Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Announces the Next Phase Of NYC's Young Men's Initiative, Opening New Doors for Young Men of Color

January 30, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: All right – it is great to be here at Van Dyke Houses. And I had the great pleasure over here of meeting some men and women who are working hard to build their futures. And the good news is – I want to give you some economic forecasting now, based on this sample size of – I think it was eight people? Seven people? – that there’s a lot of optimism over here. As each individual is looking online for the specific kind of jobs that they want to pursue – in many cases that they have some training for – they’re seeing a lot out there. So that is a very, very good sign.

And this program here is a great example of the work of our Young Men’s Initiative. Young Men’s Initiative is a private partnership – excuse me, public-private partnership that was originally created in 2011 by my predecessor Mayor Bloomberg. It was a great initiative – and I remember at the time being very excited by the announcement. In addition to the investment that Bloomberg’s philanthropies, the Open Society Foundation and others put together $60 million dollars to get this started. It’s proven to be something very meaningful. We’re going to talk now about how we’re going to build out on it, but I do want to express my appreciation to Mayor Bloomberg and to all of the organizations that helped support the launch of the Young Men’s Initiative here in New York City.

And today, we’re going to be talking about building this out, taking it farther, going to a much higher level, because we are answering the call of our president. President Obama has called on cities all across the country to take the goals that he has put together with the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative and change the way we do our work, and reach farther. And we are answering the call of our president today, and we’re accepting his challenge. We’re going to go into detail with you about some of the things that that is going to mean for neighborhoods all over the city.

But I want to commend President Obama for his leadership. I’ve said many times that I think he laid out in the State of the Union an extraordinary road map for the future of this country, for fighting income inequality, for building our economy. The president is very personally passionate about My Brother’s Keeper, and he is calling on cities all over the country to answer his challenge, and New York City, as of today, is answering that challenge – and we’re going to go very, very far to realize the dreams the president has put forward.

I want to thank everyone who’s a part of this gathering today – our host, Patricia Brooks of Brownsville Jobs Plus – thank you – the director – thank you very much.

[Applause]

I’m going to name some different people. I’m going to acknowledge a bunch of people. Several other people will be speaking, so I won’t mention them until we introduce them. I want to acknowledge the members of my administration who are here, including our HRA commissioner, Steve Banks, our consumer affairs commissioner, Julie Menin – you can clap for them.

[Applause]

From the NYPD, a captain for PSA-2, which is the area we are in now – Captain Mascol – I want to thank you, and I also want to thank Lieutenant Donzel Cleare, who’s done great work here in the Van Duke Houses and beyond. In fact, do I understand that you – I heard it was 300 children – is that right?

Lieutenant Donzel Cleare, NYPD: Yes, sir. 

Mayor: To the great credit of Lieutenant Cleare – he organized last night an opportunity for 300 children from this neighborhood to go to the movie Selma, and learn about some very powerful and inspiring history. So let's thank the captain and lieutenant for all they do. 

[Applause]

Our elected officials who represent this community – and I know them all for a long time and I appreciate their great and focused work on behalf of the community – Senator Jesse Hamilton, new Assembly Member Latrice Walker – or new Senator Jesse Hamilton, new Assembly Member Latrice Walker – and veteran councilwoman – that doesn't make you old, to be a veteran [Laughter] – veteran Councilwoman Darlene Mealy. Let's thank them all.

[Applause]

And there's a bunch of advocates who have worked for a long time on behalf of these type of initiatives that would make a real difference in people's lives and economic future. Let's just give a round of applause to all the advocates who are here.

[Applause]

Now, as I said, for President Obama, this is personal. And I want to thank him for that, because sometimes the way the world changes when a leader makes a very personal commitment to seeing something through. And he has clearly done that. He's said to all of us, over these next two years as president – and I think well beyond his presidency – he will be focused on My Brother's Keeper, and what it can mean for young men of color, and for the larger community. 

So, the president – again, he put down a challenge, this was not, you know, go and do something nice – this was a challenge to cities around the country, and I had these conversations with the White House. They said we want to see every city step up. We want to see more. We want to see a real focus particularly on helping young men of color achieve their educational and career goals. The only way we're going to break through some of the history that still afflicts us is with a focused, determined effort. And so, New York City has made the decision to pick up the president's challenge, to double down on our existing efforts, and go a lot farther, because we believe this will be essential. We're going to focus literacy, we're going to focus on job training, we're going to focus on crime prevention – a host of things that'll have a transcendent impact in people's lives.

