Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III, Public Safety: First, I'd like to recognize a few individuals. The first individual is Ana Bermúdez. She was assigned or appointed to the Department of Probation as a commissioner in 2014, and she was retained by Mayor Eric Adams in this administration. Under her leadership, the agency continued to progress and meet the needs and challenges of its clients. When she retired, she left some big shoes to fill. Fortunately, there are people in this administration who have big shoes. The void was filled temporarily by Michael Forte, who was the deputy commissioner for administration. He's been with the agency for 12 years and he's a 28-year veteran of the city government. And I want to personally thank you, Michael, for what you stepped into and what you've done. And right now I'd like to turn over to the mayor of the City of New York who will announce our new probation commissioner.
Mayor Eric Adams: It's going to be an interesting conference. Dana's here from The Times. How are you? Before we go into the good news we have, I want to really... I say over and over again, my little slogans that I state, what's important for our city. Public safety is a prerequisite to prosperity. Public safety is a prerequisite to prosperity. And we are seeing as we announce the direction we are taking, New Yorkers and public safety, decrease in our major crimes. We started out ending the year with a decrease in shootings and homicides. Now we're seeing a decrease in our seven majors. Now the one-year anniversary of our announcement of our economic blueprint, we're seeing new numbers that show that we are doing to boost our economy, and it is working. Started being safe, and we're seeing a prosperity of that. Just released data from the State Labor Department shows that New York City has recovered 99 percent of the job loss during the pandemic.
That's prosperity in the city that we're talking about. We're not done yet, but it's clear that New York City is back. And you're seeing a reflection of that every day. And there's going to be more good numbers that are coming out. To talk about the issue on hand, it's my honor to announce the appointment of Juanita Holmes as a commissioner for the New York City Department of Probation. She's the right leader and for the right time. Over 30 years of distinguished service rising through the ranks of the New York City Police Department. And I believe when you look at my overall approach to public safety, it is unique. There has never been a mayor that has had the depth of understanding of public safety. And what we did by bringing on Phil Banks to be the deputy mayor of public safety, we knew that we had to have one apparatus that was combined with all of our public safety apparatuses that were historically disjointed. Probation, Department of Correction, FDNY, the hospital police.
All of these agencies were disjointed. It was our vision to have one focus on dealing with public safety, and this aspect of it in the Department of Probation is a unique approach. Under the amazing work of Commissioner Bermúdez, she did not treat the Department of Probation as just a reactionary tool. She had great programs that would ensure people who were involved in the criminal justice system would not be abandoned and would not be part of the revolving door system. And we want to continue to build on that. But Chief Holmes brings another dynamic. We saw what she did with Blue Chips of building a relationship with the police in the law enforcement community. And Girls Talk, just recently having Cardi, Cardi B. The only disappointing aspect of you having Cardi B is that I wasn't invited.
Commissioner Juanita Holmes, Department of Probation: You're right. My apologies, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Adams: And they're those who critique. “Why would you bring Cardi B because she was arrested?” The same reason you brought Cardi B is why people voted for me, because I was arrested. You don't discard people. This is an administration that believed perfectly imperfect people can show from their lessons to help people as they move forward in life. It was a brilliant idea to do so, and we are hoping you, Chief Commissioner Holmes, will bring that same level of creativity, boldness, and unafraid to lean into areas where people historically were afraid to do so. She understands that we don't give up on people. And nowhere do we understand that better than the Department of Probation. Commissioner Holmes is going to play a key role and ensure that New York City remains the safest big city in America. Her distinguished career as a public servant, most recently as the chief of the NYPD training, the first uniform Black woman to hold that position.
And as chief of patrol, she created the Girl Talk Mentorship Program, as I stated, and several of the programs. Did this on her own time, went beyond the call of duty of performance. And that's the type of energy we are going to need in the Department of Probation as we continue the good work that the agency has already put in place. Now she will take that same attitude, never giving up on anyone, her unique skill set, her leadership to the Department of Probation where she can further move it forward. And she comes from a distinguished family that they have contributed their lives.
And from the Department of Correction to the Police Department, her sister Janet Holmes, who's part of our terrorist fighting apparatus, and her entire family from detectives to supervisors have been committed to law enforcement. And this is a law enforcement family. And we should be proud that she will take upon this awesome responsibility. It's going to help New Yorkers exit the criminal justice system and find a better path. And I am proud that as the commissioner, she's going to bring that energy that she has brought for over 30 years in the New York City Police Department. And so commissioner, I want to give you your new shell and tell you congratulations and thank you so much for your contributions and what you're going to continue to do.
Commissioner Holmes: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Adams: Say a few words.
