Transcript: Mayor Adams Holds In-Person Media Availability

March 24, 2025

Watch the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ztU_SSRFB0

Mayor Eric Adams: How are you? Good to see all of you today. [I’m] continuing to make this city a great place to raise a family, and just want to [say] good morning, and that's what our administration is going to continue to do. I really want to push folks to our website and look at our wins list. Somebody told me the other day, when they looked at some of our win lists and some of our successes, that they don't hear much about, and they were blown away to see how much we've accomplished in three years. And last week, we celebrated Mental Health Week, where we focus on many ways our administration is helping New Yorkers gain access to mental health care. 

A real issue, we saw at the town hall meeting, people talked about mental health. And it seemed like after COVID, it's just been something that has really been focused on a lot, and we want to continue to do so. And we announced last week our 16th school-based mental health clinic that's bringing mental health services to more than 6,000 students in the public school system. And also, we supported our veterans by reaching an important milestone, contacting more than 10,000 veterans since the start of our administration and offering them mental health services. Commissioner Hendon is amazing. He brings a lot of energy to the game. 

We reached another key milestone in our mission to improve subway safety as well. We were down in the system [last week] with transit employees, Chief Gulotta, and outreach workers. Part of our PATH program, and we've now engaged in more than 11,000 unhoused New Yorkers and delivered vital services to them, including shelter, meals, and medical care, over 3,000 times. In addition to PATH, our subway safety plan has already connected 8,400 New Yorkers to shelter with over 860 people placed in permanent affordable housing. 

Anyone who's down in the system or engaged with those who are dealing with severe mental health issues know how challenging it is to get someone into care, particularly if they are not aware that they need care. And another key public safety milestone we achieved was connecting more than 1,000 medically vulnerable New Yorkers leaving Rikers with smartphones to continue to follow up on their mental and physical health. Really not leaving people disconnected, and those phones go a long way. 

And finally, affordability. Housing, housing, housing. We're seeing how our housing plan is continuing to grow. [Creating] housing is essential. When you look at a 1.4 percent vacancy rate, [it] says a lot. Too many New Yorkers are walking around with vouchers or walking around with the desire to rent or desire to even buy homes, start out homes. And it's just not there. We have to build more. We have the inventory problem. And last week, we took significant steps forward on historic projects that would deliver 1,000 of homes to New Yorkers. And we're seeing that the Brooklyn Project City Planning Commission voted in favor of the Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan. This is a huge, huge project, 21 block stretch, looking at 4,600 new homes, 2,800 permanent jobs. 

And it's just an exciting project right in Brooklyn, near transportation in Brooklyn on Atlantic Avenue. Some great, exciting things that could happen on this project. This mixed use plan is now moving to the City Council for a public hearing and vote. And we're excited to work with them to get this project over the line. And we also did some stuff in Queens. 

We announced a public review of Jamaica Neighborhood Plan, my old neighborhood, which would create nearly 12,000 new homes, 7,000 new jobs, and invest $300 million in infrastructure improvements, such as sewer and more resilient streets and new public spaces. And this announcement is two years in the making and following extensive community discussions. Because we wanted feedback from the community. And it shows that when you engage the community, you can get the results that you're looking for. 

So all five boroughs, as our City of Yes plan laid out, all five boroughs will be involved in how we build more housing for the people of this city. 

Question: Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: How are you?

Question: So you know, it's almost time for petitioning for people running as Democrats to be over. So my question to you is multifaceted. One, are you collecting petitions to run as a Democrat, or are you thinking of running as an Independent, which gives you more time to collect signatures?

Mayor Adams: I'm going to be running as a Democrat. I say this over and over again. And we will map out our plan when time is fitting. But I'm running as a Democrat.

Question: But the thing is, have you collected petitions?

Mayor Adams: Yes, we have petitions on the streets. But I'm running as a Democrat. And we have petitions on the street. How are you?

Question: Good.

Mayor Adams: How are you doing? 

Question: Last week, your campaign submitted pretty bad fundraising numbers, many of them defected, many of your former donors are now contributing to Cuomo's campaign. And you've been repeatedly denied matching funds. What's your plan moving forward financially for your campaign?

