NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY) holds a press briefing.
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00:00 >> Good morning everybody, my name is Fabian Levy and I serve as Deputy Mayor for Communications
00:08 for the City of New York.
00:10 Thank you all for joining us today.
00:12 Whether it's keeping people safe, rebuilding our economy, or making our city more livable,
00:17 our administration is working every day to get stuff done for New Yorkers, to provide
00:21 people with a clearer picture of the work we are doing for them and to speak to the
00:25 issues that are top of mind for New Yorkers.
00:28 The Mayor has once again convened senior leadership here at City Hall to answer your questions.
00:32 Joining us today are Mayor Eric Adams, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Chief Advisor
00:37 to the Mayor Inger Louis Martin, Chief of Staff Camille Joseph-Varlick, Deputy Mayor
00:41 for Health and Human Services Ann Williams-Isom, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development
00:46 and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Operations Mayor Joshi, Deputy Mayor
00:51 for Strategic Initiatives Ana Almanzar, and Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg.
00:55 So without further delay, I'll turn it over to Mayor Adams.
00:57 Thanks, thanks so much Fabian.
00:59 Thanks all of you for coming today.
01:01 And as always, we're very clear on our mission, protect public safety, rebuild our economy,
01:08 and make this city more livable for all New Yorkers in general, but specifically working
01:13 class people.
01:14 And again, I want to congratulate the New York City Police Department for continuously
01:18 bringing down crime, another month of driving down crime, as we announced this morning,
01:25 both overall crime above ground and transit crime.
01:30 They both are down.
01:32 While managing the large amount and number of protests that are taking place in this
01:38 city, they continue to carry out their primary function of keeping our cities today.
01:44 Today I want to talk about the proliferation of illegal smoke shops.
01:48 Last month, we got Albany to give us the power to finally shut down illegal shops, many important
01:56 components, and there's still some pieces that we have to do to make sure that they
02:00 can get closed down as rapidly as we like.
02:04 There are procedures internally that we continue to work on to make sure we accomplish our
02:09 task.
02:10 But we have more tools to do so, and we're going to move forward in carrying out the
02:16 job.
02:17 Last morning, I met with members of the Sheriff's Office, NYPD, and the Department of Consumer
02:23 and Worker Protection in Long Island City as we launched the start of an operation that
02:29 is going to tackle the illegal smoke shop problem that is plaguing every community in
02:34 our city.
02:36 The illegal shops put the safety of New Yorkers—they have become a magnet for crime.
02:41 They have become a magnet for quality of life issues that we have faced in this city.
02:47 Right now, Sheriff Miranda and his team are undergoing an operation in lower Manhattan,
02:51 and he's joining us remotely.
02:53 Sheriff?
02:54 Can you hear us, Sheriff?
03:00 I think there's a little bit of a delay.
03:14 Yeah, we can hear you, Sheriff.
03:21 We had a nice visual of you now.
03:23 Just give us a—we hear your voice.
03:25 Tell us what's going on at that location.
03:28 Why don't we go off camera if we can?
03:33 At 110 Church Street.
03:34 New City—at 110 Church Street, Manhattan.
03:38 It is an eminent—
03:39 Here at this location—
03:47 It's including the mush—
03:48 Robby, why don't we get him on a cell phone right now?
03:55 We have him.
03:56 You all better not get angry with us and tell us we didn't do a dry run.
04:01 We don't want to hear it.
04:02 Our hearts are in the right places.
04:03 Don't start.
04:04 Michael, can you hear us?
04:05 Yeah, Sheriff, Sheriff.
04:06 You're a few blocks away.
04:09 You could have used a broken line.
04:12 Hold on, folks.
04:13 Sheriff, why don't you go on just visual because the audio—I mean, just on audio.
04:17 Go on audio because the visual is not intact.
04:19 I must have lost it for a second.
04:25 You can go on audio.
04:26 Just audio only.
04:27 Take off your visual.
04:28 Put him on—
04:29 Let him get on the phone.
04:39 But as you see from the background, this is one of the illegal shops where they're selling
04:45 illegal products.
04:46 And you can look at how many are there in that location, as well.
04:53 Hold the mic.
04:55 Yeah.
04:56 Sheriff, how are you?
04:57 Good, man.
04:58 How are you doing?
04:59 Good, man.
05:00 So we have illegal mushrooms, packaging to children.
05:02 We have cannabis at the shop, illegal cigarettes, pre-rolls.
05:06 This is an eminent danger location.
05:09 It is one block away from a church at this location, as well.
05:13 Again, all this packaging is going toward our young adult population that, again, against
05:19 the law.
05:20 They have violated every statute that we have in terms of the new laws and protections that
05:23 we have.
05:24 This is just one shop in a five-borough operation that we conduct today.
05:25 We have teams of people that are working on the ground.
05:26 We have a team that's in charge of our operation that we conduct today.
05:27 We have teams in all five boroughs executing inspections as we speak, and we'll be sealing
05:32 these locations after the inspection.
05:35 All those items we're seeing behind you, are they illegal?
05:39 Or are these—this is a normal bodega where they're selling incorporated illegal products?
05:45 These are all illegal products that are being displayed behind us right now in a corner
05:51 shop that opened up.
05:52 It's called New City Smoke Shop.
05:53 And it's at 110 Church Street, one block away from the church down the block, as well.
05:59 So how many operations are we doing today?
06:01 How many locations?
06:02 We're doing 20 locations today.
06:06 Twenty locations, and the team is already out in the streets?
06:12 All the teams are executing in all five counties, all five boroughs, as we speak right now.
06:17 What I learned today when I was with you this morning was very interesting, that there are
06:21 sophisticated camera setups with more than one owner, and he warns them when an action
06:29 takes place in one of his shops.
