whatever those needs are, we effectively are navigators for our brothers and sisters and their families to help them take advantage of things. Some of the core services that we provide, we help with VA benefits and claims.

Right now, for instance, Mercedes, a post-911-era veteran, about 41 percent of veterans of our generation have service-connected disability issues, yet only about 20 percent in this city have a VA rating in it. So we work to try to move the needle on that.

We also work a great deal with those who experience housing insecurity. We went from having about 5,000 homeless veterans in this city to roughly 600 right now. We're still working to chop down that tree. So whenever our brothers and sisters are in need and notice issues, we can jump in and help them with city, state, and federal opportunities and programs.

Mayor Adams: I always say we got it for you, now we have to get it to you. And far too many, not only veterans but everyday New Yorkers, are not aware of the resources that are available. You know, I would hear people from time to time talk about food insecurity, and I said, do you know about the SNAP benefits? Seniors don't really know about the SCRIE benefits, where you can freeze your rent for eligible seniors.

And those that are disabled, we have something called DRIE, where you can also freeze your rent. And so it's imperative that we use outlets like this show to let people know these are the benefits, and I think nothing personifies that more than our veterans. You know, many of our veterans are not aware of what are those benefits. Is it because we're not doing a good job on messaging, or that people are intimidated about accessing governmental services?

Commissioner Hendon: I'll start, and I'll pass to Mercedes. I think the top issues are people unidentifying, Mr. Mayor. Many of our veterans don't tell folks they've served. So at the federal level, it's about 34.3 percent of all veterans tell someone they've served. At the state level, it drops to 29.8 percent. Here in the city, it's 24.1 percent. So a lot of it is getting our brothers and sisters to come up and say, hey, I'm a part of this community, so we can then help them.

And so I just want to thank you so much for signing into our Local Law 37, which now says that on all city client-facing forms, they'll ask the question, do you or someone in your household, have they served in the armed forces? So we're trying to do what we can to put hands on it and do other means. And so once we have that, we can help them as far as getting them in the world when it comes to employment issues and education and housing, et cetera. We can help them, but we can't help them if we don't know.

Elias: Yeah, the only thing I want to add is the focus of the Veterans Advisory Board is to work to get the word out about the resources. We have members from each of the boroughs, and so we're very grateful that this is a formalized board that we've been able to have in the city because I know it is the first of its kind, and we're continuing to continue to do the work as much as we can every day.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. And I hear that music playing. Before we go off, I want to remind everyone that we're in a drought awareness, and so we want folks to know we're not doing any grilling in our parks, and we want to make sure if you need any information, please sign up for NotifyNYC at nyc.gov/notify. Subscribe so you can get alerts. So we have to be careful with this water. We have to realize we have not been getting any rain, so let's get focused on this drought.

Byrd: The program is Hear from the Mayor, and the mayor wants to hear from you. 212-545-1075, 212-545-1075. New York, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, wherever you are, Long Island, give us your calls. 212-545-1075.

[Commercial Break.]

Good morning, Tri-State. The program is Hear from the Mayor, and now the mayor wants to hear from you. You're listening to 107.5 WBLS. Mayor Eric Adams is standing by with a special guest for Veterans Day and ready to talk to you. Mr. Mayor, welcome back.

Mayor Adams: Thanks so much, Gary. I want to remind folks, if they want to dial in, the number is 212-545-1075. 212-545-1075. You can ask a question to me, your mayor, or I'm here with Commissioner Hendon and Captain Mercedes Elias, who are also here to field any questions you may have. So why don't we go to the airwaves, to the phones. Caller you are on the air.

Question: Hello, how are you doing today, mayor?

Mayor Adams: Good, good. Good to hear from you.

Question: I have a question. Everybody has, I know people who are veterans, and they have the right. They serve our country to basically live a good life and have a place to live, a decent place in New York, and we want to keep New York clean and stuff like that. I very, very understand that. But what about people that worked all their lives? Myself, I worked 31 years at Amtrak, and I have tenants on my property that don't want to pay any rent, and you have to wait two years in order for them to get an [inaudible]. What can we do about that?

Mayor Adams: And that's so important. You know, oftentimes, brother, we don't hear that when we're in the rent conversation, and I keep telling people about small property landlords. I'm a small property landlord also. And the court systems, particularly landlord-tenant court, I think that they should take into account when you have these small property owners like yourself, where if you don't get that rent paid, you can't keep the lights on, the gas on, the heat, the repairs.