Mayor Adams: Well, okay, one, people contribute to more than one candidate in the race. You know, this is ranked choice voting. You get five. So I'm surprised people are not donating to five candidates, because you get five picks. But I have been extremely clear. People are catching up to me. I outpaced everyone. And we're going to continue to fight to get our matching funds. But we know how to do this. You know, we look. 

No one that's running for mayor has ever won mayor but me. And I ran against nine people before. This is not new. Never count New York out, and never count Eric out. That's the rule of the day. And so we are good to go. We know what we're doing. But I can't get into this whole political stuff, because Fabien is going to have a fit. I want to say more. We need to lock Fabien out of the room so I can really engage with you guys more, you know? 

Question: My second question is, do you foresee any issues with Randy Mastro's first deputy mayor in working with the Council?

Mayor Adams: You know, no matter. Even Randy's critics would tell you he's one of the best lawyers in the country. Listen, the guy is great. He's authentic. I was hanging out with him yesterday at Gracie. And we did an interview on your show, matter of fact, Marcia. And he's just, if you know, when you are in a battle, even if you don't like someone, you go get them if they are the best. 

And so all those who criticize Randy, if they were having problems, I don't care if it's LGBTQ rights, I don't care if it's rights for those 9/11 victims, people call Randy. He has a good track record. Listen, Randy, we should be really proud to have him on our team. And some extremely progressive left-leaning City Councilman far left called him to congratulate him and say, we look forward to working with you. 

We're fortunate to have a lawyer of this caliber that's on a team. I say this over and over. We have a deep bench, not only in government, in the city. People want to work for this administration. And they continue to sign up. And he was excited to come on board. And we're excited to have him.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: How are you, sir? 

Question: Good, good. I have a question about Columbia and the NYPD. I don't know if you've been following the now former student who fled New York City because HSI was trying to take her into custody and deport her. Her name is Ranjani Srinivasan. So DHS explicitly said in their statement that partially, well, the reason why they targeted her was because of two summonses that she received by the NYPD on April 30th during the height of the protests at the school. 

Those summonses were dismissed within weeks after they were issued. She never had to appear in court. She was never fingerprinted. She was released. Summonses issued weeks later were dismissed. Somehow, those summonses and that information got into the hands of the DHS. And so I'm just wondering how that could have happened. Is the NYPD sharing any of that information with HSI, with DHS? Has the city shared any of that information with Columbia University? This woman was a Fulbright scholar, Harvard grad, was not in the public eye at all, was not even in New York City during the height of the Columbia protests. She was out of the country. And all of a sudden, because of these summonses that were dismissed, apparently she somehow winds up on the radar of DHS.

Mayor Adams: Yeah. Okay, we have been extremely clear, and I'll say it over and over again. New York City Police Department, they do not collaborate for civil enforcement. And I don't know the details of this. We could look into it and find out. But we do not collaborate for civil enforcement. And how that summons information got out, that's something that you have to speak with the federal government about. We do not collaborate with civil enforcement. And we're very clear on that.

Question: This was at HSI. They went and got a warrant from a judge at SDNY to try and arrest her. They went to her. She had fled. So could you argue that that was a criminal enforcement and not a, I mean, she was not brought up in any criminal charges by HSI. And it wasn't ICE officers, it was specifically HSI.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, yeah.

Question: And it's just very perplexing because there's nothing else in the record about her. And Secretary Nuland was very hard on her, called her a terrorist sympathizer, a Hamas supporter. And there's no evidence of that. The only thing that they have are these two summonses that somehow DHS found out about.

Mayor Adams: Well, I don't know the extent of the evidence. They would have to tell you the extent of the evidence. And that's with HSI. But listen, I commend the secretary on her desire to deal with anyone that committed a crime. And I've said that over and over again. And I'm looking to collaborate with all of our law enforcement agencies, HSI. And something that many of us have failed to acknowledge, ICE is not a criminal organization. ICE is a law enforcement organization. 

Some folks may not like ICE and what they do, [HSI], that's a law enforcement organization. I'm going to collaborate with every law enforcement organization that's dealing with criminal behavior. The law doesn't allow us to deal with civil enforcement. And so, whatever evidence HSI has, I don't speak for HSI.