06:30 That's correct.
06:31 The communication system that they have to be able to talk to each other, once we hit
06:36 a location, they'll send a message out, and a number of the shops near us will begin
06:39 the process of closing down.
06:40 That's how we have more than one team in operation, so that they can hit several locations
06:45 simultaneously.
06:46 OK.
06:47 Thank you.
06:48 Great job, and let's close these shops down.
06:50 Thank you very much.
06:51 Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
06:54 A very sophisticated operation when I was out this morning at one of the locations.
07:03 But we're clear.
07:04 We walk around this lot, keep it with us all the time.
07:06 Our message is clear.
07:08 We want to close them down, and if you're out there, we have a lock with your name on
07:12 it.
07:13 You know, this is—these smoke shops have really become a quality-of-life issue in our
07:20 city.
07:21 And every town hall we attend, this issue comes up over and over again.
07:25 And we want to thank our partners in Albany for giving us additional tools.
07:29 We're going to continue to modify, as they continue to modify.
07:34 These are smart people who are carrying out this illegal action.
07:40 Economy, as we make our city safer, we're also making it easier for business to hire
07:45 workers and for New Yorkers to have a job.
07:49 May is Small Business Month, and supporting small businesses, legally operating businesses,
07:55 something we have focused on.
07:57 We have continued to improve our employment in the city.
08:02 As you know, we have more jobs in the city history.
08:05 And finally, livability.
08:07 We announced completion of our commitment to expand composting to every single New York
08:13 City public school.
08:14 We've done this in three months ahead of schedule.
08:19 So that's food scraps and other items that we can compost.
08:22 We're looking forward to continuing this operation.
08:26 And due to this, we're seeing success in our rat mitigation sitings are nearly down
08:32 14 percent in cities' rat mitigation location.
08:36 We're seeing they're falling incredibly 55 percent in Hamilton Heights residential containerization
08:44 on pilot zone.
08:46 So let's turn it over to some questions that we have at this time.
08:50 Look forward to answering.
08:51 Mr. Mayor, I have a question about the campus protest.
08:58 We spoke with Columbia students yesterday who told us they felt like they had been lied
09:02 to, that the university said, "We need to clear the encampment so we can hold commencement."
09:08 You cleared the encampment, and then they're not holding commencement.
09:12 So my question to you is, do you feel like Columbia lied to you as well, or do you feel
09:17 like conditions on the ground changed, and that's why they canceled commencement?
09:22 No, I don't—I think Columbia and all of these presidents were hit out of nowhere with
09:30 something that no one could have thought about.
09:32 And I really take my hat off to them.
09:34 It was a very difficult time.
09:36 They coordinated with us.
09:37 They communicated.
09:38 They showed real leadership.
09:40 And once they perceived that the danger reached a level that they no longer could take care
09:46 of it, they requested the police department to come in.
09:49 And the police department, they did what they do best.
09:53 They resolved the issues.
09:54 And look across the country.
09:55 We see what's happening across the country and how it's being handled, and how it's
09:59 being handled here.
10:01 So I really thank these college presidents for what they did.
10:05 And I don't think people really understand how much was taking place behind the scene.
10:10 Chief of Staff Joseph Volokh, she was communicating with them.
10:15 Cass Daughtry, chief of patrol.
10:18 Shell.
10:19 There was a lot of collaboration and communication to make sure these children were not hurt
10:23 and use a minimum amount of force.
10:25 And my hat's off to them.
10:26 And they're going to make the right decision on ceremonies or not.
10:31 Mr. Mayor, so the Politico reported this morning about multiple residents of Reese houses in
10:37 Manhattan.
10:38 Multiple residents?
10:39 Jacob Reese houses, a nightshade in Manhattan, falling ill with symptoms of arsenic poisoning.
10:45 One was even treated for that.
10:46 You know, you addressed this a couple years ago when there was a scare, but I'm wondering
10:50 if you'll commit to another investigation to make sure that the water in the apartments
10:55 actually are safe.
10:56 Additionally, I want to ask you about the letter about Lincoln Ressler.
11:01 I watched that hearing.
11:03 It seemed, it didn't seem crazy aggressive.
11:06 I mean, you know, based on what we do in politics every day, I'm wondering if that was, you
11:11 know, retaliation against Ressler or if that's needlessly raising the tensions with the council
11:17 at a time like this.
11:19 First, I'm going to go over to Reese and drink some water.
11:22 That's the best test I know.
11:24 You know, if I'm willing to drink it, you know, we showed that before and the water
11:30 is safe.
11:31 I'm really surprised that you found that hearing not to be disrespectful to Melody Ruiz.
11:40 I'm really surprised.
11:41 I spoke with Melody right after the hearing.
11:47 Hours later, she was hyperventilating, crying.
11:51 Her name was Malign.
11:53 It was full of falsehood.
11:56 And if you saw nothing wrong with that, that really surprises me.
12:01 She was devastated.
12:02 She's a professional that served under Howard Golden, served under Marty Markowitz, served
12:08 under me.
12:09 And for what he did to her, similar to what he did with Tiffany Raspberry, cutting her
12:17 off, talking down to her, being disrespectful.
12:21 And so you can show, because you are a council person, does not give you the authority to
12:27 degrade people and use your power to be disrespectful.
12:32 There should be a level of decorum that's expected as you question.
12:36 And if that's normal behavior based on your observation, something is wrong.
12:40 >>Following such decorum?
12:41 >>Yes, they do.
12:43 I think we are the kindest and the gentlest and the most loving police department on the
12:48 globe.
12:49 >>If I could just add more information about Reese Houses.
12:52 So of course we take our water supply quality in the city very, very seriously, whether
13:00 it is across NYCHA developments or anywhere in the city.