Now, President Obama was quite clear, in putting forward My Brother's Keeper, that it came with specific goals – and our city is now saying we will work tirelessly to meet these goals. One – that we will ensure – and this will take time – but the goal is that all children read at grade level by the second grade. That sounds pretty basic, but it's something that hasn't been true in this city. It has to happen for us to go where we need to go. Two – ensuring that all youth complete post-secondary education training – again, that's a big goal. That will take time. But it's the right goal. For some, it's going to be one type of education, for some it might be job training – whatever it is that all our young people have something that really gets them ready for their lives ahead. And three – it's obvious, but so crucial – ensuring that all our young people remain safe from violent crime. That's the very powerful construct that the president has put forward.

Now, we're basing our programs and our goals on that vision. And to move forward this very aggressive effort, the Young Men's Initiative now has a new leader, who is going to help us reach this goal, and that is Cyrus Garrett. Let me tell you about Cyrus Garrett. Cyrus, why don't you step forward a little bit so I can brag about you. 

Okay – now, there's a lot of things I'm going to tell you about Cyrus Garrett, but for the sports fans in the audience, Cyrus Garrett was a linebacker at the University of Illinois – which is not a minor matter. You have to be very good to do that, and very disciplined, and very hardworking, so I want to commend you for that early chapter in your life. But Cyrus has devoted his life, since his sports career ended, to our young people. He’s a person who applied his skills and abilities as an anti-drug counselor, and a counselor with young people who have been in gangs at the Eldora State Training School for Boys in Iowa. He has helped young people to navigate very, very difficult environments, and difficult realities. He's done a lot of work in communities around the country – community organizing, and helping a community be involved in solving problems. He is a native of Chicago, Illinois. I do not hold that against him. [Laughs] I'm glad he stepped up to New York City, though. And he brings a wealth of experience that we think is going to be a game-changer for this effort. Let's welcome and thank Cyrus, for taking on this leadership role.

[Applause]

So, in answering the president's challenge, we have delineated four specific initiatives that we think get to the heart of the matter. First, over the next three years, we will create tutoring and reading programs that will reach at least 10,000 children in grades K-2 – 10,000 children minimum over the next three years. Second, we're going to increase a mentoring effort to prepare young people for college. We will engage 5,000 young men of color by 2017. So over the next two years, we'll reach at least 5,000 young men of color, helping them realize their pathway to college. That's important.

[Applause]

Third – and this is a particular issue that the first lady has raised, because some of you know Chirlane's history – she came from – she was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. In search of the best educational opportunity, her family moved to a suburb named Longmeadow, and she felt – throughout her education – that something she deeply missed was role models, because none of her teachers looked like her. And it was something that a lot of people talk about, that to really help our young people realize their dreams, the more role models, the better – and that some of the most powerful role models, and those that our young people see the most are our teachers. So, over the next three years, through training and recruitment, we will prepare 1,000 young men of colors to be – young men of color to be teachers in our public school system, serving our children and being role models for them. And that's going to make a huge difference.

[Applause]

And finally – you'll hear more about this with Cyrus – in five neighborhoods around the city, we're going to have a focused effort to deepen the ties between police and community, and particularly our young people and the police who protect them. We're going to create very positive and innovative opportunities for young people and police to deepen their relationships, learn from each other, work closely together – and we think that will be transcendent as well.

Now, this is a great place to talk about what could be, because we're already seeing the groundwork being laid here at Van Dyke Houses. The Jobs Plus program is an example of the kind of thing that really reaches people – helps them build skills, helps them connect to jobs that they wouldn’t have necessarily known about otherwise. It’s one example of the first stage of the Young Men’s Initiative and one of the most promising elements of it – but again, we’re going to take this to a much higher level now.

The folks I met with inspire me because sometimes all it takes is a little bit of extra help for people to get that next stage. I also was happy to work on my own job interview skills – I hope to not need them for quite a while, but I was happy to get the practice. This location just opened this month – already has 63 people enrolled. The goal is to reach over 1,600 community residents in the coming months – and that’s fantastic.

[Applause]

There are many success stories from Jobs Plus already, one of whom is to my left – Alaquan Bell – 21 years old – yes?

Alaquan Bell: Yes.

