Transcript From Saturday, January 13, 2024: Mayor Adams Appears on Wbls 107.5 Fm’s “DJ-S1 Saturdays”

January 14, 2024

Host: Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce to y'all, His Honor, the mayor of New York City, my man Eric Adams is in the building.

Mayor Eric Adams: Brother [inaudible], and how are you, man? It's really good being on with you.

Host: First and foremost, welcome to the S1 Saturday Show and welcome to the WBLS family. We appreciate you being part of it, especially in the 50th year, man. You know it's the 50th year at the station, right?

Mayor Adams: No, I didn't. Interesting. And last year was the 50th year of hip hop, so there's really a connection to that.

Host: Well, we know that there are pressing issues in New York City that require your attention on a daily basis, so we're happy that you chose and valued WBLS as one of your platforms to speak to the heart of the city. Happy MLK weekend, by the way?

Mayor Adams: Yes, and it's a powerful weekend when you think about it, because it's the reflection on Dr. King's life and what he stood for. People constantly want to redefine him, but we can look back later after we lost, you know, [inaudible] on my behalf. But it wasn't easy for Dr. King, man. There was one speech he did where he talked about how he was under the constant threat of death and how he was under the constant threat of criticism, even from Negroes.

Host: Wow.

Mayor Adams: You know, people were on King all the time, analyzing, criticizing him and he was placing his life on the line. So, in our reflection, we need to look at the kings that are among us today and ask ourselves, what have we done to lift them up?

Host: Right, that is so important that people understand that, too. You know what I mean?

Mayor Adams: Yes, sir.

Host: Well, listen, secondly, we are introducing you because you got a show on this station, huh?

Mayor Adams: Yes, we love it. It's about, you know, connect[ing] with the mayor because you have to be able to do direct to consumer communication because all of your stuff is filtered and people walk around every day, when they start looking at what we have done in two years, but two years, they say, what? I didn't know that.

You know, just look at the migrant issue. People step to me all the time and say, why are you allowing people to come in? Why are you treating people better than folks who have been here? And I just like breaking it down. You know, number one, I have no authorization to stop people from coming into the city. The migrants that are coming here, all 168,000.

I have no power to do deportation. That is done through the federal government. I'm obligated by law to house, feed, clothe, educate, all laws require me to do this. They think, hey, you the mayor, you allowing this to happen. No, I'm required by law to do the things I'm doing, and I can't break the law because I don't think it's a law that I think is fair.

Host: Right, and you know what? That's real important that people understand that because like you know, I do hear the mayor's doing this and the mayor's doing that. They gotta understand sometimes your hands are handcuffed as well.

Mayor Adams: Without a doubt. And then look at the city, man. Look at the city that I inherited. January 1st, 2022, Covid was every place. No one wanted to be on the subway system. Crime was trending in the wrong direction. Our economy was in free fall.

Now look two years later. Two years later, homicides and shootings are down by double digits, five of the seven major crime categories are on the decline. Four million riders on our subway system, 62 million tourists, we're in the fourth largest, highest tourists in the city. We have more private sector jobs in the history of the city right now.

Riker's Island, visiting brothers and sisters on Riker's Island, more than any mayor in the history of the city to transform Riker's and give people a good landing when they come home. We've done so much in two years that we don't get, that message not translated to everyday people.

Host: Right, right, right. Well, listen, I'm glad that you put it that way about translating the message, because I know you got a strong feeling in your heart for the police and the civilian interaction. How you feel about that? The city needs to know about that.

Mayor Adams: And it's crucial, man, because you know, many people want to rewrite history but people should go Google, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement, the role we play. I testified in federal court to end stop and frisk abuse. The federal judge acknowledged my testimony as one of the reasons that she ruled against the New York City Police Department.

But you know, there's a duality here, because when you go in our community, listen, we want our police... We don't want our police to be abusive, but when you speak to Ms. Jones and Ms. Robinson, they'll tell you they don't want to live, a police officer being abusive in a blue uniform, but they don't want a gang in a blue jeans to shoot up their communities, you know?

So, I'm in these hospitals speaking to these young people, and we [inaudible] crime in Brownsville like no one thought it would be ever able to accomplish, and we're seeing the results of what we have done with that community‑based relationship.

Host: That's what I'm talking about. Once again, in case you're just tuning in, we got my man EA on the line. Y'all know him as His Honor, the mayor of New York City. And tomorrow, he has a radio show, y'all. He is part of the WBLS family. Tell him what time you are on, EA.

Mayor Adams: We are on at 10:30, and it's really we turn on the telephones, allow people to come in, unfiltered communication. You know, like I say, man, I'm not new to this, I'm true to this.

Host: Nice.

Mayor Adams: I've been doing this for a long time and I'm going to stay consistent, fight on the behalf of the city in general, but particularly those Black and brown communities that have been ignored for so many years.

Host: That's what I'm talking about. So, I need everybody to be tuned in tomorrow. The mayor is on WBLS. Tell a friend to tell a friend, and he's taking your phone calls. So, I need y'all to call him up and let him know how you feel. Hey, EA, I appreciate you coming through, man.

Mayor Adams: Thank you, man. I appreciate S1 Saturdays, you know, you've been holding it down for a long time using the microphone not only to give people a beautiful sound but to let us interact with each other. This is our time, and we fought strong for this empowerment. You got a Black mayor, you have a Black public advocate, a Black attorney general, a Black minority leader in Congress. You have a person of color that's a district attorney in Brooklyn, person of color district attorney in Manhattan, person of color] district attorney in the Bronx.

We have all this chocolate, man. The leader of the senate is a person of color. The leader of the assembly is a person of color. The leader of the City Council is a person of color. This is what our ancestors fought for, and we can't use this power to turn against each other, we've got to use it to build each other up.

Host: That's what I'm talking about, mayor. You listen, you just brought chills through my body, man. I ain't even gonna lie. You know what I'm saying? So on that note, I know you gotta go, you gotta do a few things. While you're in the car, though, listen, you gotta have that S1 Saturdays pumped up, man. I gotta get you rhyming.

Mayor Adams: I got to.

Host: All right. All right.

Mayor Adams: Will do. Take care, Brother.

Host: So you know what it is.

Mayor Adams: Love you, man.

Host: Love you, too, my man. My man, The Honorable Mayor Eric Adams, give him a round of applause! We gonna keep it goin', you know what it is. S1 Saturdays live BLS.

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