13:03 And I just want to be very clear that there is no arsenic in the water.
13:07 There has never been in the city's housing supply.
13:10 As folks might remember, back in 2022, with a false positive due to a lab error, since
13:17 then more than 500 water samples have, test samples have been taken from roof tanks to
13:24 inside apartments, to other locations.
13:27 And though that testing has shown conclusively no water quality concerns at Reese Houses.
13:34 The last of those tests happened as recently as last month.
13:39 And so the results of the 500 test samples are available publicly.
13:44 And we just want to make sure that the residents of Reese Houses and all New Yorkers know that
13:51 we take any and all questions about water quality seriously, but there is no arsenic
13:57 at Reese Houses.
13:59 And I want to turn it over to my colleague, DM Joshi, to talk more about the very rigorous
14:06 testing protocols that DEP and other agencies take to ensure water quality across the city.
14:14 So the key role of DEP is to ensure that the water flowing into the building is safe.
14:20 And they do with NYCHA housing, as well as all housing, consistent and vigorous tests.
14:26 The key here is it's multiple tests, vendor integrity, a qualified professional, a vendor
14:33 that has a good track record for testing, but also multiple tests.
14:37 The 2022 example is what happens when you rely on a single test versus multiple tests,
14:45 and it turned out to be a false positive.
14:47 So DEP has done multiple tests in the area.
14:50 April 2024 was the last batch of testing that they did, and all of the results came out
14:56 negative.
14:57 >> Morning, guys.
14:58 >> Hi, how are you?
14:59 >> Not much, got a few questions.
15:00 >> Go ahead.
15:01 >> So I wanted to follow up on Jeff's question about the whole wrestler situation.
15:14 I mean, what do you guys hope to gain from this?
15:17 I mean, I might be wrong in this inference I'm trying, but it doesn't seem to me like
15:23 the council is going to censure him on the way he -- you know, his tone.
15:29 I think it seemed to me like a tone issue you guys were taking exception with.
15:33 So I mean, was this kind of a -- you know, meant to be like kind of a public relations
15:39 thing, or do you actually expect them to hold hearings about -- you know, I think what you
15:47 view as aggressive questioning during those two hearings.
15:54 So that was the first question.
15:56 >> The second question, I wonder what your thoughts are on Governor Hoko saying that
16:01 black kids in the Bronx don't know what the word "computer" means.
16:04 That was yesterday.
16:05 And I saw you were at the Garden last night.
16:10 >> Go next.
16:11 >> So who -- I don't know how this works.
16:14 Who paid for the tickets?
16:15 Like, how did you -- you were courtside, right?
16:16 >> Yes.
16:17 >> Who were you next to?
16:18 Did you buy the Yankees or what happened?
16:19 >> I was next to the crew, you know.
16:25 We were -- you know, we got -- counsel Lisa is going to go over -- we make sure we follow
16:38 all necessary protocols.
16:39 And so she'll go over those protocols.
16:41 >> Katie, we can hear you.
16:46 Can we please stop talking?
16:54 >> The -- listen, I am not the word police.
16:59 I know the Governor's heart.
17:01 And you know, when you make thousands of speeches, when you're in front of the cameras all the
17:07 time, when you're trying to be authentic and say the things that you're really feeling,
17:13 want to sit back and do a critical analysis of every sentence you say and say, you know,
17:18 oh, you didn't say it this way, that way.
17:20 I know her heart.
17:21 I know what she was intending to say.
17:23 And she was not trying to be disrespectful to the people of the Bronx.
17:28 And I thank her for what she's doing and how she's highlighting, you know, the issues of
17:34 technology.
17:35 We need to have it throughout our entire city.
17:37 And she has been a real partner.
17:38 So those who want to be the word police in this business, you go right ahead.
17:43 The people of the Bronx knew where her heart was.
17:46 And she's sincere about uplifting the people.
17:52 We don't always get it right.
17:54 We don't always say the sentence the way we want.
17:56 We would love to hear rewinds sometimes.
17:59 But the reality, that's not the way life is.
18:01 And I'm pretty sure that you've said some things that you wish you would have said differently.
18:05 >> Oh, yeah, definitely.
18:06 I have actually, before I forget another word, police question for you.
18:07 Sorry about that.
18:08 I'll let you, the next thing and the rest are things.
18:09 >> Yeah.
18:10 >> Mayor, if I could.
18:11 >> Yes.
18:12 Mm-hmm.
18:13 >> It's very simple.
18:14 When the mayor of New York City or when a senior official is invited to perform a ceremonial
18:27 role at a sporting event, the view of the conflict of interest board, which we're in
18:33 close touch with, is that it's not only acceptable but expected that that senior level official
18:41 would accept a complimentary seat to stay for a portion of the game or the match, whatever
18:48 it is, the restriction being that in the conflict, COIB's view, we've been advised not to take
18:57 seats in owner's boxes.
19:00 And so that's what we follow.
19:01 So here, the mayor last night was invited by MSG to celebrate the Knicks as mayor and
19:09 to give an interview and to be present, and he stayed for a portion of the game.
19:14 >> First quarter.
19:15 I had to bounce, you know.
19:16 >> So just one more thing.
19:17 >> Mike, we've got three questions.
19:18 >> Go ahead, Mike.
19:19 Go ahead, Mike.
19:20 >> You know, a lot of people, you know, have used the word genocide to describe what's
19:21 going on in Gaza.
19:22 AOC's used it, Jamal Bowman, a guy who was a former CIA agent, and he's been a member
19:23 of the CIA since he was a kid.
19:24 And so I'm just wondering, you know, what's the relationship between the two sides of
19:25 the conflict?
19:26 >> Well, I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to
19:27 the bottom of it.
