Transcript: Mayor Adams, DA Bragg Announce new Community Coalition to Enhance Quality of Life, Improve Safety Near Washington Square Park

March 6, 2025

Deputy Mayor Camille Joseph Varlack, Administration: Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us here today. My name is Camille Joseph-Varlack, and I serve as Chief of Staff and deputy mayor for Administration. Our Community Link Initiative is just one of the ways this administration is tackling chronic quality of life issues in this city. 
We're leading with comprehensive, collaborative, and community-focused solutions to ensure that no neighborhood is overlooked or underserved. To tell you more about that work, I'm pleased to introduce Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much. You may not realize this was my precinct. I was the executive officer here, and in policing, it still looks the same. Thank you, Camille. Important precinct, and to our electors that cover this area, this is a community that is really concerned about quality of life issues. 

I remember getting those calls all the time during the late hours, and so, Deputy Mayor Joseph-Varlack, thank you, and to all our partners that are here in general, but specifically the district attorney, who really understands how important quality of life issues lead into long-term problems when they're not addressed on the local, and to our local electors, we want to thank you as well. I know I saw Councilman Rivera, and whomever else is part of this team, we want to thank you. 

Now, I was in Washington yesterday, and Boston kept saying they're the safest major city in America. That  must have been a [inaudible] because I kept reminding them we're the safest big city in America, and people need to be reminded constantly, and even when they talked about some of their great champion numbers, I said, don't forget the Yankees. New York City continues to win over and over again, but it all comes down to quality of life, no matter what the numbers say and what they are, how people feel as they walk the streets, how they feel about trash, how do they feel about just disorder, open use of drugs, how they feel about what is happening on their blocks. This is what we hear all the time. 

We could talk about the unprecedented decreases in shootings and homicides and other seven major crime categories, but if you don't feel safe, you're not safe, and perception is reality, and we know that. And public order is crucial to safe streets and clean parks and clean neighborhoods. 

And our team under Deputy Mayor Chauncey Parker, deputy mayor of Public Safety, his whole concept of community link program has already made transformative changes in many of our communities, the improvement in our neighborhoods around New York City. 

Today, we are proud to be here in the West Village to launch our Village Interagency Task Force, a new community link hub that will bring together law enforcement, elected officials, and community business leaders to effectively address public safety and quality of life issues in Greenwich Village and the surrounding area.  

Last year, the city began to address the persistent public drug use, homelessness, and quality of life concerns in response to community complaints in Washington Square Park. I remember we came out to the walk-through in the park, and it was not the imagination of community residents. It was for real. The drug use was there, people were using the park for their public toilet facilities and other problems that were really evident. And we saw the need to expand to the surrounding area, including to the West 4th Street subway station. 

With oversight and coordination from our Office of the Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and partner with the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, 13 city agencies and other stakeholders came together, and the task force will address issues, including substance abuse, retail theft, homelessness, illegal vending, and more. And it will connect New Yorkers in need with the services and support they deserve, because just telling people to move on or to walk on without giving them the services they need you're really putting a Band-Aid on the problem, and that is not what we want to do. 

And over the last 19 months, Community Link has responded to over 1,200 complaints and conducted over 1,200 operations to address quality of life concerns raised by the communities they serve. And so I want to thank everyone who's making this program successful. We saw in the Bronx, up in the Hub, what we did there. 

Community Link Programs has already made a transformative improvement, and today we are proud to be here in Washington Square Park to launch our Village Interagency Task Force and a new Community Link Hub that will bring together law enforcement and elected officials and other community organizations and groups. 

So important, on the ground, hearing from the community, and responding accordingly with real partnership, dismantling the walls that have prevented us from dealing with some of the chronic quality of life issues that we faced in the past. Thank you very much, everyone that's engaged and involved.

