Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears on NBC 4's "News 4 NY at 5:30"

January 25, 2024

Gilma Avalos: New York City has faced its share of issues this past year, but we've seen a number of successes as well.

Adam Kuperstein: And right now we are joined by the man overseeing it all, New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Great to have you with us tonight. We appreciate your time.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Great to be on. Thank you so much.

Kuperstein: Let's start with a really important issue for families, mayor. You just announced, the city did, becoming the first in the nation to declare social media an environmental toxin.

The Health Department urging parents to keep kids off social media. You said you'd like to see federal and state lawmakers take some action. Do you foresee the city stepping in to do something beyond just a warning?

Mayor Adams: No, so true. And I equate this to that old fable from Troy, the Trojan Horse. We close our homes and we believe that our children and families are safe, but little do we know this secret weapon is inside our bedrooms, our kitchen, or the living room sofa.

Our children are being fed algorithms that go after their soft spots and their weak spots. And we must stand up to this. I made it clear last year it was something that I focused on, and even on the campaign trail. This is harming our children. It's contributing to the level of depression, suicidal thoughts, behaviors like riding on top of our subway trains, stealing cars. It is damaging our young people, and we need to be really focused on it.

Kuperstein: You compared the health hazard of social media to smoking. I know you remember Mayor Bloomberg was the first to ban smoking in bars. Do you think there's something within the city's powers that you might do to combat social media?

Mayor Adams: Well, yes. And Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor, was really forward thinking, and look how many lives he saved, those who were waiters and waitresses and bartenders who had to inhale secondhand smoke. 

And that is our moment here as well. Dr. Vasan, the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, he has been focusing on these upstream solutions. We are going to look at every avenue available without leaving anything on the table. We're going to partner with our state lawmakers as well as the City Councilmembers to show the data and have them be our partners on how we fight this issue that's impacting our children and families.

Avalos: Mr. Mayor, your State of the City address was very optimistic. You touted that crime is down, jobs are up. Four months ago, you warned that the migrant crisis would destroy our city, so many have wondered why you didn't provide more concrete plans or details in that State of the City address.

Mayor Adams: Well, I think I've been clear on the impact of the migrant crisis in our city, but I don't want to be just doom and gloom. I want to show the optimism. We inherited a city that was impacted by Covid. Crime was going in the wrong directions. We couldn't get jobs here in the city.

And we went and focused on three things: people, public safety, public spaces and livability for our city. And you see just the opposite. We had 4.1 million jobs, more private sector jobs in the history of the city, five out of seven major crime categories are down, shootings are down. We've got a AA bond rating by the bond raters. We are seeing a city that's thriving, not just surviving. 62 million tourists.
And so I wanted to point out the success of the city while we still have to manage a crisis with 172,000 people entering our city, not allowed to work, and the taxpayers' dollars have to go towards that.

That is just unfair to New Yorkers. But there's some moments of celebration as well.

Kuperstein: Mayor, you recently vetoed a police transparency bill, the How Many Stops Act. You laid out why you think it's a burden for taxpayers for the NYPD. But first off, do you agree with the city's allegation that the number of problematic racially disproportionate stops has gone up and is being under‑reported right now?

Mayor Adams: No, I don't believe they have been under‑reported. And remember, this is where I cut my teeth. Those who have followed me for years, I've been a fighter on behalf of having public safety and justice, testified in federal court about the abuse of stop and frisk. We were probably getting a million stops a year.

Look at the numbers now and what we're doing with [inaudible] must do. I think we can find a balance. I agreed with the City Council's concept, the spirit of this bill. There's one aspect that I disagree with, and that is what's called Level 1 stops.

Those casual, and not even casual encounters, but those encounters that police officers are doing when they're looking for a missing person. That is not what I believe the City Council wanted. And I think if we really look at this closely, we can land this plane and get the public safety and justice we're looking for.

Kuperstein: The City Council speaker, mayor, has vowed to override your veto. Do you believe they have the votes to do that?

Mayor Adams: That's the City Council. Two different arms of government. I'm part of the executive branch. My job and responsibility is to veto a bill that I think is not going to serve New Yorkers well.
And the City Council will deliberate. I think Adrienne Adams is a good leader. I think she's going to look at this and make the right decision. Many of those City Councilmembers in their districts, they believe in pro‑policing, giving police officers the tools.

And this is just a moment when they will have to make a decision, and I respect their decision that they make. I'm doing my job as a mayor of the City of New York, and as a former member of the law enforcement community that was part of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, who pushed and was one of the primary voices around reforms.

Avalos: Mayor Eric Adams, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

Kuperstein: Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care.

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