Mayor: 21 years old – just starting out. Lives in Lafayette Gardens Houses – and here is the power of old school community outreach – is it true you got a flyer?

Alaquan Bell: Yes.

Mayor: Okay. He got a flyer – it’s not all internet, people! Flyers still work. He got a flyer. He decided to check out Jobs Plus. He soon had a job at Walgreens. Now, it was a good job, but it was only $8.50 an hour, and Alaquan wanted to do better, so he pursued additional training to get a security job, got a security guard license. Now, he’s a security guard for Universal Protection Services earning $13 dollars an hour. All right!

[Applause]

But as they say in late night television, “But wait, there’s more!” Okay? So, again – we’ve got a young man with real dreams for himself, gets the flyer, gets to the first job, realizes he can go the next step, gets the training, gets to the second job. Now, Alaquan is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering and hopes to pursue a high-paying, high-flying job – that’s my aeronautics joke for the day –

[Laughter]

– a high-paying job in a field that he is passionate about. And we talked about it. When he achieves his dreams – when we achieves his dreams working at one of our airports – a high-quality job – a job you can make a career out of and really be paid well for as you gain more and more skills. So, Alaquan is an example of what we intend to do for so many young people in this city. Let’s thank him for what he has achieved already.

[Applause]

With this look, he should run for office one day.

[Laughter]

But not against the individuals here.

[Laughter]

A word of Spanish before I bring up some of my colleagues –

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]

Now, I want to turn back to English and turn to Deputy Mayor Richard Buery. Now, Richard, you grew up not too far from here.

Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, Strategic Policy Initiatives: Not too far.

Mayor: And did some extraordinary things going up – a young man with a lot of promise believed that he could do great things, worked his way up, wanted to go to a good school. He couldn’t get into a good college – instead, he got into –

Deputy Mayor Buery: Harvard College.

Mayor: Harvard College.

[Laughter]

So, from East New York to Harvard – not bad at all – became, of course, before this current role, the head of the Children’s Aid Society. And as the head of the Children’s Aid Society, was, in fact, one of the co-chairs of the initial effort around the Young Men’s Initiative. Now, he is the person in charge of the Young Men’s Initiative – and Cyrus will report to him. So, Richard’s been with this from the beginning, has both the focus – in terms of his professional life, but also in his personal life – to understand what this means. And as I always like to say, a guy who has already accomplished so much for this city with his extraordinary leadership of our effort to create pre-k for all – Deputy Mayor Richard Buery.

[Applause]

Deputy Mayor Buery: Congratulations. Congratulations. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re doing in the future – very exciting. So, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for your leadership. Again, I’m so proud to be here today as we announce this next incredible step in our city, as we work to build equal opportunity for all New Yorkers, especially our young men of color. We know that this nation is built on a simple, powerful idea that your ZIP code should not define your destiny. But we know that for too many New Yorkers, that dream had been only a dream. It has not been reality. Too many of our young men of color are not in fact, given the opportunity to achieve equal opportunity, to have their part of the American dream – something I very much experienced growing up, again, not too far from here on Linden Boulevard. When I was a freshman in high school, I would take the subway every day from East New York to Stuyvesant High School, and really saw – is Stuyvesant in the house? Sorry – and really saw, as I took that train ride every day, a real disparity between lives for our citizens. I was coming from a neighborhood where young people were simply not put on the path for success. But the young men and young women who I went to high school with in the morning, when that bell rang – they were on a different path with a different opportunity. And it wasn’t that the young men who I grew up with were any different. They didn’t dream any smaller. They didn’t want to take care of themselves any less. They didn’t love their families any less. They simply did not have the same opportunities. That’s what this program is about. That’s really what this administration is about – creating equal opportunity.

So, I’m so excited that we, under the leadership of Mayor de Blasio, have decided to take on this challenge, to heed President Barack Obama’s call to make sure that your skin color should play no role in the life that you have for yourself. And I’m so excited, also to be able to work with Cyrus Garrett, who I have gotten to know over time. He’s here with his fiancée, also who I got to meet today. It was very exciting. I’m very excited to work with them. We’re going to do amazing work, and I look forward to taking some of the credit for all the great work you do.

[Laughter]

So I can look good with the boss.

Mayor: At least he told you.