19:28 And I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
19:29 bottom of it.
19:30 And I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
19:31 bottom of it.
19:32 And I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
19:33 bottom of it.
19:34 >> You know, a lot of people, you know, have used the word genocide to describe what's
19:35 going on in Gaza.
19:36 AOC's used it, Jamal Bowman, a couple of the council members have used it.
19:37 Do you feel that's an accurate description?
19:38 Can you kind of offer, you know, your thoughts as to why or why not?
19:39 >> Why or why not is a good question.
19:40 >> Yeah, I mean, why or why not, do you think that is or isn't an accurate description?
19:41 >> No.
19:42 I think that the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
19:43 bottom of it.
19:44 And I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
20:05 bottom of it.
20:31 And I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
21:00 bottom of it.
21:01 And I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
21:02 bottom of it.
21:03 And I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
21:04 bottom of it.
21:05 And I think the conflict is that there's a lot of people who are trying to get to the
21:06 bottom of it.
21:07 >> I'm going to ask you a question about the future of the migrant center.
21:08 I know you've been talking to migrants at the Wall Street Center and they talked about
21:09 some of the conditions, particularly with the hygiene and upkeep of the living and
21:10 shower spaces.
21:11 And so the food portions were small and sometimes edible and that they even lacked access to
21:12 consistent drinking water.
21:13 What is your plan for the future of the Hall and Ryerson Street migrant centers?
21:14 Is there a plan to address the living conditions at the shelters?
21:15 And what have you discussed with the Biden administration regarding expediting work permits
21:33 and asylum applications?
21:34 >> Thank you.
21:35 And I don't think we could be any clearer.
21:36 195,000.
21:37 195,000.
21:38 And we have managed this crisis.
21:39 I think Camille's leadership has been amazing with Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom and the entire
21:46 team.
21:47 And I said last year, probably even longer than that, this is going to start having a
21:54 visual representation of how large this crisis is.
21:57 Not like other cities, because when you look at other cities, sleeping in hospitals, airports,
22:03 on the streets, you're not seeing that here.
22:06 For the most part.
22:09 But let's be clear.
22:11 Every local and state official must stand up and call for the federal government to
22:16 do its job.
22:17 We're doing our job.
22:18 But they have to do their job also.
22:20 And I encourage the councilwomen in that area who seem to have taken a shift in her belief
22:26 of this crisis now, because now it's local, I encourage her to go to the Port Authority
22:33 and hop on a bus, go to D.C., like I did for 10 times, and say the federal government must
22:39 do their job.
22:40 We're going to continue to do our job that we have.
22:42 This is a crisis that we've managed, and we're going to continue to do so.
22:46 It's not going to be pretty all the time, but we're going to continue to manage this
22:50 crisis.
22:51 There was a stabbing reported at a smoke shop in Harlem yesterday on 125th Street.
22:58 That same shop, there was a shooting there.
23:00 About a year ago.
23:03 Why was that shop not shut down already, and how many shops has the city shut down since
23:09 they gained that power from the state?
23:12 Well, we gained the power under this budget.
23:16 And let's be clear.
23:18 The power is not -- we would like, ideally, to just have the police do an analysis in
23:24 each -- I've explained this before -- do an analysis in each precinct, and zero in each
23:29 precinct, and zero in on the shops in their precincts.
23:33 We don't have that unfettered access and use by the police department.
23:37 They have to be deputized by sheriffs.
23:39 We have to put a couple of teams in place.
23:42 And then, after you close down the shop, there's a process that allows them to reopen after
23:48 a certain period of time.
23:49 So, there's a lot of layers to this.
23:51 And we would give you a play-by-play of the number that we're going to be closing down
23:57 each day.
23:58 But there's still a procedure.
23:59 They can still go to oath.
24:01 They can still apply to get reopened again.
24:03 And we have to keep using our authority and power to close them down.
24:07 That's a specific location we have to look at and make the determination if actions were
24:12 taken there or not.
24:14 But you just reinforced what I've been saying.
24:17 These shops have become magnets for crime and disorder, and it has impacted on our quality
24:23 of life.
24:24 And with 2,900 of them in the city, and we had a limited manpower, 10 sheriffs were assigned
24:30 to do this job.
24:31 Ten.
24:32 It was not sustainable.
24:34 Now we have more tools, and we're hoping these tools will help us accomplish the task of
24:38 closing down even more.
24:40 How are you?
24:42 I'm doing all right.
24:44 Thank you.
24:45 Do you support the lowering of the city's speed limit?
24:49 If so, to what?
24:50 And second of all, Chief Schell and some other NYPD officials are giving their opinions just
24:56 the way 8.5 million New Yorkers do.
24:59 Is an individual police officer free to tweet out his or her view without retribution or
25:04 punishment or other sanction by the police department or the city?
25:09 I was part of the first initial move back when I was state senator to decrease the speeding
25:17 limit in the city.
25:19 There were some advocates that I teamed up with that lived in Park Slope, and people
25:23 thought it was impossible we were able to accomplish that.
25:25 I like the way this bill is put in place, where the local communities would have weigh-in
25:31 in particular areas on where they want to decrease speed limit.
25:34 I think we drive too fast in the city, and many of the accidents, when I speak with DOT,
25:39 they talk about reckless driving, speeding, attributes to that.
25:44 And so I do believe as New Yorkers we need to slow down, we need to stop speeding in
25:49 the school zones, we need to stop passing school buses, we need to stop being reckless
25:55 when we're making turns at corners.
25:57 When you do analysis of these accidents, many of them are preventable.
26:01 And so I do support a slower speed limit based on the way the law is currently in place.
26:07 And police --
26:08 Can I just add there?
26:09 Yes, you can.
26:10 Deputy Mayor Mira Joshua.