Deputy Mayor Joseph Varlack: Thank you, mayor. And now I'd like to turn it over to our partner in this work, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg: Thank you so much, deputy mayor, and thank you, mayor, and you mentioned Deputy Mayor Chauncey Parker. I want to thank him as well, and all the agencies that are involved. This is interdisciplinary work. This is government working together across silos, and so I thank the leadership for making this happen. And it's our partners, NYU, our two great council members, Bottcherand Rivera, Community Board 2, Washington Square Park Conservancy, and most importantly, because we've been involved in these throughout the borough, they do not work, government is key, and I'm so thankful to the government partners, but they do not work without the local leadership. 

So our co-chairs, Brian Maloney, President of the Village Neighborhood Action Group, Scott Hobbs, the Executive Director of the Village Alliance, and Vanessa Warren, President of the Washington Place Block Association. We have been, I personally have been proud to be involved in this from the ground floor. I remember first meeting and sitting down and hearing about all the problems that needed to be addressed, and then being part of sort of developing this plan, and we've seen it work in other parts of the borough. It is so critical, as the mayor said, to public safety and to the stability of all of our neighborhoods. 

When we think about Washington Square Park, you know, I've been on this beautiful island for 51 years, you think about the vibrancy of that area, artists, students, local businesses all coming together, and then you see the real challenges there today, and it's heartbreaking. But this is the recipe. This is the recipe. I tell folks, you know, we have a very good tool bag between government and our civic associations, and this is figuring out which tool to pull out of the tool bag for the right situation, and we've been doing it, and this is the recipe to move forward. So I'm just so grateful to be a part of it. 

We will continue to be a partner every step of the way. And with that, speaking of steps, I'm going to apologize. I have to step away because we have something at the courthouse I need to get back for, but I wanted to be here because this is so essential, one of the crown jewel neighborhoods of Manhattan, and I think this really, really is a path forward. So thanks to all to making this happen, and thanks so much to our co-chairs as well. Thank you. 

Deputy Mayor Joseph Varlack: And as I think has been said by both the mayor and DA Bragg, and thank you, DA Bragg, for stopping in, we don't do this work alone, right? We do it in partnership with communities that care, and so now we will hear from community leader and co-chair of the Village Interagency Task Force, Brian Maloney. 

Brian Maloney, Co-Chair, Village Interagency Task Force: I go old school with paper. On behalf of our two co-chairs, Vanessa and Scott, I want to extend our gratitude to Mayor Adams and District Attorney Bragg and your teams for your leadership in addressing these quality of life and safety issues we've been experiencing for more than 5 years. Simply put, village residents and businesses are fed up, and we spoke up. And our NYPD 6 precinct, with Deputy Inspector Zeikel and community council leadership, has led the charge, and you have listened, and we're grateful. 

We also thank our elected officials and those tireless representatives of theirs who have been working with us daily to find solutions to this surreal mess that we're in. It's abundantly clear our current laws do not fully address both the spiraling decline of those in crisis with local businesses and residents who are experiencing the trouble effects of actions gone untethered. 

Mayor Adams, as you recently said, no more justifying the unjustifiable. We agree wholeheartedly. We are in all of our city agencies and community partners. Thank you for listening. Thank you for showing up and mindfully addressing our deep concerns about the crisis in our area. The Village Interagency Task Force, as you've heard, has a very clear focus, drastically reduce the rampant and blatant drug dealing and drug use on our streets, continue to provide those critical services for mentally ill and unhoused, and focus especially on those who clearly cannot provide for themselves, and to build in clear and measurable results with accountability. 

We are also aggressively addressing simple infrastructure upgrades in and around Washington Square Park and the West 4th Street subway station to help make us feel more safe, secure, and confident that the city truly has our backs, too. And a special thank you to Commissioner Tisch for a very strong focus on the daily issues we are facing. Your recent quality of life division announcement is a welcomed initiative. 

