Dr. Raymond Codrington, President & CEO, Weeksville Heritage Center: Before we begin our formal program, it is my pleasure to introduce this morning's opening performance. Nia-Simone Egerton is a composer and cellist who works on emotional storytelling and immersive narrative. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, she previously served as composer and arranger for Weeksville's Black Visionaries, Weeksville Then and Now Project, which was amazing. And we are honored to have her back today.
The pieces you will hear pay homage to those who dared to dream, whose resistance took the form of reflection, contemplation, and the courage to build community. In this music, you will hear echoes of land, memory, and the quiet strength that defines Weeksville. So please join me in welcoming Nia Simone-Egerton and her extraordinary quartet made up of Leandria Lott on violin one, Fabienne Jean on violin two, Iymaani Abdul-Hamid on viola and Malcolm Melendez on cello.
[Opening Performance.]
Thank you, I think Weeksville has a new soundtrack. That was beautiful. Thank you. So today, today is a celebration and it is also a declaration. We gather at the Hunterfly Road Houses, the last remaining residential structures of historic Weeksville, which is one of the largest free Black communities in the pre-Civil War era. These homes are not symbolic, they are physical proof of what free Black New Yorkers built in 1838, 11 years after the abolition of slavery in New York State. They are proof of ownership, education, enterprise, and civic life at a time when this nation denied Black people full rights and full protection.
Before I continue, I want to recognize our elected officials and partners who are here with us today. I believe Latrice Walker is here, we have outgoing DCLA Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. And while not elected officials, I do want to acknowledge the Mellon Foundation who has been critical in maintaining our preservation efforts. We are grateful for your presence and your leadership. I also want to thank Mayor Mamdani for his support in the city's investment in this restoration. Thank you to the New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs, the Brooklyn Borough President's Office, the New York City Council, and the Department of Design and Construction for making this project possible. I also want to acknowledge our state representatives who have been steadfast supporters and partners of this work.
And I want to acknowledge, this is important, everyone's important so far, but important, the dedicated staff and board of Weeksville Heritage Center. Your scholarship, stewardship and persistence made this moment possible. This restoration reflects your belief that history matters. I also want to recognize the talented team of CTA architects whose knowledge, skill, and care made this physical restoration possible. So, let me be clear, let me be clear: this is not simply Black history — this is American history.
Weeksville tells the story of Americans who believed in property ownership, civic participation, education, and economic independence. It tells the story of people who built institutions when institutions would not build for them. It tells the story of self-determination in its most concrete form. At a time when there are efforts across the country to narrow the telling of our past, to sanitize it, or to suggest that some stories are less worthy of preservation, this restoration sends a different message. Black history is foundational. It is not optional. It is not peripheral. It is central to the American story.
So, no matter how much some may wish to diminish these truths, [the] Black communities have endured. The Hunterfly Road Houses stand as quiet but powerful witnesses to that endurance. But this moment is not only about the past, [but] it is also about the present. Weeksville was founded as a refuge, a place where free Black New Yorkers could build homes, educate their children, and protect one another from slave catchers who hunted Black people in the streets of this city. It was a sanctuary in a hostile landscape.
When you stand inside these homes, and I've done this many times, you feel how small they are. You imagine the courage that it took to build a life here, to claim space, and to plant roots in uncertain soil. Today, we continue that work. In a time when many marginalized communities move through their daily lives with uncertainty, when some fear detention, targeting, or separation from their families by the very same systems meant to protect them, Weeksville stands as a reminder that sanctuary is part of our history. It is also part of our responsibility.
The founders of Weeksville understood something essential. Freedom without financial self-determination is fragile. Land ownership was strategy, property was protection, and economic independence was power. And we know what happens when that power is attacked. From Seneca Village here in New York, to Greenwood in Tulsa, to Rosewood in Florida, we have seen thriving Black communities dismantled and generational wealth destroyed.
We have seen economic success punished and prosperity erased. The theft of land and the destruction of wealth are not distant history. They are recurring patterns. We see echoes of that instability today in economic precarity that disproportionately impacts Black women, in immigrant families afraid to go to work or school, in communities navigating systems that too often undermine hard-won progress. The through line is clear. When economic stability is threatened, community stability is threatened. When wealth is destroyed, opportunity contracts. This is why preserving these homes matters.