26:11 Thank you.
26:13 You know, I think for the mayor and so many people that have been working in this field,
26:18 this has been a long time coming.
26:20 And what is really interesting about the way the law is structured is it gives DOT some
26:27 individual rights, ability to lower speeds in streets that are less than three lanes,
26:33 and then it gives some citywide authority to the council to do a citywide measure.
26:40 But it's really important, as the mayor pointed out, to understand the context.
26:44 We have a Vision Zero goal, but we're not at zero.
26:47 And even this year, the number of deaths that we have because of traffic violence is higher
26:52 than it's been in the last couple years.
26:55 So this is not a problem that goes away on its own, and it doesn't necessarily go away
26:59 with education.
27:01 We actually have to redesign our streets and reformulate the laws that apply to people
27:05 that drive in our city.
27:07 Do you have a number on that?
27:09 A number of --
27:10 Speed limit, lower --
27:11 That, as the mayor noted, is really going to be based on the deep dive of DOT looking
27:17 at the data that we have, looking especially at intersections and what the current street
27:22 designs are.
27:23 So no two streets are the same in New York.
27:26 So we doubtfully that we'll have one number that applies especially to the ones that fall
27:31 within DOT's jurisdiction.
27:33 I was going to say, and that's a good point that DM Joshi raised.
27:41 We historically try to treat this driving and speeding issue as a one-size-fits-all.
27:47 Different communities need different needs.
27:49 And there should be a minimum that everyone should be down to, but then there may be a
27:54 desire based on what the community represents, based on the neighborhood, that it may be
27:59 decreased even more.
28:00 So this is a smart way to see it, and we have to tweak it.
28:03 We go back, and the team will show our observation and go back and get it right.
28:09 And listen, I stood next to families for Safe Street.
28:12 No family should go through this.
28:13 Traffic crash, you relive it every time you walk past that same block, that same neighborhood,
28:19 and I think this is a smart way to do it.
28:22 Now, with the police --
28:23 Can I just ask a quick follow-up?
28:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
28:25 Is it fair to say that everyone's -- or most places or most neighborhoods are getting a
28:29 haircut, but just the extent of the haircut is up in the air?
28:33 Well, I don't have any hair, so that's hard for me to say.
28:37 It's premature to do that.
28:39 So the law just passed.
28:41 DOT just got a certain amount of power, and also City Council will get the citywide power.
28:46 But we're a city that prides ourself on gathering a lot of important data around our traffic
28:51 and using that data to make decisions.
28:54 And so that's the process DOT is going through right now.
28:57 And key locations, as the mayor mentioned, like schools and senior centers, like we have
29:02 to consider those as we roll out the plan.
29:05 Do you have like a timeline of when the order --
29:07 Let's just hear a second question because we're taking a long time.
29:09 The Chief Shehelle, Commissioner Daughtry, et cetera, they are the leaders of the agency,
29:21 and they set the tone in defending police officers, addressing issues that are important,
29:26 speaking on behalf of officers, like I do here.
29:28 My team here want to respond to a whole lot of tweets where people call me fascist and other things.
29:36 And we say, no, it comes from me.
29:39 I am the one that sets the tone for the agency, and Chief Shehelle and Commissioner Daughtry,
29:44 they set the tone for the police department.
29:46 And that is their responsibility to do it in a manner that's respectful.
29:51 [ Indiscernible ]
29:56 Officers do during their off-duty hours.
29:58 They do.
30:00 Good morning, Mr. Mayor.
30:01 How are you?
30:02 I am well.
30:03 Good morning to the team.
30:04 Thank you.
30:05 Mayor Adams, one of the more trending stories right now is out of Pennsylvania,
30:09 where this armed man walked up to try and execute a pastor.
30:15 He had a gun jam, and fortunately, he's still alive.
30:19 Are there any security measures for houses of worship in New York City?
30:24 What was this?
30:26 I haven't seen it.
30:27 [ Indiscernible ]
30:32 Chuck Schumer just put --
30:33 Mic.
30:34 Oh, sorry.
30:35 Chuck Schumer put millions of dollars into the federal budget, billions of dollars, actually,
30:41 to increase security in the houses of worship throughout the 50 states.
30:46 So not just New York, not just Pennsylvania, but all 50 states.
30:50 So there will be some added benefit, and we will be able to utilize that money to help
30:55 the houses of worship with added security.
30:58 This was an incident that happened outside the city?
31:00 Yeah, Pennsylvania.
31:01 Okay, okay, all right.
31:03 My second question is, is there an upside for moving the fireworks from the East Rim to the Hudson Rim?
31:13 I would love for our city to have it all, you know, but I believe they're doing dry runs to look at the big celebration for the upcoming years.
31:27 You know, it's their show.
31:28 As long as we have it in New York City, I'm happy.
31:35 Hey, Mayor.
31:36 So at President Trump's trial, they were talking about how he might end up in jail if he continues to violate his court orders.
31:43 Is Rikers prepared for that?
31:45 Do you guys have those discussions yet?
31:47 And if so, what would that even look like?
31:50 Our amazing commissioner, she is prepared for whatever comes on Rikers Island, and I'm pretty sure she would be prepared to manage and deal with the situation,
32:05 as you see what's happening with Harvey Weinstein.
32:08 We have to adjust, you know, in this business, particularly around law enforcement, we have to adjust whatever comes our way, but, you know, we don't want to deal with a hypothetical.
32:17 But they're professionals.
32:18 They'll be ready.
32:19 Do you have those discussions with corrections yet?
32:21 I'm sorry?
32:22 Do you have those discussions with corrections about that situation?
32:25 Yeah.
32:26 Thanks, Mayor.
32:28 Yep, what's happening?
32:29 I'm doing well, thanks.