Question: Just so I can follow up, has the NYPD provided—do you know, has the NYPD provided any summons information from April 30th to any government agencies, Congress, Columbia University? I mean, you may not know this off the top of your head.

Mayor Adams: Right.

Question: But it seems to be an issue because somehow, again, this information got out there.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, it's not an issue to me. We're not—we don't— No, here's what I'm okay with, because I don't want to be misquoted, because sometimes that happens. I'm okay with us following the law. 

We don't collaborate with any agency when it comes down to—we don't collaborate with ICE, I should say, when it comes down to civil enforcement. And I say [this] over and over again. So, we'll look into what you're sharing now, but we don't— we've made that clear over and over. 

Question: So, the City Council did a review of the data that you released on your involuntary removal policy, and they found that there were inconsistencies. Basically, they said most of these involuntary removals occurred in people's homes, not in public spaces. They also found that it was disproportionately targeting Black New Yorkers. Those are the two main ones I can think of. But, you know, I just wanted to get your response to that, you know, considering this policy has been such a central part of your mental health agenda.

Mayor Adams: I'm not quite understanding. Their complaint is, you know, of what? That—

Question: Well, they're saying it's not actually effective in— oh, the other point was that New Yorkers who are getting hospitalized are not actually getting connected to long-term care.

Mayor Adams: What did they say? So, what are they— their suggestion is don't do involuntary removal? I'm lost on what [their] suggestions are.

Question: Their suggestion would be focusing on funding mental health programs that they're making cuts to in the past.

Mayor Adams: Okay, okay, okay. I disagree with them. Okay, I disagree with them. You know, we have been very clear on involuntary removal, and the numbers are clear. The report stated that New Yorkers make up 23 percent of the population, but 46 percent of involuntary removals are Black New Yorkers. 

We are not going to say, hey, this person needs to be involuntarily removed, but hold on, they're Black, so we're not going to do it, they're Hispanic, we're not going to do it. they're white, we're not going to do it. That's not the way this game is done. If you want to play that analysis, look at the ethnicity of those who are being majorly impacted. 

Look at the homeless population and ethnic breakdown of that. You ride your subway system, look and see who's homeless. Look at the ethnic demographics of who's homeless. Look at the ethnic demographics of those who are charged with some of these crimes of pushing people on the subway system, slashing, et cetera. 

We're going to go where the issue is, and we're not going to play race politics. Where the services are, we're going to go to. And those who are part of this analysis, they need to move out of the sterilizing environment of the City Council Chamber, and they need to go and do what we do, go on the subway system, look at the population in need. We're going to respond to that need.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor. How are you?

Mayor Adams: Quite well. How are you doing?

Question: Good. You brought up Randy Mastro's lawyer background, how long he's been. You gave him his first task as Rikers Island, to close Rikers Island. You gave him that. But why not give him something like pushing back against the Trump administration and their policies to try to get back some federal funds when it comes to the city policies? Why not task him with that as a major thing, especially because we're going into the budget season right now for the city?

Mayor Adams: No, you said I gave him Rikers? Where did you get that from?

Question: From your interview with Marcia. You said that one of his first tasks is going to be focusing on Rikers Island and how to close it in time for the legal deadline.

Mayor Adams: And that's why I asked you. You said one of his tasks, not that's his only task. He's the first deputy mayor. The entire portfolio from analyzing what is happening on a federal level to analyzing what we're doing around public space to analyzing Rikers, that finally, everyone seems to agree with me that 2027 is not a realistic time to close it and that we need to deal with the mental health crises. And so that's the role of a first deputy mayor. 

One of his roles would be [to do] that in partnership with my chief of staff and my entire team. And so we're not going to zero in on just why can't he do this one aspect of it. This is a city where you better know how to chew gum and walk at the same time. And I think Randy can do that. So that's one of his aspects.

Question: And then a follow-up question about your campaign. You said you're not worried. Everybody's catching up to you. You haven't really been on the campaign trail. I know you've said you're going to get out soon. Is there any worry that you're going to get out too late, that there won't be, by the time you do get out there and officially join the trail, that there won't be anybody left to endorse you or anybody left to support you?