They are not only reminders of what was built. They are reminders of ownership, dignity, opportunity, and the right to build prosperity without fear. And these ideals must be protected. This restoration was more than facades, windows, and foundations. It was about fortifying memory. It was about ensuring that future generations can stand where we stand and understand that freedom here was lived, organized, and defended.
Louise Brown Lloyd, who grew up in one of these houses, said it best. We were, we are, and we will continue to be. This is not nostalgia. It is a declaration of continuity. Together, we ensure these stories are told in full. Together, we insist that the American story belongs to all of us, not just a privileged few. And together, we commit to safeguarding spaces like Weeksville, so that truth has a home and sanctuary has an address. Thank you for joining us today for this special occasion, and now it is my honor to introduce Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Good morning, everyone. It is truly a pleasure to be here, and I want to say thank you so much for your introductory remarks. Before we speak about the Weeksville Heritage Center, I want to share a few words about my recent visit to the White House. Yesterday, I did something that I am truly reluctant to do. I left New York City. I traveled down to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Trump in the Oval Office. I have said time and again that our city faces an immense affordability crisis.
It is felt by residents here in Weeksville, across Brooklyn, and across the five boroughs of the city that we all love and call home. And it is felt whenever New Yorkers try to find a place to live, go grocery shopping, put their kids in childcare, or even take public transit. Addressing this crisis was the focus of my meeting with the president. I proposed working together to build more than 12,000 new homes in our city, which would be the single largest housing development New York City has seen since 1973.
The president was interested in the idea, and I look forward to the ensuing conversations about how to build more housing in a city that doesn't have enough of it. We also discussed the immigration cases I know are front of mind for so many New Yorkers. I shared my concern with the president about ICE's detention of Columbia student, Elmina Aghayeva yesterday morning, as well as the detention of four additional New Yorkers in relation to the university, Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi, Yunseo Chung, and Leqaa Kordia. I ask that their cases be dropped. I'm grateful that shortly after our meeting, the president called me to inform me that Elmina would be imminently released, and indeed, she was.
Now, I want to speak about the reason that we are together today, the Weeksville Heritage Center. What a gift, truly, it is to be here with all of you. Thank you to the string quartet. If we can have another round of applause for the incredible performance, truly. For beginning this event on such a celebratory note, and my deepest gratitude as well goes to Dr. Raymond Codrington and the staff of the Weeksville Heritage Center for preserving historic Weeksville's remarkable legacy for all of us.
I am struck by the way that this center honors the past while existing firmly in the present and charting a course for our future. Whether it's yoga classes or movie screenings, you have created a space for both Black joy and Black memory. And I want to say thank you as well to Afua Atta-Mensah, the chief equity officer of New York City from our administration here with us. Thank you to my former colleague, Assemblywoman Latrice Walker.
[I] also [want to] say thank you to the DDC team members [who] worked so hard on this project. That's right, they should get their props. I want to say thank you to Woon Lam, to Suzanne Lee Kim, Alexandra Ramos, Anthony Saxon Joseph. I also want to say thank you to the capital team at the Department of Cultural Affairs with a special, special shout-out to Victor Meteor, who shepherded this project from the start. And to say thank you to our outgoing commissioner, Laurie Cumbo. I'm also told that Commissioner Cumbo's mother may be in the audience as well. So, we want to say thank you to you as well, ma'am. And at some point, we may be joined by the Deputy Brooklyn Borough President, Kim Council.
Now today, we mark the completion of the renovation of the Hunterfly Road Houses, where Black New Yorkers gathered, organized, and raised their families long before the Civil War led to emancipation. Just 11 years after New York State outlawed slavery, [a] stevedore, James Weeks bought two lots here in 1838. At the time, New York had a law that stated all white men were entitled to vote, but that Black men had to own $250 worth of property to do the same. James Weeks built his own home, and then he built and sold homes to other Black people, to recently freed slaves along the eastern seaboard.
And in that way, he created a community of voting Black landowners. By 1855, Weeksville was home to more than 500 free Black New Yorkers, sustained by their own shops, schools, nursing home, orphanage, newspapers, and churches. Weeksville was a sanctuary, as we heard before — a sanctuary of safety, of dignity, of opportunity, in the face of injustice and systemic racism. It was the physical embodiment of Black resilience and resourcefulness, a place where Black New Yorkers not only had the vision to imagine something greater, but the determination to also build it for themselves. In this center, we see reflected the countless choices that led to the haven that was Weeksville.