32:30 I wanted to ask you about a couple different topics.
32:32 The first was a story we did about the Smart City Expo coming up, where you'll be speaking.
32:37 We reported that the administration confirmed that EDC paid $250,000 to sponsor it.
32:44 I spoke to folks who said that that seemed like a high number, that they weren't aware of the city committing that much to an event ever before, or at least recently.
32:51 Are you aware of any precedent for this for the administration paying that much to sponsor a private event?
32:57 And did Frank -- we reported that Frank Carone was involved in organizing for this event, at least last year.
33:03 Did he play any role in getting the administration to sponsor it?
33:06 And then the second topic, unrelated, possibly for DM Torres-Bringer, we caught a filing by EDC, a zoning application the other day for a life sciences facility at 455 First Avenue.
33:19 I think it's called Innovation East.
33:22 It had been in the works before, but what caught our eyes is that the application said it was being filed under -- they're seeking a special permit under City of Yes for economic opportunity, which caught our eye because obviously that hasn't passed yet.
33:35 So could you explain, like, is this a case of sort of what you did with FAR cap, trying to sort of get ahead of something that might happen in the future by saying, you know, we would be able to build this if City of Yes passes?
33:46 Yeah, can you just explain sort of what this application is about?
33:49 Sure. I'd be happy to do that.
33:50 I can also talk about Smart Cities if you want.
33:52 Yes, why don't you do that, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Bringer?
33:56 I'd be happy to.
33:58 So the Smart Cities conference, the Smart Cities World Congress, we've always believed has been a great opportunity to bring the types of attendees, the types of partners, and as we've seen in different conferences, it's close to 20,000 attendees from 800 different countries.
34:18 And so the investment in that sponsor of 250,000 is modest in my opinion if you think about what it means for the city to have this type of conference and this type of strategy to grow tech.
34:37 If you look at the history of Smart Cities, it's about ensuring that as cities try to become more sustainable, more livable, more resilient, and the facts show, right, 70% of the world's population are going to be living in cities in 2050.
34:52 So in many ways, there is no shortage of strategies that cities like New York should take in order to ensure that we are at the forefront of that, whether it's the Smart Cities Expo or our work in supporting startups in climate tech, for instance, or our work with fellowships or our work to do a climate innovation lab.
35:15 All of those are strategies that, by the way, are part of the reason, if you remember from last week when the mayor showed the chart of the reasons why tech workers are relocating to New York more than any other city in the country.
35:33 So it's all part of a strategy, and everyone can take a look at EDC's website.
35:38 There are a number of pages dedicated to Smart Cities.
35:42 So that's why we made that investment.
35:44 It's a sponsorship and a really great conference, and we look forward to seeing it be successful later on in the month.
35:53 In terms of life sciences and First Avenue, so the mayor has made very clear that we can't do things serially in this city, that both the housing crisis, for example, when you talked about the FAR cap, is so dire, but also we want to propel our recovery.
36:13 And so to the extent, and we hope that the City of U.S. for Economic Opportunity will get passed by the city council this month.
36:21 And part of what is happening there, it's making it easier, clarifying rules around life sciences production space.
36:29 So as hopefully that passes, then you have projects in the pipeline, like the one that you mentioned, which will bring hundreds of thousands of square feet of life sciences space to this area of the city, where again, the city is making major investments, including Sparks Kips Bay, to help grow our life sciences capacity.
36:51 We hope that it will all work together, and we can just accelerate that progress as quickly as we need to, because there's really no time to waste, either in job recovery or in terms of our housing crisis.
37:06 >> That's the slide that you were referencing.
37:09 >> That's right, yeah.
37:10 I mean, that doesn't happen by accident, right?
37:13 That happens because we make the types of investments in conferences, in talent, in infrastructure, in real estate, in fellowships, in changing our zoning to make it easier for businesses to start.
37:25 So I would really view Smart Cities, that sponsorship, and everything else we do in the context of the result that we want to see, and that's the result.
37:35 >> Well said.
37:37 >> I'm going to talk about just one of my other questions about Frank Carone, if he played any role in the sponsorship, or does he --
37:42 >> Let me just jump in.
37:43 >> Lisa?
37:44 >> Yeah, let me just jump in here.
37:45 First of all, on the $250,000 investment, in addition to what the DM said, I would just note that that's the same amount of investment that Miami, the city of Miami, made when they similarly partnered with Smart City on an expo in that city, which I understand was very successful.
38:02 Regarding Mr. Carone, and just to be clear, the expo contract with Smart City occurred after Mr. Carone's departure from the city, and the CEO of Smart City was not employed by Oak Tree at the time that the city did that contract.
38:21 Nevertheless, I understand that Smart City voluntarily ended its relationship with Oak Tree last year to avoid even a glimmer of a question such as the one that you're asking now.
38:37 >> I wanted to get your reaction to the protest last night in which some statues were vandalized and the flag was burned, and also there have been reports of protesters being held for too long or being denied food or water.
38:52 How important is it right now with so many protesters being arrested to make sure they're treated fairly and consistently?
39:00 >> Clearly, we're doing just that.
39:04 The New York City Police Department, they're doing an amazing job, challenging the situation.
39:11 Over 1,000 protested in the city, and they're doing that.
39:15 They're treating people with the humanity and dignity that they deserve under very challenging circumstances.
39:22 People are throwing objects at them, doing things that are just really, I believe, a small number just trying to aggravate the situation.
39:33 And I'm really not happy of the desecration of a war memorial.
39:38 These memorials mean a lot to our city to vandalize it.
39:44 And some of this action, this anti-American action, it bothers me, and I'm just not going to sit back and act like it's not wrong.
39:56 When you have flyers that state "destroy America," I thought this was about peace.