Mayor Adams: Tell me, I'm curious about this. Give me your definition of campaigning. Going to houses of worship? I do that. Going to town hall meetings? I do that. Going into the streets and shake hands with people? I do that. Kiss babies? I do that. What is a definition that you think I'm not doing that a candidate would do?

Question: You're not going to the mayoral forums. You're not speaking out necessarily on all the issues when it comes to what New Yorkers want and particularly criticism or policies that are coming out of the Trump administration. I mean, you're not in those places. You said that you have petitions out, but I personally haven't seen anybody. I've spoken to people. They said they've seen here and there. So I'm just wondering, you know, based on how you campaigned in 2021 and how you're campaigning this time around, it's not the same.

Mayor Adams: Okay, so first of all, I disagree. And I can't get into a full analysis of that. And I'm sure you saw the petitions of everyone that's running for office. I'm sure you saw them. You know, and if you did, you're probably the unique New Yorker because no one else has done [it]. When you petition, you go to voters that you know are registered and you knock on doors. Those are quality petitions. That's when you have a qualitative petition process. And I know what I'm doing. That's all I can say to you. 

Running for office to get a seat is different from being an incumbent. I know what I'm doing. And I must thank you and everyone else here. I thank you for being so concerned that I'm re-elected. You know, I thank your concern that Eric is gonna be all right. It really warms my heart that all of you are so concerned. 

You know, I'm making your city safe. You know, I'm bringing back tourism. You know, I'm educating your children. You have shown me such a level of warmth that Eric, we're concerned. We want you back. And I know I'm making a lot of your careers. You're getting a lot of clicks from me. I know the rest of those guys are so boring that all of a sudden you're gonna go into the shadows. You know, you are doing so well and I know you want me back. I know it. I'll be back. Don't worry about it. I'm not going anywhere. You're gonna all write books, you're gonna all do documentaries, you're gonna all continue to get the clicks you want. Every time you tweet my name, people click right away, every time you want to do a 30 page exposé  with a rat running across my face, people are gonna get excited. So it's okay, folks. I'm coming back. 

Question: I wanted to ask you about a fire that happened in the Bronx a couple weeks ago on Jerome Avenue. There were a lot of businesses that were destroyed, actually. I've been talking with some of the people there. One of the business owners told me that basically the city is not offering any kind of financial assistance at the small business services offices, giving them resources. 

But as far as actual financial help for these businesses, they haven't been offered anything. And this was an area that was looted a lot in 2020. And she said she got a check for $10,000 from the city. I don't know, I mean, maybe there are details here that I'm not aware of, but what can the city do financially for these people?

Mayor Adams: We're going to send SBS up there and find out, doing a needs assessment and see how we could help. You know, there are some limitations on what we can do. We've done some major things around small businesses, because that's important. We have one of the largest numbers of small businesses in the history of this city because of the support that we have put in place. And we're going to go up to that area and do an analysis and see what we can do to assist them.

Question: Would there be a situation where you could write a check for some of these businesses?

Mayor Adams: Listen, I would love to write a check for a whole lot of things. We got to do an assessment and see what resources are available. And Commissioner Gross has been excellent in doing that. And we're going to get a team up there and see how we could help.

Question: So last week you had made comments to Jewish leaders that there is an antisemitic candidate in the mayoral race. Who are you referring to and why do you believe they're an anti-Semite? 

And then secondly, yesterday, I know you’re not on the campaign trail yet, but a lot of the candidates for mayor stood together, even Republican [inaudible] stood with the Democratic potential nominees. And they called out former Governor Cuomo for his handling of the nursing homes. Do you believe that Governor Cuomo handled the nursing homes properly during the pandemic?

Mayor Adams: Okay, so first we need to get– we need to be clear on the record. You keep saying “you're not on the campaign trail.” Like, where y'all get this definition from? Is there a Webster definition of what being on the campaign trail is? 

I was in the church yesterday talking to voters. I'm out in the streets all the time talking to voters. And so I'm going to continue. I know what I'm doing. I ran for Senate and won. I ran for borough president and won. I ran for mayor and won. I know what I'm doing. And so let's get off the conversation before Fabien goes crazy. 

