Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears on 94.7 the Block's 'Jonesy in the Morning'

March 20, 2024

Tarsha Jones: Is this my dear friend, Mayor Adams?

Mayor Adams: Yes, how are you, Sister?

Jones: Child, they draggin' you for fi‑hi‑hilth.

Mayor Adams: You know, it's all part of the process. You've got to stay focused, we don't get distracted with all of this stuff trying to bring you down. You move yourself forward.

Jones: What the hell? Do you even know who this chick is?

Mayor Adams: Listen, I… People know me for over 40 years, they know that's not me. They know I've always been a protector of people in general, but women specifically. I don't even recall who this person is over 33 years ago, and… 

Jones: I mean, the nineties were kind of wild, though. Like, we've got a whole Freaknik documentary about to pop. You wasn't at Freaknik too, were you?

Mayor Adams:  Hey, listen, this did not happen. It did not happen. And you know, it's unfortunate that, you know my family has to be, you know, go through this, but we're going to stay focused and I know that in the long run I'll prevail.

Jones: All right. Okay. All right. Moving on. I was going to talk to you about the crime. The crime is insane. What are we doing? Where is the National Guard? What… 

Mayor Adams: Listen, you know what happens in times like this? There are high‑profile cases that we see and we hear and it makes us believe that everywhere we go there's crime going on, but it's not. Crime is down in the city. We have a decrease in shootings, in homicides, you know, subway crime is down.

We're the safest big city in America, you know? So, it's really, when you read about these cases, they play on your psyche, but that is not the city. This city is not a crime‑ridden city. You don't see the homelessness encampments all over the place. We're moving in the right direction, we are thriving. Our jobs are back, our rime is down. Tourists are back. We're in a good place, and we'll continue to thrive.

Jones: Mmm, I don't know. I see, I know social media is making it so that they put the most scintillating stories out there. But I know you heard about the twin that was stabbed by the boy whose advances she rejected.

Mayor Adams: Right.

Jones: And that's...

Mayor Adams: Right.

Jones: ...supposed to be the nicer section of Brooklyn.

Mayor Adams: And you know, it's unfortunate. You know, what we're finding?

Jones: That is tragic.

Mayor Adams: It is. And you know, coming out of Covid, a lot of our young people are dealing with some serious mental health issues. You know, that's why we put in place something called Teen Space where you could have around the clock access to a mental health professional.

Like, our suicidal ideations are up. You see a lot of depression. And you know, social media has just really hijacked our young people, and we need to really push back on that. That's why we did a lawsuit with social media companies, because they're using these algorithms to draw our young people into dark places, and we've got to really get a grip on it.

Jones: Yes. Yes. We're talking to Mayor Eric Adams, for those of you just joining us.

Mayor Adams: We did something really exciting last week that I'm really proud of. We call them human service workers, overwhelmingly women, a substantial number of them are women of color. And they provide all the basic services that many of us take for granted, everything from childcare to delivery of meals to those who, seniors.

We gave them a substantial pay increase that they've been trying to get for decades. I promised on my campaign trail, and we were able to deliver it, and they were just overwhelmed with joy that they could provide for their families. But these are the little things that's better in a big way to people who have been in need for a long time.

Jones: Absolutely, and that you kept your word and you can actually show, because people are quick to say, oh, he said he'd do this, he said he'd do that, we see nothin', so I'm glad that you are highlighting when you can...

Mayor Adams: [Laughter.]

Jones: No...

Mayor Adams: Promise made, promise kept. That's what I like to say. You know, we're doing something today with Reverend Sharpton also. Today...

Jones: Oh, well, hold on a second. Hold on. Let's take a quick break, come back and we'll talk about that. Mayor Eric Adams is on the line, people, at Jonesy in the Morning.

[Music break].

Jones: We are back with Mayor Eric Adams. You were about to say that you have something going on with Reverend Sharpton?

Mayor Adams: Yes. You see what's playing out in Haiti, and we have one of the largest Haitian populations here in New York, Haiti is going through a real devastating period with all of the violence.

Jones: Yeah, the gangs trying to take over.

Mayor Adams: Yes, yes, yes. So, we're joining Reverend Sharpton and other Haitian leaders to call for the federal government to give them some support and stop the proliferation of guns. You know, many of the guns that go to Haiti and other Caribbean islands like Trinidad and others, they come from America.

Jones: You don't say.

Mayor Adams: Yep. You know, not only are they on our streets, they're on the streets of these other countries. So we are really trying to stop the flow of guns off our streets and guns off the streets of many of these Caribbean islands as well, so we're going to do that today.

And we're going to do something else today that's very important. We have these multi-millionaires who are not paying their water bills, and those bills are, almost a billion dollars are outstanding. So, we're sending them a notice, we're going to put a sticker on one of these hotels that owes a couple of million dollars and say if you don't pay your bill, we're shutting off your water.

Jones: Better leave them alone before they shut off yours. Listen, mayor...

Now listen, I'm your friend. I know it's new what you and me got goin' on here, but I need you to trust me. You got a lot going on right now.

Mayor Adams: That's right.

Jones: Don't go pokin' bears!

Wayne Mayo: This [talented comedian], mayor. I'm still team Adams.

Mayor Adams: That's it. There you go, Brother.

Mayo: I'm still team Adams.

Jones: Well, wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Mayo: We go back.

Jones: Wait a minute now...

Mayor: I'm still team Adams.

Jones: ...because you left last week, I found out that you out here givin' keys to the city, and me and Wayne ain't get our set.

Mayo: Mmm.

Mayor Adams: Listen...

Jones: I'm about to change your locks.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, we did, Brother P Diddy, you know, and we're gonna roll out some more, so I'll make sure you're on the list.

Jones: All right. I need to be on that list!

Mayor Adams, thank you for checking in. We appreciate you. I know you got a lot, I know you got a lot goin' on, but thank you… 

Mayor Adams: Yes. All good. We got it. All right.

Jones: ...for lettin' us touch you every other Wednesday here on Jonesy.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care, right.

Jones: Appreciate you. Have a good day.