Commissioner Holmes: Okay. Good morning everyone. I first want to thank the mayor and Deputy Mayor Phillip Banks for this tremendous opportunity. Also, I'd like to recognize Michael Forte for his position in being acting probation commissioner. This is a tremendous opportunity for me. 36 years in New York City Police Department in New York City, and the assignments that I've had wasn't behind a desk. So as a result of such, I have always been involved with children. Nothing more precious to me. Children don't have the opportunity to choose their parents to choose where they live or the economic income that's brought into their household.
So as a result of such, I really feel my years of experience as well as my experience with children, mentorship groups, youth programs, really, really qualifies me for this position. But more so, because I'm passionate about it. I've always been an advocate for anyone that's touched the criminal justice system. How do we do better? How do they access, not just knowledge about services and resources, but the access? Right? A lot of times people just don't have access. So I want to say thank you, deputy mayor and thank you, mayor, for this tremendous position. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Mayor Adams: Welcome a few questions.
Question: Mr. Mayor, can you explain why Chief Holmes is the right person for the Probations Department and why make the switch now in light of all the stories about the conflict between the police commissioner over the training and the qualifications needed to become an officer?
Mayor Adams: Well, you've been coming to me for a little while, Nolan. I don't listen to the noise. I had a vacancy. We looked at other candidates. And I know the skill set that Commissioner Holmes brings to this. As she stated, she has a real passion. And I think that sometimes we don't fully understand those in law enforcement, what they bring, and their volunteer state. So here it is. We are trying to change the aspect of probation to continue what the former commissioner has done. And this is the best fit of someone that understands that you don't throw people away. And I think it was reflected in what she did with Cardi B. Many people would've been afraid to embrace Cardi B. But the number of people she has embraced, it just shows me the quality that she brings. She's the right person for the right job, for the right time with the right mayor.
Question: This is a question for Holmes actually. I was just wondering if you could go into more detail about why you did decide to drop that one and a half mile requirement. It's been reported that it was to help recruit more women. I'm just wondering what that differentiation is.
Mayor Adams: I'm sorry. What was the first part of your question?
Question: The one and a half mile training requirement that was dropped. I was just wondering if you could speak more on that, just kind of your decision behind that and why now?
Mayor Adams: She's now the commissioner of probation. If you have qualms, conversation about the 1.5 miles, we have a commissioner of the Police Department. She will handle questions on the Department of Probation. The commissioner or I will answer questions on the run. She has a new job and a new role, and she's not going to be giving her advice on things that impact NYPD.
Question: Mayor, last week your department said that they're arresting more folks than ever. What role does probation play in that? Rikers Island, the population is up. I know a lot of Rikers Island detainees are there because of probation violations. Is there a stricter hand there?
Mayor Adams: Great question. Great question. This is an extremely unique day that you asked me a great question, so I want to make sure I respond to it. What has happened, and this is why I need Commissioner Holmes, we don't want people being violated for minor infractions being brought back on Rikers Island. If there are legitimate reasons to do so, then we need to do so, but we want to ensure that we allow people to stay with their families, continue employment. And that is where Commissioner Bermúdez has done and will continue to do and under the leadership that we currently have.
The goal is to find how do we keep people from going back into the system. That is the goal, and that is what I need the commissioner to continue to do, what the former commissioner has done and to bring her flair in doing so. You've heard me say this over and over again, we have extreme recidivism. We need to find ways to make sure people who are committing crimes are not continuing to commit crimes and stop the disjointedness of ensuring they're in the right programs, like BlocPower. We spent millions of dollars to train people on green jobs. I need the commissioner to be directing them in that direction. We want to stop the recidivism that we're seeing.
Question: So I'm curious if you could tell me how the Cardi B decision happened without Commissioner Sewell's input. That's my understanding of how that happened, and how the decision on the fitness test got basically overruled, and Commissioner Sewell’s opinion of that.
Mayor Adams : The Cardi B is a continuation of what this commissioner has done. This is her style of what Girl Talks was about. This was not the first program. What you should really be doing is a profile on what she has been doing with Girl Talk. This has been a couple of years now that she has been going into communities where girls were not having a voice. For years. Not this week, not last week, for years on her time. This was not the police department's time. On her time, she was bringing in young girls to sit down and empower them. That's the real story here. And so if we want to focus on Cardi B and the fact that I didn't get invited, you could do that. But the reality is for years, she has been volunteering her time to help empower girls.
Question: You say you don't want to see continued recidivism. So what are the consequences of people violating their probation?
Mayor Adams: No, and now I want to be clear. I don't want Nolan to misquote me. I want to be clear. People who commit serious violations should be held accountable. These extreme recidivists are really destroying our city because of their violent behavior. But if you were out of your residence, for example, and there may be a legitimate reason, and Commissioner Bermúdez has been really helping to deal with those overly use of violation. We want to really weigh this situation and determine is it better for this person to stay with his family? Is it better for this person to take corrective actions? Or do we want to violate them? And then is there a pattern to this person? Is this person having some other experiences that's preventing them from doing their obligation? That's the creativity that I need coming from the commissioner.