But it is up to our local electeds and state electeds to make sure that we expeditiously handle these cases in a very fair way. But oftentimes, small property owners like you are really not taken into account, and I continue to advocate for small property owners like yourself, but it is about getting our lawmakers to move that process in a more expeditious fashion, because you're right. You have to pay to make sure you keep a clean and safe place for your tenants.

Next caller, you're in the air.

Question: Hello, yes, Eric?

Mayor Adams: Yes, how are you?

Question: I'm fine, thank you. How are you, sir?

Mayor Adams: Great, great.

Question: I'd like to first commend you on the service of the mother, as very few people do so, and I'm here to do it. I'd like to commend you for the recognition of the veterans, as very few people recognize them, and you are here doing it now. I do it all the time. I come from a military family. I'm not a veteran, but I do come from a military background.

And touching on the rent [inaudible], as many people in the city as we do. I'm glad you made the note, too, for [inaudible], that there's a lot that local and state officials need to step in and do, regarding those issues, and not really looking to touch on the immigration factor. But it is true that before they help anyone, they should have helped the people of the city. I'd like to send you a hug.

And, [inaudible], your friend, Bertha, I'd like to send you a hug, because you do not know who you're speaking to, but if you knew, you would know that respectfully, I can send you this hug, and I would like the other people to know it's all respectful. You're a professional.

I'm speaking with Bertha, and, yes, definitely, she's family. I've been trying to reach you since you've gotten in office. I truly understand how busy you are, because I know politics. For 47 years, I just turned 21 plus 37 on Monday. I refuse to be 58. I'm 21 plus 37. I've been engaged in politics since I was 11 years old. I truly understand the public that you stand on and the many responsibilities that you have to face. And so, in my quest to try to reach you through many sources, including Ingrid, I have been unable to. I would appreciate it if you could help me.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, we're going to make that happen, sister. Leave your number to the station. Let us get you a couple of more callers, because we just have a short window. And I'll reach out to you today. You leave your number. I'll give you a call today, okay? Okay, we're going to go to the next caller.

Question: Yes, my name is Rodney Jones. I'm a U.S. Army veteran. I served in the Cold War in Germany. My thing is, tomorrow is Veterans Day. I'm a veteran 365 days a year. So, when you go out tomorrow, right, certain restaurants, like, for instance, Red Lobster last year, they gave us a coupon at the door. Like, we ain't serving y'all today. Subway, they don't do it. Like, certain franchises, like, turn us away. And that's ridiculous. One day out of the year, you can't serve us? And it's like, I'm going to jump. Like I said, I'm a veteran. I'm not asking 365 days a year. One day out of the year, you can't, like. I'm like, all of a sudden, they don't serve us.

Mayor Adams: It's like, what's going on? Yeah, I don't understand that, brother. I don't understand that. What do you mean when you say they don't serve you? What does that mean?

Question: Like, you would get a free entree at Red Lobster on 42nd Street, the one on Times Square. Last time I went, they gave me a coupon and said, come back another day.

Mayor Adams: Oh, that's insane.

Question: Yeah, and then Subway. Certain Subways, they're like, no, we don't do that. You know, certain places, we don't do that.

Mayor Adams: First of all, I think it's a good idea for it. That's a great way. And I'm going to speak with the commissioner. And we're going to start and see if we can identify a consortium of different businesses and restaurants that on Veterans Day will serve our vets. I think it's a great idea. I'm a little disappointed that they don't let them do it on Veterans Day. But let us look into that.

You know, we're getting ready to tune out now because we're running out of time. But let us look into that. That's a great idea. Let us look forward to seeing how we can recognize what you're talking about. I think that's a brilliant idea. And everybody wants to be patriotic. Let's be patriotic to helping people with their paychecks. This is a good way of doing so.

So we're going to look into that, brother. That's the music telling me my time is up. But I want to remind everyone that it is crucial that we are aware of the drought, historical drought situation that we are in. And effective immediately, we're really prohibiting grilling in our parks. And we need all New Yorkers to take common sense steps to prevent brush fires. You're seeing these brush fires popping up all over the city. So we can play a role in making sure that, you know, don't throw cigarette butts out in the forest area.

And just if you see smoke, please notify the FDNY or authorities so we can get there as soon as possible. These brush fires are real, and we must be on top of them. Again, I want to thank all of you for calling in those callers with questions. We look forward to responding to them at the same time. And I want to thank my guests for being here, Commissioner Hendon and Captain Elias, for being here as well. Thank you very much. Until next time, have a safe weekend. Our thanks to you. Happy Veterans Day.

Byrd: Absolutely. Our thanks to, of course, our brother, Mayor Eric Adams, joining us this morning, and also to his team at City Hall.

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