It was a choice for James Weeks to build the community that would become a sanctuary for escaped slaves, to publicize the fact of Weeksville in the South. Because of that action, 30 percent of this community, of its residents, were Southern born. It was a choice to make the Freedman's Torchlight a newspaper that not only delivered the news of the day, but taught Weeksville's recently freed residents the alphabet and doled out educational material on how to live on your own. It was a choice to ensure the idea of a safe haven was built into Weeksville's very DNA, so that years after its founding, Black New Yorkers again sought safety there from the 1863 New York City draft riots.
All of these choices allowed Weeksville to become a home for the city's abolitionists, a place where radical thinkers could exchange ideas. Here too was the birthplace of Dr. McKinney Steward, the first female Black New Yorker to earn a medical degree. And yet, the story of Weeksville’s greatness is also a story of greatness that came to a premature end. Its cemetery was dug up to make way for Eastern Parkway, its identity as a hub of Black sanctuary forgotten.
I am thankful for the work of James Hurley, who rediscovered this site in 1968, and for Joan Maynard, who led efforts to preserve Weeksville's history. It is because of them, as well as many others, that New Yorkers and City Hall can look to Weeksville as a guide as we work to build a city where every New Yorker can afford a dignified life.
To deliver that city will not only require the same level of thoughtfulness that James Weeks and others led with nearly two centuries ago. It will also demand the same willingness to put working New Yorkers first. Now, you know that I speak often about the importance of taxing the rich and ensuring the wealthiest New Yorkers and most profitable corporations pay their fair share. In response, I often hear about an imagined exodus such a policy choice would prompt.
After I share the fact that our city is home to more millionaires today than we were when the state raised taxes on millionaires in 2021, I then ask about the exodus that we're already facing. Over the past two decades, more than 200,000 Black New Yorkers have left our city. Because childcare costs have become too prohibitive, rent too unaffordable [and] buses too slow. That is a very real, very tangible exodus, and it is measured in storefronts that sit shuttered, in neighborhoods that feel hollower than before, in schools with fewer students in their classrooms.
We can and will do more to ensure that New York stays home to all those who want to call it as such. Like the leaders of Weeksville, we now look to them as an example for how City Hall can use the fullest extent of our power to improve Black New Yorkers' lives across this city. Over the coming weeks and months and years, we will make universal childcare a reality for every family in this city. We will protect homeowners by taking on deed theft while breaking new ground on affordable housing across our city. And yes, we will also make the slowest buses in the United States of America fast and free.
As we reflect upon the urgency of this work, I'm reminded of an exhibit that is currently on display here, “In Search of Sugarcane,” by LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs. It tells the story of a Black woman's slow displacement from her Harlem apartment, preserving her mementos and memories at an altar, and in that way, keeping them alive, creating a space of what she calls sacred time. Standing in the exhibit, you feel the profound loss of displacement as well as her refusal to be erased. It is a story that is all too familiar to many Black New Yorkers.
My friends, as we celebrate this incredible day, and as we celebrate Black History Month here, let us also recommit ourselves to ensuring that Black history can continue to be written in our city. And may the memory of Weeksville light our way. Thank you very much. And with that being said, it is my pleasure to introduce Afua Atta-Mensah.
Afua Atta-Mensah, Chief Equity Officer and Commissioner, Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. Thank you to the team here at Weeksville. Thank you to the elected officials who have joined us this morning. And of course, hello Brooklyn. My name is Afua Atta-Mensah, and I'm New York City's chief equity officer and commissioner of NYC's Office of Equity and Racial Justice. It is an absolute honor to be joined here today in celebrating the restoration of the Hunterfly Road Houses.
We're standing where Black New Yorkers built homes, churches, schools, businesses and civic institutions. They built a thriving town, a place where Black families can live with dignity, organize for progress, and shape their own futures. But history is not only about what is built. It is also about what is buried. By the turn of the 20th century, development pressures surrounded and swallowed up Weeksville. Its presence faded from public memory.