Deputy Mayor Buery: I’m honest about it. And again, you’re going to be a great addition to this program. And you’re going to see amazing things – young people who are finding jobs that would not otherwise have access to jobs, mentoring and teaching opportunities. And we’re also going to use it for – not only to drive new programs for individuals, but also to rethink how we, as a city, support young men of color. We’re doing a cross-agency review of all the work of our city agencies to look at the ways in which we are supporting and not supporting young men of color. And one of the things we’re going to be doing is issuing an annual report to look at how the city is stepping up its work. So, again, I would just say that my commute to Stuyvesant taught me a lot. One other thing that it taught me is that the future is possible for everyone. And I look forward to playing my role – along with the mayor, along with Cyrus and all of you here – to making sure we double down on the Young Men’s Initiative, that we heed the president’s call, and we make sure that no more young men slip through the cracks. Thank you.

[Applause]

Mayor: We, because of Dante, are a Brooklyn Tech family. So the only think I will take exception to in your remarks –

[Laughter]

There we go. We’ll all get along today. Again, the leadership of this now, greatly expanded effort will be in the hands of the new director of the Young Men’s Initiative. And we are so glad that he is taking on this important challenge. Let’s welcome Cyrus Garrett.

[YMI Director Cyrus Garrett speaks]    

Mayor: Last but not least, I want you to hear from my interviewer, who grilled me. Sheroma Jacobs is the business services manager here, at Brownsville Jobs Plus. And what I particularly appreciate about her is that she is a Brownsville native devoted to serving the people of her community. And if my interview is any indication, many people will get great jobs because of Sheroma. Welcome, Sheroma.

[Sheroma Jacobs speaks]

Mayor: Well done. Great job, Sheroma. So, we’re going to do questions on this topic. I’m going to give you a quick additional update, and then we’ll do off topic. Let’s do this topic first. Yes?

Question: So, obviously Michael Bloomberg covered a big part of the cost himself. Will he be contributing again to the initiative?

Mayor: The resources that his foundation put in are still continuing. We’re certainly going to be – there’s been ongoing conversation. We’re hopeful that that grow from there, but there’s still – we’re still working with the original grant at this point.

Question: I’m going to follow up on that. The city is allocating $22.5 million, and then – because the larger initiatives have been [inaudible]. So what’s the break down? And how much will the public-private partnership total?

Mayor: Right, and so – first of all, Richard will go into a little of that. What we’re doing now is talking about part of what is being played out from the original funding and we’re also foreshadowing new efforts, bigger efforts, that will have a price tag attached and we’re going to be having more to say about that in our budget process ahead. But let me have Richard give you an overview.

Deputy Mayor Buery: Sure, so there are about –the program, since its inception in 2011, has been approximately a $145 million dollar program – about $60 million of that is the private funds from Bloomberg Philanthropy and Open Society Foundations. So as we’ve described, we’re looking forward to continuing the core of those programs and as we move forward, we’re going to continue to work to make sure that we have the resources to continue the work – the work that we want to continue, but also to continue to grow the initiative over time in the way that we’ve described.

Mayor: And just a simple – again, more to come but this will be a budget priority for us.

Question: Two quick, quick things. One, will this program increase summer jobs for the young people – both boys and girls. And two, will there be mentoring [inaudible] or young men on family formation, because becoming a parent too early and too young can be a detriment to them.

Mayor: So, I’ll start and pass to Richard and Cyrus. The – we’re going to also have a lot to say in the coming weeks about youth employment and summer employment and that is connected in some ways to this but it has a whole life of its own that we’ll be talking about where we are going to go with that. But to your second question about – what was it about parenthood, early parent – parenting?

Deputy Mayor Buery: Yeah, so there are a number of programs in the portfolio already that’s focused on parenting skills, including parenting skills for young men.

Mayor: [inaudible] say parenting too soon.  

Deputy Mayor Buery: Parenting too soon, okay. Is there a portfolio program that you want to talk about –    

Mayor: Come on up.

YMI Director Garrett: We work with the Department of Health on teen pregnancy, teen – teen sex preparedness. There is actually a Teens in NYC app that we partnered with on – with them on in 2013 that – it’s right on your IPhone, if you want to look it up now. It’s a great app and helps to locate –

Mayor:  What’s it called?

YMI Director Garrett: It’s called Teens in NYC.

Mayor: Teens in NYC.

YMI Director Garrett: It’s just a simple app that helps you find out where you’re at and where the services you’re looking for are located. And what clinics have been rated highest by other teens in the area.

