Charles Latibeaudiere: Well, the mayor's race in New York City is one of the, although it is a local election in New York, there are people watching this all around the country for the reason, because of the candidates. And it is very interesting to see Zohran Mamdani, who very, very progressive.
Harvey Levin: Well, he's a socialist.
Latibeaudiere: Yes, a socialist, running up against Mayor Eric Adams. And there's also the Cuomo factor in this, and whether Andrew Cuomo is going to stay in the race, to this point he says he is, and how that will affect it.
One of the issues, though, potential issues in this race, is very interesting, because I think, one, because of the Diddy trial, people are looking at this, and also it's just one of those topics that always gets people's attention, and that is prostitution, and the potential for that to be legalized in New York City.
It is something that Mamdani has talked about when he was a councilman, has not brought it up in the race yet. So, joining us right now with his stance on this issue, and other things in the race, is Mayor Eric Adams. Mayor Adams, welcome back to TMZ Live.
Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you, it's been some time, you know, but it's good to be back on.
Levin: But nothing's happened since.
Latibeaudiere: Yeah, there hasn't been anything, so we don't have much to catch up on.
Levin: So, look, you're against legalizing prostitution in New York City, give your reasons.
Mayor Adams: It goes back to, you know, just really my entire life watching it, but particularly, I was a captain in the 6th Precinct, Lower Manhattan, and I would watch these young teenage boys on the corner selling their bodies.
You know, oftentimes, when we think of prostitution, people think of women, but no, boys are selling their bodies, sex trafficking is real. When you look at the STD crises we face, age here was really ground zero here in this city. And when you look at how far we've come to stop the victimization of young boys and young women in prostitution, we can't go backwards.
I know what Times Square looked like as a child, and I know what Pennsylvania Avenue looks like even now. And so, this is not something we should play with. There's a lot of ramifications for legalizing prostitution.
Levin: You know, one of the most popular platforms on social media is OnlyFans. And people have sex on OnlyFans. It is perfectly legal. You are pro-choice, which typically means my body, my choice. So, I get your point about 14-year-old boys in the street. That should be protected, but why not allow women to make that choice, or men, to make the choice if they want to use sex as a means of making a living?
Latibeaudiere: As long as they're of age.
Levin: Yeah, I mean, like I said, with their minors, protect them. But why not allow people to have that freedom of choice and carve out an area like Amsterdam where the inevitable is gonna happen rather than making it illegal and picking up johns and arresting prostitutes and all?
Mayor Adams: Yes, and just a correction. I didn't say 14-year-old boys. I said boys, 19, 18, 20, 21.
Levin: But they're adults.
Mayor Adams: Yeah, no, I just wanted to make sure I was clear. My position is not only for 14-year-old boys. It's men and women. A couple of things. When you look at prostitution and the ramifications, I don't know if you see some of the red-light districts in Amsterdam and some of the other countries that have these red-light districts.
You still have the exploitations, the violence. You still have the sex trafficking. And you also create a culture that young people believe that, hey, this is a viable occupation. And no, I don't believe that. And I'm sure that those that believe that there's nothing wrong with it, I do.
Not only that, just to be real honest about it, I'm a Christian. I'm a person of faith. And nowhere in my religious texts does it say prostitution should be an alternative. And also, I don't see it in the Quran. He calls himself a Muslim. I don't see that in the Quran. In fact, it is in contrast to the Islamic belief. Society should not create an environment where people believe an occupation is something that's harmful to them. But prostitution is harmful.
Levin: But you brought up religion. I mean, if you look at the Bible, they talk about Sodom and Gomorrah, yet you're for gay marriage. So it's not like you can't deviate from the Bible if it seems archaic. So why not allow women and men to have a choice the way they do on OnlyFans and choose how they want to make a living for their own lives?
Mayor Adams: Well, if you have two people who are in a consensual relationship, that is what they have a right to do, two people in a consensual relationship. I'm not quite sure how anyone can justify or feel it's okay for a young boy or a young girl to stand on the street corners of our city and sell their bodies when we know the history of what prostitution does.
We know about the violence. We know about the sex trafficking. We know about the STDs. We know about how it brings down the quality of life. This is our knowledge. This is not something I'm making up. This has been part of New York's history that we had to correct while we're going back.
Latibeaudiere: Right. Mr. Mayor, I'm wondering if you've had any conversations with Andrew Cuomo, because there are some people who believe that, policies aside, this is a really, let's say, I won't say impossible, but a very difficult race for either of you to win if the other remains in the race. Is there any conversation about one of you backing off? Because some people believe you're sort of handing this to Mamdani if you both remain in it.
Mayor Adams: Well, okay, first, let's be clear on this. This is what New Yorkers who have to vote must understand. The dais cast, Andrew had about two weeks after the primary that he lost in double digits to get out of the race. He refused to do so. I spoke with him and he refused to do so.
The ballot is the ballot right now. My name would be on it. His name would be on it. Mamdani, Curtis Sliwa, and one other candidate, we will all be on it. And so the conversation of someone backing out that was already, that's passed. That's in our rear view mirror.
What we must do now is look at the 2.5 million Democrats that didn't vote, a million Independents that didn't vote, and eight, 900,000 Republicans that's up. That is who we have to speak with and have them mobilize to come out and vote to stop Mamdani from becoming mayor, and really to stop Andrew from becoming mayor.
He was very harmful to our city when he was governor, and we can't have a repeat of that. And lastly, let me tell you this. This distance from the primary, Mamdani was 1 percent of the poll, folks. 1 percent, this distance from the primary. And the day before the election, Andrew had a poll showing he was up by 10 points. He lost by 13 points. And so anyone that doesn't understand the uniqueness of this race is gonna throw up their hands and say, hey, let's surrender. I'm a New Yorker, we don't throw up our hands. We get [in] and roll up our sleeves and use our hands to succeed.
Levin: I wanted to just, final thing, just because it's in the news so much. Would you roll up your sleeves and object if Donald Trump were to try and send the National Guard to New York City because he wants to tamp down crime, even though your crime rate has dropped?
Mayor Adams: Our crime rate has dropped. Our subways are the safest they have been, except for the first two years during COVID-19 when no one was on them. We got this. We know how to keep this city safe. I knew it when I was a police officer. What we had to do, we did it then, and we're doing it again.
We do need federal help on stopping the flow of guns in our cities across America. As you saw, we had a shooting at 345 Park Avenue. An individual got access to an AR-15, drove across our country, and took the lives of four New Yorkers. And so I do welcome the partnership of our federal authorities in stopping the flow of guns.
We meet every morning with our federal authorities, and with something called HIDTA. We meet with our state, federal, and city leaders to fight gun violence. And I think we can do more on the federal level. But when it comes down to showing the NYPD how to keep the city safe, we show other cities what to do. And so we're going to continue to do that. And I don't think we need to have any federal intervention.
Levin: Okay, mayor. The country is watching. It is an interesting race. We appreciate the time.
Mayor Adams: Thank you. Great to see you guys.