Yet, in the 1970s, several of its iconic houses were rediscovered, and community leaders fought to protect them. Because of that advocacy, we are here today. Not just to look at preserved buildings, but to stand inside a recovered legacy. Weeksville is not only an essential part of Brooklyn's Black history. As was said before, it is an essential part of American history.
It reminds us that people have always had to create refuge when the law and the powerful made life unsafe. That truth is not distant. It calls us right now to protect dignity, belonging, and the right to live without fear. Cultural preservation must be central to equitable development. When we invest in places like Weeksville, we are investing in identity, in education and in community power.
Today's celebration is also part of broader work to advance racial and gender equity citywide. Preserving Weeksville is equity in action. It is a recognition that Black history is not a footnote –– it is foundational. It is a commitment to telling the truth about who built this city and ensuring that those communities can continue to thrive here.
I encourage everyone to tour this remarkable historic site, to learn about its residents and to engage with the dynamic programming happening here today. The spirit of self-determination that defined Weeksville's founding still lives on within these walls. This restoration safeguards more than historic homes. It preserves a story of resilience, freedom, and possibility. A story that continues to shape and inspire New York City's future. Thank you, and it is my pleasure to introduce Assembly Member Latrice Walker.
Assembly Member Latrice Walker: Good morning, or good afternoon. I walked past the entrance, and I was really amazed by the fact that so many of you felt it was important enough on these last days of Black History Month to celebrate our Black brilliance, our Black determination and our Black community. We recognize that while we are here at the Hunterfly Homes, this was not necessarily a place of happiness. When people were escaping slavery in the South, even in the North, they experienced fear of someday being captured and taken back to a place where they thought that they would never have to revisit. And many of those individuals, ‘till this day, still recognize that same threat [and] that same fear. We know that the Constitution determined that slavery was abolished, except in the case of criminal punishment.
But each and every day, as we take away resources from education and we put them into mass incarceration, we are returning our people to a place of slavery, which existed in the very days that Weeksville was created. But guess what? Weeksville is not weak. It is stronger today than it has ever been. And it is always a pleasure to be able to stand hand in hand with all of our colleagues in government to recognize just how important it is to preserve this legacy, this rich legacy from Brooklyn, New York, to the African burial grounds in Lower Manhattan, to Timbuctoo Upstate.
The ravage of fear is still upon us. And it may have taken us 400 years to get to a place where we can celebrate the restoration of the Hunterfly Homes. But these simple victories will take an eternity for us to protect. I know that this has been an 18-month journey to renovate this historic site. I, of course, want to acknowledge our amazing mayor, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, our Deputy Borough President Kim Council, and we also want to acknowledge the support of City Council Member Darlene Mealy, State Senator Zellnor Myrie and representatives from other offices.
I want to thank the Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Department of Design and Construction for leading the renovation project, because the city came through with $4 million. I stand before you as a longtime supporter of the Weeksville Heritage Center and the work that President and CEO, Dr. Raymond Codrington has been doing since he took the helm almost five years ago. Feels like an eternity.
He has worked diligently not only to preserve the history of Weeksville, but to also make it a destination for contemporary Black art and culture. I learned at a very early age never to come to a party empty-handed. So, Dr. Codrington, we recognize that we are in this place and it's raining in here. It's important for us to put the type of financial infrastructure resources that we need to not just preserve the grounds, but also the edifices that we allow to encapsulate all of the brilliance that our communities gather here so often for.
On behalf of our office, we present this $2 million check for the renovation of the Cultural Arts Building and the Hunterfly road system on behalf of the New York State Assembly. The $2 million in capital funds will help to build on the success of this center, especially in its efforts to preserve the history of Weeksville, one of the largest free Black communities in the Civil War. But there's more.
As you know, I was the chair of the 55th Annual Legislative Conference hosted by the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislators. During this conference, Governor Hochul announced an additional $1 million investment in the Weeksville Heritage Center, which is a demonstration of our collective commitments to celebrate and preserve African American history.
This incredible news, coupled with the, of course, amazing announcement made today here by our mayor, is not just for Weeksville, but it's also for the entire borough of Brooklyn. I'm confident that these investments will go a long way toward keeping the heritage of the Weeksville Heritage Center long and strong. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for inviting me to be a part of this celebration. I wish you nothing but continued success. Thank you, everyone. I am Assembly Member Latrice Walker.