While we know index crime statistics have declined, we also know 311 and 911 calls are skyrocketing. Petty larcenies and assaults are significantly on the rise. And while drug arrests are up nearly 100 percent  in our area versus 2019, our community simply doesn't feel safe anymore. Commissioner Tisch, we also appreciate your efforts to build an even stronger and robust NYPD. The village community is asking that you help right-size the 6th precinct, as this is also a very urgent request from our neighborhood leaders. The task force gives us real hope that together we can preserve the character and vitality of the community we love and all of those who live in it. We have difficult and challenging work to do, but we're confident we'll get there and create a powerful and sustainable program for years to come. Thanks so much. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: I think it is so important what you acknowledge the different components that is needed to address quality of life issues. These men and women who are police officers, they're doing their job. The criminal justice system has many levels, you know, our judges, our lawmakers, our police officers, all three levels must work in coordination. Our officers cannot go out and overstep their boundaries. Someone is dealing with mental health issues, we're fighting to make sure we can do involuntary removal when they need to remove up the streets. If we don't have that authority, then we can't do our job. People who are chronically participating in shoplifting, you can't have 575 people arrested for shoplifting, arrested 7,600 times in the city and the revolving door system. We're not getting the help that we need. If we don't get the help we need from our lawmakers. 

NYPD is one portion of the criminal justice apparatus. Our numbers are up in arrests and apprehension, our numbers are up in summons enforcement, our numbers are up in doing our job. Everyone must be part of this. The days of the NYPD alone being charged with making sure quality of life and public safety is done, those days should be over. Everyone must participate in safety in our city. 

Question: Hi, mayor. You mentioned the coordination between those 3 levels. Are you seeing a lack of that that you think leads to the creation of a task force like this?

Mayor Adams: That's why this task force is important. We dismantled the walls in our agencies to deal with every aspect of quality of life. But yes, we need stronger laws in Albany to deal with the revolving door recidivism issue that we're facing. I said this over and over again. The commissioner said it over and over again. You have a small number of people that are committing repeated crimes over and over again. And so, we know the police. We look at their uniform. 

But how many judges are letting people out repeatedly for participating in the same crimes over and over again? What do our laws look like? How much do the laws we do in Albany, how much do they impact on the ground? When we're seeing quality of life issues, we have to ask ourselves, what are the laws coming out of our legislative bodies, including the City Council, including our state lawmakers? 

Everyone wants safety, but we have to all understand what are the components to getting that safety. We're going to do our job, but the other components of the criminal justice system, they must do their job as well. 

Question: The laws that you're criticizing are now five years old. I'm wondering if the executive and judicial branches have, and why the executive and judicial branches are not doing their job.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, well, there's a number of things that we're looking at. You know, Raise the Age. No one can argue that the victims are getting younger and the perpetrators are getting younger. We need to do an analysis. Discovery, that's back on the agenda up in Albany. They're now talking about discovery and see what needs to be done around discovery. And then we have to have a real conversation about how do we deal with the recidivism issue. We have a recidivism issue.

Oh, let me finish. Let me finish. Let me—you're going to let me finish my comment? So yes, they're five years old, but the wheels of justice grind slow and exceedingly fine. I don't control the legislative bodies. I control the agencies, including NYPD. We're going to do our job. If you do an analysis of our numbers, our arrests are up. You look at our summons enforcements are up, our participation engagements are up. 

Every area that's within our control, the numbers have increased, and you're seeing a substantial decrease in crime in our city. The last 3 months,  historic levels, shootings, homicides, we're reaching appropriate levels. We're reaching our transit system appropriate levels. We're doing our enforcement job. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Finish what you were saying.

Question: I did. It's all good.

Mayor Adams: It's all good. All good. Okay. If no more on topic, we're going to excuse everyone that's here. So let me answer a few off topics that some of you may have. Thanks, everybody, for coming out. We'll do a couple of off topics. A lot has been happening, and I want to make sure I don't wait until next week to address a lot that's happening. 

What's up, N.J.? Good to see you. 

Question: Thank you. So, mayor, I want to ask you this question, and, you know, I'm asking you respectfully, of course, but, you know, you got beaten up on Capitol Hill yesterday by members of your own party. Cuomo is leading you by a large margin in the polls. Your own approval rating is 20 percent right now. I think a lot of people are asking the question, why is Eric Adams running for re-election? And what are you going to do to turn it around?