Question: Can you just talk a little bit more about what the recruiting and training [inaudible] involvement is going to be for the [inaudible] a thousand teachers? [inaudible]

Mayor: I’ll start and pass it to Richard. But this is something we‘ve talked to the chancellor about. It’s a real priority. I know she shares this goal. We think it’s so important to have leadership at all levels of government that looks like New York City. And again, in particularly when it comes to the young people and the formation of their goals and their possibilities, it’s crucial that they get taught by a variety of these people but it must include some people that look like them. And so, there’s a lot of enthusiasm at the DOE to achieve this – and this thousand new teachers is going to make big impact

Deputy Mayor Buery: Sure, the only thing I will add, that the program – so as the mayor said – strong leadership from the chancellor on this, DOE, of course, is going to play a central role in this effort, as is the United Federation of Teachers and the countless school administrators. Michael Mulgrew, and Ernie Logan both very excited about this initiative and working together to achieve these goals. Another thing I would add is that it really is about a pipeline program. It’s generally about training and placing teachers. It’s also about exposing young men to teaching as a profession, and helping to inspire them or prepare them so that they can get education they need, so that they can be ready to enter the teaching profession as a career moving forward.

Question: Do you have any specific numbers on how many job centers like this one are open in other NYCHA complexes?

YMI Director Garrett: We have nine sites and of those sites, there’s 24 other locations that we serve.

Mayor: But explain that.

YMI Director Garrett: So, nine sites meaning nine housing complexes like we’re in today. And of those sites, there’s 24 different locations within there that people can get these services.

Question: [inaudible]

YMI Director Garrett: Right, exactly, depending on the size of the complex.

Question: – and a breakdown of boroughs?

YMI Director Garrett: We’re pretty spread. I mean, our – yes, we can get you the list but we’re all over the city – all five boroughs.

Mayor: Okay, on topic? Going once. On topic? Going twice? Now, I’m going to give a little update and then we’ll go to off topic.

So, weather is always an interesting topic, don’t you think?

[Laughter]

We have a little bit – small amount of flurries this morning, which have now left the area. We’d like them to stay out of the area. So, we really don’t expect much snow accumulation today. But, here’s what I want to alert all New Yorkers to – it’s going to be very, very cold and very windy and people really should take precautions. We expect in the overnight – with the wind chill, temperatures between zero and negative 10. Again, I will always say to my colleagues in the media, please get this message out – zero and negative – to negative ten in the overnight hours, single digits tomorrow. These are very dangerous conditions. It’s really important for people to say in if they can, if they go outside – not for too long. And to make sure that they have proper clothing and they’re protected. So, take this weather seriously as always. Our shelters will be available for those need them. We did have our salt spreaders out this morning – 500 salt spreaders ready in the event that the snow picked up because we’re all learning over and over again – and this is said with absolute respect for the National Weather Service and all the other meteorologists – you know, it’s an imperfect science and you have to always be ready for more snow and faster snow than what is projected. So, we have the salt spreaders in place. It does not look like they will be needed on the level that we feared. We’re catching up on garbage and recycling collections now, but we will continue through Saturday? – through Saturday with alternate side of the street parking suspended. So, alternate side is suspended today. Alternate side is suspended Saturday. We would like to resume normalcy but as you probably know, there’s another storm projected Sunday evening into Monday, and it is sizeable but we don’t yet know if it’s going to end up being something that will really be disruptive. So we’re going to be watching that very, very carefully. But the news right now is bitter cold temperatures overnight and into tomorrow. Please take precautions. Please watch out for your neighbors. If you don’t have heat, please call 3-1-1. Anyone who does not have heat, it’s very important to call 3-1-1 immediately so we can do something about it. With that, off topic?

Question: On Twitter, we just learned that Morelle has dropped out, leaving Nolan and Heastie. There seems to be some mystery developing. Folks up there – lawmakers think that you’re supporting Heastie. So, will you clear up the confusion and say that you’re not necessarily supporting Heastie?

Mayor: I think I have been very clear and consistent, so I’ll say it again. This is a choice that the Assembly members make. I have been a member of a legislative body, and I can tell you that members of the legislature understandably believe in making the decision amongst themselves. So this is a decision that members of the Assembly will make. What I’ve said throughout is, I am concerned about the interests of New York City because there is a pattern, and education funding is the most extreme example of that – and the clearest. For decades, we have not gotten our fair share of education funding, proportionate to our needs, proportionate to our population in the state – our growing population now. So I want to make sure, whoever is the next speaker has that in mind. But the key point here is that the members of the Assembly will make this decision.