Commissioner Atta-Mensah: It is my pleasure to call upon Deputy Borough President, Kim Council.
[Crosstalk.]
Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Kim Council: As we said, I'm Reverend Kim Council, the deputy borough president. I bring greetings on behalf of our borough president, the Honorable Antonio Reynoso. It is truly an honor and a privilege to be here today. As a matter of fact, I ended my day here last night with a Black History Month celebration with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and I'm excited to be here again this morning. This particular space holds personal relevance for me, because right up the street at 1635 Bergen Street is a church that was founded in 1850 by abolitionists and freed Blacks at a time when there was so much going on in our city.
Here we are in February, the coldest month of the year — the shortest month of the year — where we celebrate today. This month we're celebrating 100 years of celebrating the history of stolen people. And having learned that New York State, I believe, was second, New York City was second only to Charleston, in how many slaves it held. Even though slavery ended in New York State in like about 1828, so many years before the Emancipation Proclamation, there were so many different things that were happening in our city. And so for these abolitionists and freemen to come together and to establish this community, to know that the people who founded the church lived on Hunterfly Road, to know of Ms. Joan Maynard's advocacy and then Pamela Green after her, and I'm grateful for the stewardship of Dr. Codrington and for each and every one of you who are here today. Let us never forget the struggle. Let us never forget the sacrifice. Let us continue to support the institution and the people.
This neighborhood is evidence of what is possible when we tie our ropes together. We cannot do it by ourselves. We need everyone working together in order to create a more equitable society. I'm incredibly thankful for Mayor Mamdani and all of the work that he is doing and continues to do to support these cultural institutions of which Brooklyn is blessed. But I'm really, really, really happy to be here today to cut this ribbon for these Hunterfly houses because of the significance that they mean to Brooklyn and to my people. Thank you so much.
Question: You described your meeting with President Trump as productive. In what sense was it productive? And I also want to ask you whether naming the finished product actually came up.
Mayor Mamdani: It was a productive meeting in the sense that after our first meeting in the Oval Office, one of the topics of conversation that we focused on was housing. Housing not only because it was the foremost, and continues to be, the foremost crisis in New York City, but also because it's a place of immense interest in this moment across the political spectrum. And I knew that leaving that meeting, it was my responsibility to return with tangible proposals for what a partnership could look like in building exactly that in New York City. I'd stood with the president looking at a portrait of FDR the last time I was in the Oval Office, and I had shared the fact that [for] who I believe to be the greatest mayor in New York City history, Fiorello La Guardia, so much of his success was tied to his partnership with the federal government, and how that could continue to be a model in the years to come.
And so in working with my team, we sought to answer the question of what could it look like to bring that kind of partnership back to New York City at a scale that's needed to address this crisis. And so, we put forward a proposal to build more housing in a single project than the city has seen since 1973. More housing than you would get combining Hudson Yards and Battery Park City together. And not just housing, but also parks, also childcare, also hospitals — an entire new neighborhood. And I was heartened by the fact that the president was interested in this proposal, and I anticipate it will be the subject of conversations to continue.
Question: Who initiated the meeting with the president yesterday? Did he invite you? Did your office reach out about how long was the conversation? And did any other topics come up aside from housing and the detained students? Did you guys discuss ICE enforcement in New York City, the funding, federal funding to help potentially close the budget gap here in New York City?
Mayor Mamdani: So this meeting took place in part of a larger context of the last meeting that I had with the president, where we left that meeting knowing that we would continue to be in conversation and to have meetings, always bringing it back to how we can serve this city. And I've said that time and again that I will speak to anyone to ensure that we can advance the agenda of keeping New Yorkers in New York. And the focus of the conversation came back to what it would look like to partner with the city to create this scale of housing, what it would look like to create the largest rail deck in the world, larger than that of Paris, than that of Hong Kong.
We spoke about the detention of the Columbia student that morning, and I shared my concerns as part of my longstanding belief that ICE raids are not only cruel, they also do nothing to advance the cause of public safety. And I care very deeply about public safety in our city, and we have continued to focus on delivering exactly that. And I shared with the president that I thought that these continued detentions — as well as cases of those who are out of detention but face the prospect of having to be forced back into detention — do nothing to advance that cause, and I asked for those cases to be dropped.