I'm on the trail. I know how to campaign. And I know how to also run the city. I still got to run the city. A lot of those other folks who are running, they don't have day jobs. And when you look at how Governor Cuomo is running, former Governor Cuomo is running, he's in this bubble. You can't even get near him. He's not doing this. You can't even get near him. He controls walking in. He controls walking out. He's not answering questions from you. And is he on, does that make him on the campaign trail? Is he on the campaign trail?

Question: I mean, when was the last time you did a campaign event that wasn't involved with the city? I know you're using the [inaudible]. You're the mayor. You're obviously incumbent. But when is the last time you did an actual campaign?

Mayor Adams: Every day that I'm in the street, I'm the incumbent, folks. I mean, why aren't we understanding that? When you're an incumbent, you want to reserve your resources. You want to stay focused on your job. Because my victory is going to be showing my record of how I brought this city back. That's a whole different scenario. 

I didn't have a record to run under. I have a record to run under. Those other guys don't have a record to run under. I have a solid record of housing, public safety, and affordability. And so we're going to stay focused on that. And again, I'm like bursting with excitement. Do you guys miss me out there? Like, what's the story? Do y'all miss me out there? 

But listen, let's hold everybody to the same standard. How come you guys are not critiquing the fact that a governor who's supposed to be the front runner in this race is having this controlled environment? 

[Crosstalk.]

Mayor Adams: Okay, well, you know I don't read the papers. No, but listen, we know what we're doing. This is strategic and we need to be focused on that. Look at the other candidates, you know. How they run their race is up to them. I have a good, solid, strategic team who got me here and we know what we're doing. You have to reserve your strength and the excitement is going to happen. 

This is going to have so many twists and turns. I keep telling y'all, it's going to be so many twists and turns to this race that I think this is going to be one of the most exciting races we had in the history of this city, you know? 

[Crosstalk.]

I think, look at the comments and actions. I think that after October 7th, to see people who are lined up with the Democratic Socialist Party and what they did after the election. I think those who line up with people who celebrate Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization. They should be destroyed, you know? People are not calling for the release of hostages. 

People who protest outside the leaders of Jewish leaders' houses. Some of this just nasty and mean action that you're seeing from some of these candidates. One in particular that I wanted to highlight, but many of them have not dealt with this anti-Semitism in the city. And so, just look at their comments and I'm not trying to name them to give them any more notoriety than they deserve, but we will be pushing back on anti-Semitism and hate and other actions we see in the city. 

We're gonna, you know, I'll be clear that this is not a city for anti-Sikhism, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-Semitism. I'm going to be clear on that and everyone should be clear on that.

Question: And do you believe that, everyone was speaking out yesterday about the mayoral candidates, about Governor Cuomo handling the nursing homes. Do you agree with these other candidates that he handled this properly or improperly?

Mayor Adams: Yeah, and I'm doing an analysis of all of those candidates to see who was around at the time. I was here at the time and many of those candidates were home, sheltering in place. I was in the streets. I was in the streets dealing with COVID with real people, nurses and doctors. I was giving out masks at NYCHA. 

All of these other candidates, they were home. They were home while New Yorkers were suffering. And he incorrectly handled the nursing home issues, I think those family members are right and I met with them and I'm going to be communicating with them further. 

But also, if you go back, do an analysis back then, there was racial disparity in how he dealt with even vaccines. You know, Black and brown communities were not being fairly vaccinated. We were not giving out face masks to NYCHA residents. Many of our nurses in hospitals did not have PPEs as they were deserved. I remember going to some of the hospitals. They had garbage bags on and they were using PPEs, the face masks for weeks. 

And then many people missed, you talk about Elmhurst Hospital, it was because of defunding and destabilizing those hospitals that when they became ground zero, they were not prepared. And so we need to do a real analysis. And so when I look at, you know, some of my Black and brown endorses of the former governor, they need to go look at what I was saying back then of how COVID was unfairly treating and the response was unfair to the diverse Black and brown communities. The impact was real and we need to analyze that. All of this needs to be part of the conversation as we talk about what we're going to do in the future. 