Question: [Inaudible] are the Assembly members mistaken if they believe that you’re supporting Heastie?

Mayor: I’ve said it a thousand times, I’m not supporting anyone. Assembly members will make the decision.

Question: [Inaudible] would your administration consider talking with the police department about separating promotions and advancements from the number of arrests? Because sometimes the arrests are false arrests or [inaudible] –

Mayor: I’m not – wait, wait. Give me a simpler question. Just break this down.

Question: Do you think that the administration can help the police department separate police promotions from the number of arrests –

Mayor: Arrest activity? Okay. Okay.

Question: – arrest activity because a lot of times, they are false arrests –

Mayor: Alright. First of all, you’re raising a point with a lot of different pieces. But I’ll give you the simple way of breaking that down. Promotion is made based on many factors, not just one factor. So, that’s the first important thing to keep in mind. But you know, let’s look at what we’ve done with marijuana arrests, because I think it’s a real bellwether. Commissioner Bratton and I believed that a lot of young men, especially a lot of young men of color, were getting an arrest that was not needed, that would unfortunately, saddle them with a criminal record and would really have a negative impact on their lives – when we could achieve the same deterrent impact with a lesser approach of a summons. That’s why we’ve made the change in the marijuana arrest policy. Since we instituted that policy, marijuana arrests are down over 60 – 6-0 percent. So that’s something that’s going to be affecting thousands and thousands of young people in real time. And we’re going to be looking across the board at ways we can keep adjusting our strategies. The commissioner said very publically, many times, that in the past, sometimes arrest was a goal where it shouldn’t have been the goal. The goal is to deter – proactively, primitively deter criminal activity. An arrest is not the only way to do that. The commissioner, who I think knows as much or more about policing as anyone in this country, has made very, very clear that there has to be a constant examination of where we put arrests in the pantheon of options. So I think the bottom line answer is we continue to evolve. I would also remind people that there will be areas where we will see increased activity like Vision Zero, and I’m very proud of that fact. Vision Zero is a situation where we want our police to be doing some new things, and assertively, to protect people’s lives. So far, NYPD has done an extraordinary job and that’s why you saw those amazing figures for 2014 – the lowest number of pedestrian deaths in 100 years. And that progress is continuing. So it’s all being looked at carefully and being calibrated to the reality on the ground.

Question: Mr. Mayor, the Daily News had a story today about DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz in town [inaudible]. Can you talk a little bit about how that came together and what she’ll be seeing? And then also, you know, what pitch you’re making to her and whether you think it’s a good sign?

Mayor: I think it’s a good sign, but I want to be clear, she’s visiting each of the three finalist cities. And the reason I think it’s a good sign is we’ve had very productive conversations with the chairwoman and with her staff. She’ll be looking at the Barclays Center and some other facilities that will be a part of this convention, potentially. I feel very good about the effort we put forward. I know it’s highly competitive. I know we’re coming down to the wire, in terms of a decision being made. But you know, what we said just in the last few days, the co-chairs that we have put out, who are an absolute all-star team of leading New Yorkers, who are ready, willing, and able to put together the $100 million dollars for this effort – $20 million-plus in specific pledges that have been made, over $6 million dollars in the bank. I mean, this is an effort that’s really growing, very energetically. And I think the chair and the team at the DNC see that, and that’s going to be important to them. But really, this today – this comes from a meeting we had in Washington a few weeks ago, and she said she looked forward to actually going to each location and really getting a sense, very personally, of what each location had to offer. And that’s the follow-up to – please.

Question: [Inaudible] just wondering if you’re going to be giving her a personal tour of anywhere in the city –

Mayor: I’ll be spending time with her and updating her on our effort. She, obviously, knows New York City quite well, having grown up in Long Island. But I’m going to be sitting with her and giving her an overview of the latest information and obviously answer any questions. Yes?

Question: [Inaudible] Commissioner Bratton address yesterday. How many similar cases does the city law office plan to review?