Question: In the latest Department of Homeland Security press release last night, or statement, they seem to imply that the intention was not to detain Ellie Aghayeva, that they just released her because she's been placed into removal proceedings. And I'm just wondering, during your advocacy with President Trump, what do you think the winning argument was, and did they reverse course?
Mayor Mamdani: All I can tell you is what happened, which is that I shared directly with the President a list of names of Columbia students and those who've also been detained because of their activity on Columbia’s campus, and that these actions do nothing to advance the cause of public safety. And I asked that these cases be dropped, and the President said that he would look into it. Soon after the meeting, I received a phone call from the President saying that he was going to imminently release her.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: A few of them are Columbia students. One of them was detained on the basis of her being present on Columbia’s campus at a protest.
Question: Back to the housing proposal. What assurances did the President give you that he would follow through, especially given that he has worked to actually defund some of the major infrastructure projects of the tri-state area? And why bring this one forward when it's so cost-intensive to cover the rail yard? Could billions not be used better to build more housing elsewhere?
Mayor Mamdani: So, the president shared his interest in the proposal, and I am encouraged by the fact that we will continue to talk about this proposal. It is going to be a long process. We are speaking about an idea that had its first beginnings in the sixties and seventies and eighties. It's a long-standing proposal. The reason to focus on this one specifically is in a city where we know that land is so precious and so finite, here lies an opportunity to create more of it by creating the largest rail deck the world has ever seen. And then on top of that rail deck, building more housing than we've seen since the construction of co-op houses and Co-op City. And that presents within it an opportunity to deal with a housing crisis where right now we know there are far too few homes in New York City, even for those who already call New York City home, let alone for those who want to join us in this city.
Question: And were there any assurances he gave you?
Mayor Mamdani: He said that he was interested and that the conversation would continue.
Question: I wanted to ask about the Sunnyside Yard project as well. Did you speak to any local electeds in that area about the project in advance to your meeting with President Trump? And if not, what conversations are you planning to have in the near future?
Mayor Mamdani: We've had a few conversations across elected officials, labor [and] organizers. Those conversations will continue because this is a long-standing project that will also require a long-standing commitment, and we're just at the very beginning of it. And I broached this with the President because of the fact that this is one of the busiest rail yards in the entire — on the entire continent, frankly, and the city cannot build on these rail yards without the approval and direction of the federal government. It will also require the federal government shifting a few policies as it pertains to bond caps and risk sharing, all of which are impossible for the city to do on its own.
Question: Could you tell me how the meeting came about, who approached who, and when? And I was also wondering if you can explain a little more broadly — you know, on the campaign trail, you had a very different posture, saying you would be kind of the president's worst nightmare. Since taking office, you really have gone to great lengths, I think, to not criticize him and foster this relationship. It's very different than most Democrats in the country. Can you tell us why, you know, you're taking this tack?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I said over the course of the campaign that I will always be honest and direct with New Yorkers about my views. The president and I have many disagreements, which we share publicly and we share privately. And I also said on that same campaign trail that I would be willing to work with anyone, no matter disagreements, so long as it was to the benefit of the city that we love. That is what it comes back to. Every conversation has to be advancing the agenda of working New Yorkers.
And when we think about 12,000 new homes for working and middle-class New Yorkers, we see the possibility of so many more people being able to put roots down here in this city. And this was a meeting that was scheduled as part of following conversations from the prior meeting, which was in November. There was always a sense that that would continue. As you know, it's not the first meeting I've had with the president. It won't be the last. And we will also continue to advocate for anything and everything that can help New Yorkers continue to remain in New York. Thanks.
Question: When it was planned?
Mayor Mamdani: I think this came in the aftermath of the prior meeting. I would say that — finalizing the dates, I'm not sure exactly when it was, but it's just part of a longstanding conversation.