Mayor Adams: And think about that for a moment. Look at… N.J., and you've been answering these questions. Look at what I have gone through. And to still be in the game, to still be in the game, after all that I've gone through, to still have been able to pass City of Yes, to still decrease crime, to still break records in the number of jobs in the city eight times, to still get wins up in Albany, in spite of all that I've gone through personally, I've been able to move forward the agenda of this city. 

And so, the only game you are guaranteed to lose is the game you forfeit by getting out of the game. I'm not, listen, I'm not a quitter. I'm a New Yorker. We never surrender, never give up. 

This game is so far from over, N.J. This is so far from over. Trust me when I tell you. More people are going to be getting in. More people are going to be dropping out. There are going to be so many twists and turns. This is so far from over. There are many layers to this. And you're going to see how well I'm able to get out and sell my product to the people of this city. And there's going to be so many shifts and changes that you're going to see why I am the mayor. 

Because I know how to campaign. I know how to get information out to people. I know how to overcome hurdles. I know it so well. The worst thing I can do is surrender to a lie. And I will never do that. I'll never do that. And so, I will see people at the end of the race and see who gets over the finish line. I know Eric. And New Yorkers know Eric. And we're going to show it. Mariela. How are you?

Question: I'm well. Thank you for allowing me to ask this question about sanctuary cities. You testified yesterday that you have no control over who comes here, who stays here, but your job is to make sure everybody lives in an environment that's safe and have access to services regardless of their status. 

Mayor Adams: Yes.

Question: Do you think that message was heard in that committee? And also the fact that, you know, what MJ said, that you had more support from Republicans than Democrats?

Mayor Adams: Well, think about it. I have more support from New Yorkers on this issue. 80 percent of New Yorkers agree with me. 80 percent. That matters. 

And so, when I have a Los Angeles lawmaker questioning me. You don't vote in New York, we don't care about what you think. You know, when I have someone that fails a geography lesson telling me what I should do in Long Island, you don't live in New York. I'm concerned about New Yorkers.

80 percent of New Yorkers support my position that people who commit violent crimes, after they serve their time, they should be removed from our city and country. That's what New Yorkers are. So, all those who are running around trying to get soundbites so they can put it on their social media platform and page to talk about what they want to do and how they feel about me, I could care less.

I care about New Yorkers. These New Yorkers who were here, I was talking about quality of life issues. I'm engaged with New Yorkers. And so, those who were there that were not—some were not even part of the committee. 

You need to understand that, that they just wanted to come there for their moment in the sun. They were excited that Eric was in Washington, and they wanted an opportunity to question me. So, if they needed that for their own therapeutic reasons, great. Great. But I'm back here on the ground. I'm back here in the Big Apple doing what I do best, running the greatest city on the globe.

Mayor Adams: How are you?

Question: City Council Speaker Adrianne Adams is in the race now, your response to that?  

Mayor Adams: Come one, come all. You know, how many people were in the shadows for so long? They were running shadow campaigns. They were not being scrutinized. They were not being questioned. You didn't know what their positions were. I said last week, last week—this week, you know, good Lord, things move so quickly. I said this week that, look at everyone's agenda. Everyone is running my agenda now. 

Now everyone is trying to shift and know that my winning solution of turning around the city from COVID to crime to jobs to economy, everyone is now sounding like Eric Adams. 

You know, those who were calling for defunding the police are now talking about stronger police. Those who were talking about laws that allowed the revolving door system to exist in our city are now talking about stronger laws.

Everyone is now catching up to what I said. And that is why I know when a campaign starts and I start exposing people on where they were and where they're trying to get to now, New York is going to realize that this is a consistent blue-collar mayor that hasn't changed. You look at what I was saying about immigration, about law enforcement, around crime, around all these things. Go look at what I've been saying at 2019. It's the same thing I'm saying right now. Now look at what they were saying, and you're going to see all of a sudden they have been converted to the Eric-ites. Thank you.

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