40:07 What am I missing here?
40:08 And so we're going to continue to be professionals.
40:10 We're going to continue to protect the city, and protecting the city is not only from physical damage.
40:15 It's also protecting what we represent, and I'm going to continue to be voice-over-ous about that.
40:24 >> Mr. Mayor, how are you?
40:25 >> What's happening?
40:26 How are you doing?
40:27 >> Good.
40:28 Thank you for choosing Rome for this trip.
40:30 It's a lot better than going to Mexico and South America.
40:33 So you're meeting with the Pope, so -- wow.
40:37 [ Multiple Speakers ]
40:57 So you're meeting with the Pope.
40:59 What are you going to say to the Pope?
41:01 And circling back on the Columbia protest and the NYPD response to that, is the NYPD going to stay there through May 17th?
41:09 I know there were -- Columbia University has offered that.
41:11 You haven't gotten a straight answer on that.
41:13 And you had mentioned on the news that you would be willing to maybe send them a bill for sending the police in, or maybe they were staying for the next few weeks.
41:22 What is the status of that, and how much would that bill be?
41:25 >> If they're staying for longer, the team is going to do an analysis and make the determination.
41:29 It's about public safety.
41:31 That's what we're going to do.
41:32 The cost of it, I think there should be a shared cost, and we're going to engage in those conversations on that.
41:37 And my conversation with the Pope, this is a very special moment for me, being a Christian.
41:45 I think that His Holiness has a role right now as we all are trying to deal with the global conflicts.
41:54 And I'm extremely proud to be able to represent the city and go meet with His Holiness in the process.
42:01 >> Hi, sir.
42:04 >> What's going on, Mona?
42:05 >> Nothing much.
42:06 So, Mr. Mayor, I have two questions.
42:08 So my first question is regarding the student information data leaks.
42:13 Families, parents are obviously concerned about the data leaks.
42:19 So I want to know what steps are being taken, because this is not the first time it's happened.
42:27 It's happened in prior administrations as well.
42:30 But what steps are being taken to protect the privacy of the students?
42:38 And then my second question, Mr. Mayor, is the Summer Youth Academy, the NYPY Academy program, applications open May 1st.
42:49 And it is currently in 13 or 14 locations.
42:54 And I'd like to know, or parents would like to know, families would like to know,
43:01 why hasn't it expanded to more locations?
43:07 Because the 13, 14 locations are not enough.
43:11 And then also in addition to that, the spots for that program really are filled quite quickly.
43:21 I mean, in the past, a few years ago, I even applied for my son and there were no spots.
43:26 So my question, Mr. Mayor, is there is a demand for more locations for the NYPD Summer Youth Program.
43:36 Is this something that can be explored if not this year or next year?
43:40 And then also, can we increase the number of young people, 10 to 15, who can attend the program?
43:49 >> Yeah, no, great programs, and it's always, when you have these good programs, it's always to try to have as much space as possible.
43:56 And we're going to do an analysis of that.
43:58 Thank God we were able to expand our summerizing and even our pre-K.
44:06 These dollars were put in with COVID stimulus dollars and they sunset it.
44:13 And trying to find that money, we were successful in doing so, but I love the concept of expanding and being creative of really opening our schools or buildings more.
44:24 Camille, you want to talk about the hack?
44:27 You know, the first thing the former mayor said to me when he sat down to give me a briefing, he says,
44:34 "Eric, your problem is not so much terrorism, but cybersecurity."
44:41 He said, "That's going to be potentially your biggest problem that you're going to have."
44:46 It's a real issue. Cybersecurity is a real issue.
44:49 Matt Frazier, our CTO, opened a specific training and office to do that.
44:57 We're encouraging young people to go into the field, but cybersecurity, other cities have been hacked, held hostage, sent ransom notes.
45:06 It's a global problem. And we're being inundated every day by outside influence, other countries trying to hack our systems.
45:15 Every day we're inundated.
45:17 The state does a great job. When I was the Homeland Security chair, we saw some of the things that we're doing.
45:23 Matt Frazier is doing a good job here. But we are being hit constantly about our data.
45:29 Camille, you want to go into?
45:31 Sure, absolutely. Just a couple of additional points.
45:34 As you are aware, the safety and well-being of our students is always the priority.
45:38 We have been working closely with Illuminate for a while now on this particular breach.
45:43 Our information is that no financial or social security numbers were impacted.
45:47 And we have New York City Public Schools is offering two years of free credit and identity monitoring services to any individual who received a letter.
45:54 So that's the students or administrators.
45:58 On the police academy question, Mona, the Department of Youth and Community Development has built a great partnership with NYPD.
46:05 In fact, it's one of our biggest city agencies, accepting our youth employment program last year, close to a thousand or so.
46:12 And we are hoping to replicate that in this year as well.
46:16 So would you be the perfect person to follow up with, with regards to expanding the program to more locations and more children being a part of it?
46:29 Because the demand is there.
46:30 Absolutely. And that is one of the beauties of the work that we have been doing with the YCD.
46:34 The program has gone so well, all of them, including the ones the major mentioned, Summer Rising, Summer Youth Employment Program, and others at the YCD.
46:43 We see that the demand is very, very high.
46:45 Our attempt is always to provide a seat and a slot for every child that applies for it.
46:51 But obviously, we work with limited resources.
46:53 But yes, absolutely, if you want to send me the names and information, I can help you out.
46:59 >> Hi, Mr. Mayor. >> Yes, sir.
47:00 >> A couple things, circling back to a couple topics-
47:02 >> Yes.
47:03 >> We touched on earlier on Columbia.
47:05 You mentioned you think they'll make the right decision with regard to commencement.
47:09 I think you said, correct me if I'm wrong, and others, including the governor, said you would like to see commencements go forward as planned.
