Lori Madden: And with us live now on 1010 WINS at 92.3 FM is Mayor Eric Adams who has declared a state of emergency. Mr. Mayor, thank you for joining us this afternoon. Why don't you bring us up to date on the biggest problem areas in the city right now and what New Yorkers should know.
Mayor Adams: Thank you, Lori. And really hat's off to the civil servants, particularly first responders, and New Yorkers who heeded our travel advisory and took the right steps. This morning I was out in Canarsie, Flatbush, Sheepshead Bay and other parts of Brooklyn and the city to look at some of the areas.
We're still seeing some flooding on some of the highways, particularly the low areas such as the BQE. But for the most part, the water's receding and we are really seeing the response that we expected from our first responders.
Madden: Do we know of any injuries or deaths attributed to the storm?
Mayor Adams: No. Properly handled, no serious injuries reported and no known deaths at this time. We did have to do some rescues in basement apartments that the FDNY carried out on three basement rescues from FDNY, 15 car rescues from FDNY. But clearly, New Yorkers stepped up. We learned a lot over the years and we saw the response from not only our professional but everyday New Yorkers.
Madden: Mr. Mayor, a lot of those New Yorkers are saying they were caught off guard and some have questioned whether you when your agencies gave enough of a heads up, among them Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Now, he gives you credit for an emergency plan that he said was activated quickly, but he asked why no news conference or warning ahead of the storm.
Mr. Mayor? Oh, there we go. I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor, I think we just lost you there for a moment. I don't know if you heard my question. Yes.
Mayor Adams: …caught off guard. Who was caught off guard?
Madden: Some New Yorkers were saying they were caught off guard. I know Jumaane Williams the public advocate put out a statement, who, again he gave your agencies credit for activating a plan quickly but questioned why no warning or statement from you or your office ahead of the storm.
Mayor Adams: Well, if anyone was caught off guard, you know, they had to have been living under a rock. I mean, you guys have done an amazing job forecasting this, all the news media outlets have been talking about this. We put out our first NotifyNYC alerts at 2:53 p.m. yesterday. We continued to use social media. We canvassed those areas where people lived in basements. Everyone was putting out information.
But I really called on my elected officials. During the times of emergencies, their willingness to be there for their constituencies. I don't think there's no time for tweets or press releases, it's time to get out there in the streets like I was this morning and see how your constituencies are being impacted. So, whoever finds time to send out a tweet on what we could have done better now while the rain is still coming, I don't know if that's the best use of elected officials' time.
Madden: And I think that's what they were saying, that maybe social media, not the best way to do that, that they would have liked to have heard from you maybe from you yourself ahead of the storm perhaps in a news conference or a statement or calling 1010 WINS.
Mayor Adams: Well you know I love 1010 WINS. But let's be clear. I made this extremely clear from the time I took office. I hired a team. I have a great team of professionals, and one of our top professionals that's a former military person that now we are blessed to have been in charge of NYCEM, our Office of Emergency Management.
He was out there calling play by play. This is not a one man or one woman show in the city. I have professionals, they know their jobs. The chancellor knew what he had to do for our schools, the police commissioner knew he had to do, NYSEM knew what he had to do.
And so I think it's really a benefit when New Yorkers can see that this is not just about the mayor, this is about a group of professionals that I assembled. And this is how you're going to see us respond throughout this administration. I put a team together, everyone must play their position, and they have to be good at the position they're playing.
Madden: You brought up schools. A lot of kids went to school today, a lot of people want to work. They now have to get home. Any advice for getting home tonight? The subways are still messed up, the roads are still flooded.
Mayor Adams: Listen, just take it slow. You know, this, too, will pass. The storm will pass. We wanted children to just be safe, and I say this over and over again, like we said during the Covid crisis: the safest place for a child is in a school building. This totally disrupts the life of the parents, particularly of low wage workers, when you talk about closing schools.
You know, they can't work remotely. They can't just send in multi day care to send in their assignment. They are there in our supermarkets, in our stores. They're our police officers, our firefighters. When you talk about closing schools, it disrupts their lives and it places them in a difficult position.
And listen, our babies should be in their classroom learning. They should not be an unstructured environment. They should not be hanging out with their friends or home alone. This was really smart on the chancellor's part, and you saw that our children got the support they needed, the discipline that they needed and in a safe environment.
And you know what else is important many people miss? Many of these children's only meals come from the meals they receive during that breakfast and that lunch. We must be holistic in our approach and not just view life from where we are and the luxuries we are. I have a diverse city, and I must make sure that everyone gets the benefits during these times of emergencies.
Madden: Okay. Mayor Eric Adams, thank you very much for joining us this afternoon on the city's emergency response to this flooding today. You're listening to 1010 WINS.