Question: What is your reaction to the downgraded charge for the suspect arrested in the snowball pelting? And what do you say to police officers who are very upset about that and very upset about the incident?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I will say first and foremost that I believe that our police officers should be treated with respect. They are at the heart of delivering exactly that public safety that I was speaking about earlier. And they've also been at the heart of responding to the city's first blizzard since 2016, because police officers were not just out there continuing to do the jobs that they always do, but they also have a tow truck task force, which is one that was chiefly responsible for digging New Yorkers' cars out of the snow, of digging out ambulances, MTA buses [and] keeping the city moving in that manner. And for that work and everything that they do, I'm deeply appreciative. And what I've said in regards to the snowball fight is that it's a snowball fight that got out of hand, and I don't really have much more to say to it.
Question: I have a couple of questions. One is that work requirements for SNAP go into effect on Sunday, and I'm wondering if you're confident that HRA has the staff and the capacity needed to deal with that paperwork and the requirements. Do you think the governor should step in with payments to help out? My second question is if the city council staffer who had been detained by ICE also came up in your conversation with Trump.
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'll say that I’m incredibly appreciative of the governor’s partnership for advancing the needs of our city, and she also stepped in. The last time around we saw providing additional funding in SNAP benefits to ensure that so many New Yorkers would be able to continue to put food on the table. I actually recall during Veterans’ Day, I sat with a number of veterans, and one pulled me aside to say that that infusion from the governor was critical in him being able to continue to eat that week. And so, I think what the governor has done in the past has been truly significant and helpful, and I am confident in HRA, and I also know that the tasks in front of HRA and city agencies only continue to increase. I always believe in their ability to meet the moment, but also our city administration’s commitment to helping them in doing so. And the names that we spoke about specifically were the ones in the context around students who were being detained on or around campus. However, it was within a conversation where I made clear and will always make clear that ICE raids, at large, are ones that are cruel and do nothing to advance public safety.
Question: When you say that the president expressed interest in the proposal, what precisely do you mean?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that the president was interested in the idea of working together to build 12,000 homes, and that this was a long-standing idea that has not yet come to fruition. And within that lies an opportunity to deliver a new scale of development in this city, and one that resolves — starts to resolve an issue that you will find on the [tip] of the tongue of any New Yorker across this city, which is housing and how New Yorkers can afford to live in this city. And also, a critical part of this proposal is that half of the homes would be Mitchell-Lama homes, which have been considered time and again by so many, including by the president, as being critical to the stability of middle-class New Yorkers and their ability to call New York City home.
Question: On the campaign trail, you talked about how you and the NYPD would be in lockstep because you're the mayor and your commissioner is below you as your commissioner. That kind of hasn't panned out lately. I'm wondering if you can respond to that as well as the hiring of Fred Kriezman. Was he on the list your admin presented to the outgoing Adams administration to clear house before you took office?
Mayor Mamdani: I don't know the specifics on the second question. I can tell you on the first is that — I appreciate the work of my police commissioner, Commissioner Tisch, who has been doing the work to ensure that we're delivering public safety. That's work that we do in tandem. That's work that we do also by being in constant communication with each other. And I think what New Yorkers are focused on is, are they safe in the city that they call home? And that's the work that she's leading on.
Question: If you secure this federal funding, realistically, what is the timeline of actually getting shovels in the ground and bringing these homes online for people to be moving in?
Mayor Mamdani: I think this will take many, many years. However, we are not daunted by the length of the project. We also know that it's one that has been decades in the making. And so many of us, we aspire to help to build a city that can build in the same manner that it used to. You know, earlier we were thanking a number of elected officials and one of them is State Senator Zellnor Myrie. And I recall he would share again and again that the Empire State Building was built in 13 months. Today, that sounds as if it is an idea of fantasy. And it is critically important that we do not fear the scale of these kinds of projects or think that they are impossible to deliver on. We actually have to do everything we can to bring them to fulfillment.
Question: You said the conversations with President Trump will be an ongoing conversation. Did you schedule a meeting for future or when do you plan to go back? Does he have plans to come here to meet with you? How is that going?
Mayor Mamdani: I can't give you the specifics of when exactly we'll meet again. I will tell you, however, that as the mayor of our city, I will always look to keep an open line of communication with the president of our country and to do so always with the interests of New Yorkers in mind. And that means making clear where there is disagreement, making clear where there is prospect for partnership, and always at the core of it asking, how can we make it easier for New Yorkers to live in the most expensive city in the United States of America? How can we make it easier for them to live here, for them to be safe here, and for them to dream here? Thank you so much.
###