47:16 So I wonder if you're at all disappointed, whether you think maybe in some way this is sort of surrendering to protesters for Columbia to cancel commencement.
47:24 And then secondly, on the Pope visit, can you just give a little bit more detail on how the trip came to be, what the meeting with the Pope is going to look like?
47:34 And also, there's always this question that comes up when you're out of town.
47:38 Why is it good for New York for you to go on a trip like this when obviously there's a lot of pressing issues at home?
47:44 >> I want you to give me one day in two years and four months, or five-
47:50 we're in the fifth month, right?
47:52 That there was not a lot of stuff going on.
47:55 Just one day.
47:56 Not three.
47:58 One day.
47:59 This is New York.
48:00 And if you don't build a team to be able to manage this city, then we're in real trouble.
48:06 I have an impressive team of people that know how to manage this city, and this visit not only spiritually is a once-in-a-lifetime visit for me that I want to talk about when I'm long out of government, but it is just the right thing to do.
48:22 They asked me to come and speak.
48:24 I'm going to also speak while I'm there, and the team will give you a breakdown of all the other activities that are taking place.
48:32 But if you told me someone in this city or country who's a Christian and they were allowed to go see the Pope and they're saying no, they need their head examined, I'm going to see the Pope.
48:44 >> Is it a one-on-one meeting?
48:47 >> Whatever His Holiness wants.
48:50 One-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, whatever he wants.
48:54 All I'm going to do is say thank you.
48:59 Listen, I felt that we should go through.
49:02 We are able to have any event in this city without distractions, but, again, it's up to the school to make that determination.
49:12 Graduation is so important.
49:14 And remember who these children are.
49:16 These are the COVID graduation.
49:18 We took away their graduation during COVID.
49:21 Now we're taking away their graduation during this year, during protests.
49:26 And, you know, I still remember my graduation.
49:29 These are moments that we benchmark our lives around, you know, graduations, proms, you know, promotional ceremonies.
49:39 These are important events.
49:41 They're just not ceremonies that disappear.
49:44 You know, I feel for those who lost their graduation because of COVID, now they're losing their graduation because of protests.
49:51 And I'm just not understanding why people feel they should be disrupting ceremonies of families, of friends, of graduates.
50:01 I don't know what is the victory of that.
50:04 I just don't believe it is.
50:07 >> Thank you.
50:08 >> Hi, Mr. Mack.
50:09 >> How are you?
50:10 >> Good.
50:11 >> I know you're not raising taxes on New Yorkers, but you're diverting more than $1.4 billion from the water board and it's getting passed along to tax payers.
50:20 How is that not a hidden tax and why does that make sense to divert money from DEP in the age of climate change?
50:29 >> Mayor Joshi?
50:33 >> Thanks for the question.
50:35 The water rate proposed recently includes a portion that we call the rental payment, and that has been collected historically for the city for the vast majority of years since it was enacted until 2020 and 2021 when it was not collected during COVID.
50:55 So we've reinstated the collection of the rental payment.
50:59 The city in its capital plan and specifically DEP's capital plan between 2013 and 2023 put in about $5.7 billion into infrastructure to our storm resilience efforts, and we have $10 billion in our 10-year capital plan going forward.
51:19 So we absolutely use the money that we collect for storm water resilience.
51:25 This is still one of the lowest water rates, New York City's water rate in the country.
51:31 We pay about a penny per gallon, and it's the best water in the world.
51:35 So that's a good buy.
51:38 And I want to point out two other factors that are important to note when it comes to subsidizing the city's infrastructure, whether it's gray or green, and we're more increasingly having to focus on green infrastructure.
51:52 One is fair share.
51:55 So the state has funds available to help localities support their resiliency efforts when it comes to storm water mitigation and clean water.
52:04 But New York City is not allowed to collect those monies because we are a population of more than 300,000, and the financial cap on the projects that they'll fund is $6 million over two years, which is literally a drop in the bucket for any infrastructure project in New York City.
52:22 And the other thing that we're seeing is 25% of our water bills are delinquent.
52:27 People are not paying the water bills.
52:29 We did in a successful amnesty program last year, which is unfortunate that we have to get to that point, but we're again faced with the problem of not being able to collect all the money due.
52:41 We've recently done five to six shutoffs, most of them commercial, and a lot of them are people that owe either in residentials tens of thousands of dollars and in commercial hundreds of thousands of dollars.
52:53 So we really have to look at all of the things that go into the infrastructure, the sources of money that we get, and put it in perspective.
53:02 And today, the rental payment represents a particular point in DEP's finances, and that is a percentage of what we pay for debt service for our Water Finance Authority bonds.
53:17 Those were the general obligation bonds.
53:24 These are water finance bonds.
53:26 They're different.
53:27 [INAUDIBLE]
53:35 How are you?
53:37 Very good.
53:38 My favorite question.
53:40 A couple of questions, sort of locally focused.
53:42 Up on the west side, the West Prep Academy is moving into their middle school into a shut down Catholic school.
53:53 I was wondering what the rental and lease arrangement is, and if there are any other schools that the city is taking over from the Archdiocese, both dioceses of Brooklyn, which are shutting down schools.
54:06 And some of the migrant influx are experiencing massive influx of students, especially in the younger grades.
54:14 Do you know how much--
54:16 Chancellor does his off topics.
54:18 What's that?
54:19 Chancellor Banks does his off topics to go over those issues.
54:23 If, Camille, you don't have that information in front of you, Chancellor Banks will go over that with you, OK?
54:27 Thank you so much.
54:28 That's all the time we have.
54:30 You're not on what?
54:31 How will they leave?
54:32 Yeah, we missed them.
54:33 - I missed it. - That was it.