Someone said, well, he's a great manager. Well, he darn sure didn’t manage that crisis well, like I managed COVID. And like I managed 230,000 migrants and asylum seekers. And like I was able to get the bond raters to say no matter what fiscal crisis you were facing, you recovered us. And like I brought more jobs in the city and the city's history, and like I took 22,000 guns off our streets and brought down homicides and shootings. That's what I call a good manager. How was that, Marcia? 

Question: Two quick questions for you. You mentioned that Randy's gonna be working on more than just the records issue. Can you tell us any other prominent issue you two have discussed, like some new proposal or something new he wants to do now that he's coming in? 

And secondly, your city contracts director resigned last week. I was wondering if you had any insight into why she left, maybe aside from her resignation letter, did you discuss anything that you could share with us?

Mayor Adams: First, Randy, and yesterday we went over, we spent a little over an hour yesterday at Gracie Mansion. And this guy is just, you know, he's excited. He says, Eric, you guys did so much in three years. You know, we need to have that rolling screen of all that we've done in three years. 

When you take away migrants and asylum seekers and this bogus federal case, and just say, wait a minute, let's just analyze this guy just based on the facts, not the stuff that overshadowed it. You have to sit back and say, darn, this guy took us from where we were to where we are now. And so he said, what you guys have done in three years, now at a minimum, we have another nine months, at a minimum, that we're gonna move things forward. 

And he's gonna map out some of the things that he wants to do. He came in with a real plan of what he wants to do in the next couple of months. And we got a lot of stuff we're going to get done in the next couple of months. And so I don't wanna take his thunder. Let him come in and trust me, he's not shy. So Randy is experienced. 

He was a first deputy mayor before. You coming in with a seasoned player, and I'm looking forward to the partnership that we're gonna do with Camille, who I think history is going to be kind to Camille, and what she was able to, just a steady hand at the wheel. Camille, I don't know if your mother's watching this. You did a great job with your daughter. She is a great leader, and the city should be happy to have both of them. 

Dealing with, the second part was?

Question: It was about the city contracts director leaving.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, Lisa wanted to bounce. I don't understand this. She was with the comptroller first, right? I think Lisa. Yeah, I think we got her from the comptroller's office. We were excited to get her. She really put it in place, the mayor's office of contracts. She did a great job. She gave us a five-week notice. She said, I want a smooth transition. I want to do something else. 

Being on the front line is challenging. And listen, I don't know if you guys realize it. It's hard working for me. I'm a mayor on steroids. Nobody likes getting these 2 a.m. calls. Why is this highway dirty? Poor DJ, man. I don't know how you run with me this long. So after a year with me is eight years with another mayor. 

So she served us well. She brought real energy. She streamlined and made sure that we moved these contracts forward. And I cannot thank Lisa enough. Her working with others, improving M/WBEs, making sure contracts was fair. And it's just people, it's time for people to move on. It's not–, everybody that leaves is not a scandal. Some people just said, listen, I want to spend time with my family now. I've had enough of a city government. 

And it's not like they pick up the paper and you guys are writing how great Lisa is. You know what I'm saying? Like y'all do a piece, you know, it's all right to beat up on me. But some of the stuff which I saw y'all did on Fabien, I think it was today. I mean, come on. The guy gives his life for this city. His life for this city. And you just, you know what? We just gonna pick on everybody around Eric. Come on, man. It's not fair. 

If he didn't run to be deputy mayor of communication, you know, these people give their lives. And Lisa gave her life to the city. Thank you, Lisa. And I thank 300,000 plus city employees that do it every day. Go after the mayor. Don't go after these hardworking civil servants.

Question: One of the City Council's critiques in the report on involuntary removals, as previously mentioned, was that the data released by your administration in January is incomplete, which they say has prevented a clear understanding of what the policy effect is. I'll give you a few examples. One was that there's no tracking on whether the same individual has been involuntarily transported multiple times. Another big one was– one second, sorry.

So information on outcomes is only available for those transported to city public hospitals and unavailable for those to private hospitals. There's more, but I wanted to get your perspective on, are you aware of these gaps? Are you looking to bolster data reports?

Mayor Adams: Thank you, thank you for that. People with severe mental health illness didn't start in 2022. This has been a chronic problem, not only here in the city, but across the country. When I speak with and communicate with my mayors across the country, we're all wrestling with this. It may even be international. 