Mayor: Good question and we can get you some follow-up from the law department. Again, this is a policy decades-old – many administrations. And I understand why it happened over years, because it was a practical response to a very cynical reality of lawyers trying to scam the system – as I say bluntly – ambulance-chasing lawyers in effect, trying to take advantage of a situation where they thought they could make some money. And I think it was long overdue that we called to question and say, you know what? We’re going to go to court and we’re not going to settle. And in the case where our officers did everything right, and they were menaced – you know, where they were threatened with violence – we’re going to go to court. We have a lot of lawyers, and we’re going to add more lawyers. And we can take on anybody who wants to sue us and we believe we will win. And we believe, as we win more and more, it will stop these frivolous lawsuits. In fact, I think a lot of people won’t even try and bring them when they see us really resolute about fighting the whole distance through and not turning back. So, you know, our officers deserve to know that the vast majority of occasions, when officers are doing exactly what we have asked them to do – that we’re going to go to bat and try and knock down these frivolous lawsuits. This is a structural play – this is a strategic move we are making to try and lessen, greatly, the number of frivolous lawsuits. As I said, we’re going to be doing some other things in the next few days, in terms of legal representation for our officers, because they deserve to know that they will get the support they need. We’ll get you specific numbers to give you some sense of how widespread the problem is, but it’s something that has been going on for many years.

Question: Why are you going to court now? Why make this a priority now, instead of, you know, when you first took office?

Mayor: We had been planning for the preliminary budget – which is going to come out in a few days – to add lawyers to the law department, explicitly for this purpose. It’s been talked about and it’s something we’re going to unveil on February 8th. But this particular incident – I understand why it’s so troubling to people. It’s troubling to me too. And we thought it was important to set the record straight, here and now, that we’re not going to take this anymore. And we’re going to, right now, adjust this policy. And Commissioner Bratton and I, and Zach Carter – we’ve all talked and we are all in total agreement. We were together yesterday for other things, and we all agreed this is a direction we want to go in immediately.

Question: Your predecessor went to the Groundhog Day ceremony seven out of 12 years in office. And he even went, I think, three years after the groundhog bit him. I’m wondering if you’re going to the ceremony on Monday, if you know when you’ll – if you know if you’re going, and how you feel about that?

Mayor: Well the formal answer is, we announce, generally our schedule closer to the actual day because a lot of things are going on. The informal point is, we have a task force of emergency preparedness officials and health officials who are trying to figure out how to wrap me in platinum so that no harm would befall me or any groundhog in the vicinity of me. And that work – there’s a team of scientists working on that, as we speak. So we’ll have an update shortly on that.

Question: You’re reaction to a report that Majority Leader Dean Skelos is under investigation?

Mayor: It’s just a report. There’s no indication at this point whether that is something formal or specific. You know, look, we want to get back to work in Albany. We have a lot of issues we have to address in this legislative session and in the budget. And we know the situation in the Assembly will clarify in a matter of days. And we want to get back to the work of defending the interests of this city.

Question:  In some of the reports about the DNC, there have been concerns about the issues between the city and the police department. Could that hurt the city’s bid? And as of yesterday, Sergeant Mullins of the Sergeants Benevolent Association [inaudible]. What are you going to do to talk to DNC officials to assure them that these police-community relations are not going to be a problem if they do –

Mayor: That’s not been a concern in the discussion we’ve had with the DNC, for obvious reasons. Because the NYPD is legendary for what it’s able to do in terms of protecting big events, its capacity, its numbers, its logistical strength. There’s no comparison to anywhere in the country, with all due respect to the other cities. This is really apples and oranges. There is no city in America that has a stronger police force and one more able to handle huge international events. It’s proven every year with the U.N general assembly, with presidential visits, etcetera. So, the decision-makers in Washington obviously understand that history. And they understand different leaders have differences with unions and that doesn’t affect the day to day work of the department. I think the conversations we’ve had with union leaders in the last few weeks have been very constructive. I think we’re finding some good things that we can all do together, so I think the atmosphere is also changing in a good way. But I think, for the decision-makers in Washington, the jury came back a long time ago on the capacity of the NYPD to make this convention work and work well. I think that’s a given for them. I think, what they’re looking at, of course, is other factors – the resources, understandably, first and foremost. This is a big, complicated endeavor. They need to know the resources will be there. We believe that New York City, given its track record, has the strongest argument that the resources will be in place. We have, you know, the most hotel rooms. We believe we have all of the factors and may I say, hotel rooms at union hotels, which is very important to the DNC. So, I think when you talk to the people making decisions, they’re looking at the nuts and bolts and they feel good about what we have to offer. Okay, wait hold on.