Question: So what is the process then? Maybe the new commissioner can explain. What would be your process then and looking at that so that person isn't violated and isn't repeating, let's say, shoplifting? You have people that are arrested and getting sentences dozens of times for that.
Mayor Adams: That's what she's going to go in and look at. She doesn't have the job. This is the first day. She will go in and look at that and she'll come back and give you a thorough report and do an interview on 1010 Live in the morning explaining it.
Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Adams: How are you?
Question: For the commissioner, probation officers for years have complained that they're underpaid compared to other city workers, especially because women of color represent a majority of those probation officers. I'm wondering, is this something that the city's looking into now that the commissioner's been appointed. Is that something that she's going to be focusing on or prioritizing?
Mayor Adams: Great question. And you always have great questions. That is what I need. There's a real concern in the Department of Probation, and I spoke with the head of the union. I know Deputy Mayor Banks, he has also been speaking with them as well. We want to make sure that those men and women receive the level of respect that they deserve. And Commissioner Holmes has real ability of examining how do we bring up the morale in these agencies. And so I'm looking forward for her to come with some real recommendations to me and Deputy Mayor Banks.
Question: Mr. Mayor, do you worry about the impression that you're rewarding someone who broke the chain of command?
Mayor Adams: Since I'm not rewarding anyone that broke the chain of command, I don't have any worry. The chief, she was the chief and now is the commissioner. She respects the chain of command. So I don't have any worries because no one is being rewarded that's broke the chain of command. Okay. A few off topic. Good luck to you.
Commissioner Holmes: Thank you so much. Thank you.
Question: I have a couple off topic. Mr. Mayor, yesterday the Labor Committee reached this decision that they approved the Medicare Advantage Plan that you're pushing, but it's already been recorded that it's likely to face legal challenges. Are you concerned about those legal challenges? What do you think of their decision overall?
Mayor Adams: Well, I often tell people that I'm a retired member. So the healthcare plans that people are fighting for is what I fight for. Eventually, I'm going to be riding off to the sunset and be retired. I think this is a great plan. I'm glad that the MLC voted in the right way, and I want to take my hat off to those who wanted to make sure that our retirees receive the adequate healthcare. This is a good plan. This is a good plan. And I can't predict what's going to happen in any form of lawsuit if there will be one, but I'm glad they made the right decision, took the right vote.
Question: Hi, Mayor Adams. The City wrote, I guess it's not your city, wrote yesterday about Chief Maddrey's intervention in the arrest of an ex-police officer in Brooklyn for literally menacing three kids with a gun. There were multiple hours of video that showed his involvement. What's your familiarity with avoiding this ex-police officer's arrest, and what do you think about this type of intervention, because he was at the time, the head of the community affairs and now is the top police officer in your city.
Mayor Adams: I cannot tell you. I think the commissioner made the right decision of appointing Chief Maddrey as chief of the department. His years of experience. People just adored him in Brooklyn North. Like Commissioner Holmes, the amount of time Chief Maddrey participates in volunteerism around holiday times, around so many other things of... listen, he's just an excellent law enforcement person. We see shootings are down, homicides are down, seven majors are down, we're catching bad guys. And so I think he handled it appropriately. And there's internal reviews that are done to make the determination. I have the utmost confidence in Chief Maddrey.
Question: He shouldn't have been let out. He was in the station house for less than an hour. The three kids said that he was menacing with a gun. And that was caught on video as well. Have you seen the videos? Do you think that was an appropriate response for his actions?
Mayor Adams : Katie, I didn't do the review on their internal mechanism to do those reviews. I allow those reviews to take his course, but again, I have the utmost respect, confidence on Chief Maddrey and I'm excited that he's leading my patrol force. I'm excited about it.
Question: Hey there, Mr. Mayor. A separate question about your special assistant Tommy Torres. Hey there, Tommy, I'm curious if you —
Mayor Adams: Tommy? What?
Question: I'm curious if you were aware that Tommy is accused by the Campaign Finance Board of owing $55,000 to the city for his 2017 City Council campaign. And have you had any talks about him potentially repaying it at this point or any of your concerns that you've had about that?
Mayor Adams: No. The Campaign Finance Board, they do a great job and they review all of our records. Trust me, the number of records you need is just astronomical. And where there are moments that they feel as though you owe money, we have to pay it. And so Tommy was a former vice-principal at his school. He volunteered his time again with Little League, I mean with his baseball teams. He was loved, he was beloved in that community. And so if he owes the money, he has to pay it. All of us got to pay what we owe. I'm getting ready to release my taxes in a little while. I got a lot to pay. So he'll pay his fine, if there's a fine that he has to pay.
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