When I spoke with the mayor of Paris, they were talking about this. When I speak with the mayor's association, everybody's talking about this. And many people are afraid to touch it because it's a challenge. And I invite all of you to come with me out in the streets and see how dealing with people with severe mental health illness. 

You don't just walk up to them and say, listen, did you take your medication today? Hey, we wanna bring you inside the hospital. That is just not how it is. And laws prevent you from just taking anyone that you know, in common sense, that this person needs care. But the laws don't allow us to do this. That's why we're fighting in Albany right now. 

And so many who are critiquing what we're doing don't have the answers of how do you deal with a person who clearly is dealing with severe mental health illness and refuses care, refuses care. And so idealism collides with realism. This is real stuff that we have to address. And we have been bold enough to say, you know what? We're gonna take the criticism. 

So yes, we're gonna have those that are gonna critique us. There are those who are going to say, you can do it better. Yes, they got the great ideas. Come and see it. And we cannot compel hospitals to turn over information. HIPAA laws is more stringent on mental illness than it is on really medical illness. And so we cannot tell the hospitals, you're gonna provide that information and turn it over.

We're trying to give them the best information that's possible. We are making sure we be as transparent as possible. But this is a challenging, challenging issue that we're willing to take head on through PATH, through SCOUT, to involuntary removals, to our encampments. 

They told me in the beginning of this administration, Eric, don't do it. They're gonna, no matter what you do, they're gonna criticize you. And I said, no, I don't care. I am not going to allow New Yorkers to live on the streets, harm themselves and harm others merely because I'm afraid of the noise. 

And the history is gonna show that we are making inroads. 8,000 people we took up our system that was sleeping on our system, 8,000. 800 are now in permanent housing. And many people say, this is what's interesting. People say, well, this person is on the street dealing with severe mental health issues. Why don't you put them into permanent housing? Because they're not ready to know how to turn on their electricity, turn on their gas, make sure that the place is livable, to make sure you're not leaving your gas on in the stove. It's just not that simple. 

There needs to be a transition to independent living. And we've been doing that with our supportive housing. And we're gonna continue to do it. There's those who are gonna be in the bleachers attacking those of us who's on the field of this battle. And that's just, that's the part for the cause.

Question: I have two questions. First, I was wondering if you could talk about your office's reluctance to publicize Know Your Rights immigration guidance. You know, amid the fear amongst migrants about having interactions with ICE. And then secondly, I'm wondering if you've scheduled a briefing yet on the Queensboro Bridge pedestrian path and when you anticipate it'll open?

Mayor Adams: First, I'm not quite sure where you got that we are not doing Know Your Rights. Manny has made that clear. We looked over the items. We released it. We get ready to put it on our monitors, our link, NYC kiosk. We've been sending it out. Other people, other entities has asked us for it. We turn it over to them. You know, when you look at the fact that we're gonna be putting it on over 2,000 kiosks. 

We already sent it out. It has already been approved. Started on April 1st. We will also have Know Your Rights resources at all link NYC sites. And so I'm not sure where that came from. I mean, it's like trying to feed into the narrative that we are afraid to do the things we were doing already. So if there's some factual information about that, I'm not aware of it. And if somebody is preventing it from coming out, please share with me because that should not be happening. 

I was very clear with Manny who traveled with me to the Darien Gap, who traveled with me to El Paso, who has been a Dreamer and has been very compassionate about this issue. So I'm not sure where that came from. That's part of the all narrative, you know, we don't want to criticize the administration. 

No, we want to get stuff done. We don't want to get caught up in, you know, all of this name calling. That's not governing, folks. You know, so I don't, I'm not part of that. What is that terminology people use? The syndrome of just wanting to be attack and attack. I got to manage a city. So we're doing it. I don't know who's telling you that, but it's not factually accurate. 

What's the second part of your question? 

Question: Queensboro bridge.

Mayor Adams: Queensboro, let's close the door on this issue. This has not been delayed. I was never briefed. This is a major project that's going to impact movement and traffic. You brief the mayor. 

And for those who are thinking that, well, we're going to pressure the mayor by leaking information to the press. You probably guys got more leaks than I probably ever had in an administration. You know, we're going to leak to the mayor and now the mayor is going to be, you know, forced to move forward. That's not how it operates. 