Question: [inaudible] follow-up – have you made you Super Bowl plans, what are you doing for the Super Bowl?

Mayor: We will be hosting – this is Dante’s last Super Bowl at home. I’m having some very intense empty nest issues. So, we told Dante that he can decide what we’re doing. So, he’s inviting some of his friends from Brooklyn Tech. We will be serving a Mexican fiesta. Yes, doesn’t that sound good? Large amounts of guacamole and we will watch both teams with a particular interest in one team.

[Laughter]

Question: [inaudible] nobody has asked you if you’re concerned about job actions, [inaudible] turning their back on you. [Inaudible] the NYPD is going to have a good relationship with you.

Mayor: Jen, Jen, Jen, now I know your paper seems to believe that the Democratic National Convention might not be a good thing for New York City but the vast majority of New Yorkers believe it is a good thing. I’m just speaking to the point, there’s been a little bit of tone in your coverage. So, if you want to talk about facts, the fact is we’ve had a lot of conversations with the DNC over months and months and months. These are sophisticated people. They know from time to time that there will be differences between labor and management. They are looking at the big picture. This is the finest police force in the country that can handle any and all events, that’s what matters to them. They don’t take some momentary differences as a reason to make a decision about something that’s going to be, you know, a huge endeavor with lasting ramifications. They’re taking the long view here.

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: I think I’ve said it many different ways.

Question: [inaudible] private program where the police officers are wearing –

Mayor: The body cameras? Yes.

Question: – about a month old now –

Mayor: It’s just beginning, I mean, it’s begun on a small scale but it’s going to expand here in New York City and it’s going to expand out, you know, as we get the capacity. But remember what we said, we believe in this but we have to prove that it can work in the context of the biggest city in America. There’s a lot of logistical and legal and technological issues that have to be worked through. But we’re going to keep building that pilot out to figure out how to make it work. Back there. We’ll do two. One. Two. Go ahead.

Question: Yesterday, Commissioner Bratton announced the creation of a counter-terrorism unit. I would like to hear about – a little more information about that?

Mayor: The notion there is that our current approach involves taking officers from different precincts on a temporary basis and using them for the roving squad to go around different locations. The NYPD has done a great job with a strategy that is very agile and smart and can be adjusted quickly. And that is one of the reasons why we are safe in this city. What the commissioner wants to do is take that concept and make it a permanent feature, meaning we’re not going to borrow officers from different precincts. We’re going to have a group that’s specifically trained for that responsibility and that will do that and only that. And I think it’s a smart, smart idea. I think it’s going to improve our ability to handle any situations. Again, thank God this is preventative but, God forbid, there is an incident that has to be responded to, these officers – every single one of them will have specialized training. So, I think it’s going to be smart on that level. I also think it’s going to take away one of the challenges that precinct commanders have had of having some of their men and women pulled off for special duty. We want to try and reduce that over time, meaning give them more stability in their staffing so they can focus on community policing. And I think the commissioner is absolutely right.

Question: In regards to the Bronx Defenders, the lawyers who were involved in the anti-police ad –

Mayor: Yes.

Question:  – is there any further reaction or do you think the non-profit law firm should lose any city funding?

Mayor: It’s very simple. If you talk about the work they do, separate from this very inappropriate incident, but if you just talk about the work they’ve done for years and years – that’s important to respect and maintain because it means that people who need legal representation are getting it. If you talk about this particular action by two of the employees, it’s absolutely unacceptable. And the leadership has to speak to their errors as well and we’ve said that there will be very clear consequences. We need to see immediate changes and immediate consequences within the organization and we’ve given them, literally, days – I mean – the board of directors to come back with a plan. If we do not see a plan, we will take further action and one of those options is to defund the organization. I think it would be very unfortunate, in terms of the good work that most of the employees do, but these are some very and apples who did something absolutely horrid. You don’t ever suggest violence against a police officer, or any public official, or any person. But it’s a particularly horrible example to suggest violence against a police officer. It had nothing to do with their work to be making a video to begin with. They were supposed to be providing legal representation to people. It’s wrong in every way and the leadership of that organization must answer and answer quickly and satisfy our demands, or we have every option on the table, including taking away funding. Thank you everyone.