I have a schedule. I have a scheduler. We brief and I'm updated just about twice a week on different topics. When I'm briefed on this and I make sure that we have community input on how the traffic's going to impact, then we will move forward. That is how it operates. 

My schedule is not based on the schedule of those who work for me. It's based on my schedule. And so once I'm briefed and I make the determination that we're moving forward, we'll do so. So there was some work that had to be continued. Once we have that briefing that I do on all of these major topics, then we move forward. And the new deputy mayor of operation that's in, he needs to be briefed. That is how it's done. The staff does not decide the flow of things. City Hall does. 

When my scheduler– I wake up in the morning, my scheduler tells me what I'm doing. I have a lot of faith and trust in her. She tells me, this is what you're doing. And when she puts it on the schedule, you'll view it on the schedule if it's a public item.

Question: I know there's no specific answer about the exact definition on when or where the campaign trail is, but are you gonna be releasing new platforms? Is this something like you're gonna do a rollout? What are you kind of imagining? Are you gonna be releasing new platforms when it comes to public safety? Or are you just gonna be saying, I'm already enacting them? 

And then, also, on these guardrails that I know the governor proposed a while ago, they're stalled right now in the legislature. Has she spoken any more about that with you or anything further?

Mayor Adams: My platforms are the same. Public safety, affordability, keep the city for working class people. I am you was my rallying cry, and that's gonna continue. So all one has to do is just go look at what I promised. 

I think we had about 100 points that we promised on the campaign trail. Go look at them, and you'll see that, wait a minute, this is what this guy promised, and this is what this guy did. When are people going to do an analysis on, here's what he ran on, here's what he accomplished? 

And so it's the same. Affordability, public safety, working class families, blue-collar mayor, it's the same thing. Has not changed, has not changed in 40 years. I'm the same person I was 40 years ago on fighting for working class people, and I'm going to continue to do that. 

You have to speak with the governor and the lawmakers about these guardrails that y'all talk about. I'm gonna continue to do what I've done. I voiced my concerns around them when they first came out, and that has not changed. 

Question: So, sir, you are running? 

Mayor Adams: Yes. 

Question: Running as a Democrat? 

Mayor Adams: Yes. 

Question: Do you want a second term?

Mayor Adams: I want what?

Question: You want a second term? 

Mayor Adams: Yes. 

Question: So I ask you this respectfully. Why? And the reason I ask, sir, is that you've got an uphill struggle, fundraising, opinion polls. You've been through a lot. The city's been through a lot. Why? Why do you want a second term?

Mayor Adams: Listen, and I love that question. First of all, I just really, really want to apologize to New Yorkers for this whole bogus investigation that went on. And I think time is going to be kind to me, you know, but they've been my North star. 

I say this over and over again. New Yorkers have been my therapy. That when I get up in the morning and I'm fighting for New Yorkers, when I'm in a hospital speaking to a family member that's going through some form of medical or psychiatric crises. 

When we were at a town hall the other day, man, this young man had six children. He was in a homeless shelter. He was able to get a voucher and he was able to move into permanent housing. He lost his job, N.J., because he worked for a drug store where habitual shoplifting took place. So he was fired because of that. But we were able to find him a job right there inside that town hall while we're fighting to deal with the repeated recidivism of shoplifters that people say we should not be doing. That was a real story. Those stories, you walk out and say, you're seeing on the ground, what matters. 

And when I walk into New Yorkers and they tell me I got the key to my first apartment. When I meet New Yorkers and say, you cleaned up this encampment and now I can play catch again with my son under the BQE. You know, when you see how you touch the lives of real people, it's contagious. 

And if I were able to accomplish what I did in three years, three years, getting us out of COVID, getting us out of the migrant and asylum seeker crisis, bringing down crime, built breaking records on housing. In three years, I got a whole lot of gas still in the tank and I'm looking forward to New Yorkers to get past the noise and say, let's look at the numbers. 

This has been one heck of a ride and I'm not tired. I'm not frustrated. I enjoy working for the people of the city and God willing that if I'm able to do it for another four years, we're gonna continue to turn the city around. That’s why I’m running.