Transcript: Mayor Adams Signs Two Pieces Of Legislation, Extending City’s Rent Stabilization Laws, Honoring Late Public Servant Paul Vallone

March 25, 2024

Mayor Eric Adams: Good to see everyone. Really excited, have a full complement of City Councilmembers, Speaker Adams bought the entire gang for these important bills that we are going to sign today. I'm just really happy to be here for both of these initiatives. 

We're introducing Intro. 653‑A today. We've been very clear from the time we got in office, our goal is to protect public safety, rebuild our economy and make this city more livable for everyday New Yorkers. And no one personified that more than what my good friend and our friend, Paul A. Vallone, has accomplished. 

And the Vallone family, you know, you should really be proud of the legacy of what your family represents. And that is why you see so many of the councilmembers and the leader who's here, because the family is dear to us. 

But before we do that, we want to do Intro. 653‑A. It extends our city's rent stabilization laws, which are critical to the security of working-class New Yorkers who live in rent stabilized housing. To maintain rent stabilization every three years, we must determine whether there's a vacancy rate of less than five percent of rental housing stock, indicating to the City Council if our housing market is in a continuous state of emergency. 

Well, we are several points below that. We have a vacancy rate of 1.4 percent, and even lower when it comes down to affordable housing. The 2023 Housing Vacancy Survey showed just how low it is and why it's really urgent that our lawmakers in Albany pass a real initiative around housing. 

We have to get this signed into law by April 1st of this year, and that is why we have pen in hand and we will make sure we get it done. And I just want to really reiterate, as the budget cycle is taking place, there's a lot of negotiation that we come forward with a real housing plan. We were unfortunate that last year in Albany we were unable to accomplish that. The goal is to really… There's a deal to be made, let's make that deal. Let's make that deal. 

And we're also doing, as I indicated, Intro. 1‑B. It renames the Queens Animal Care Center of New York City as the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center. Paul was a longtime friend, and we used to march and get together in the Veterinary Day Parade, and everyone along the route would just yell out his name. And just really personable and impressionable. He left a good impression on everyone he met, and he was a true public servant in the spirit of the Vallone family throughout his entire career. 

He leaves behind his wife Anna-Maria and their three children. Many of the Vallone family members are here today with us. We want to thank you for being with us and joining us today. 

And there was a beautiful funeral that was held and really just showed the full scope of your husband's participation in our city. He was deputy commissioner for External Affairs at the Department of Veteran Services, and from 2014 to 2021 he served as a member of the City Council for District 19. 

Over his time in office, he was the blue collar community representative, knew that he was a real leader, and he was a fighter for the community. Never left his blue collar roots, and he was just comfortable around everyday working class people. 

In that role, as a member of our administration, he was a committed advocate for veterans, serving those who have served our country. His dad, Peter Vallone, Sr., and brother, Peter Vallone, Jr., both also served in the City Council. And so, again, I want to thank the Vallone family. 

And I really want to thank the Speaker and Councilmember Pierina Sanchez for sponsoring this bill, and the other members of the Council who are here in attendance. And I know I had a list of all of you who were here, but I'm sure knowing the speaker she's going to acknowledge all of you who are here.

Let her make the mistake of forgetting someone. I don't want that error. And so I want to open up to public comment, and then we'll turn it over to the speaker and Councilwoman Sanchez. Public comment. Is that Towaki Komatsu? 

Towaki Komatsu: Mr. Adams, I was in this room in June of 2022 after testifying to you in that public hearing, we had a private conversation in a small conference room nearby. You made a remark to me then that you were going to look into my housing. There was no follow‑up about that. 

15 days ago, I got a punch to my head in a MICA shelter. I don't belong in a shelter. We talked about a housing issue back then. There was no follow‑up. Because of that lack of follow‑up, that's how my face looked 15 days ago after getting a punch. 

So, the question is, when people come to your public meetings, you make statements to them, there's no follow‑up, there are huge repercussions. I currently have a lawsuit against your administration, one being assigned to the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, assigned to New York State Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank. I also have a pending petition for a writ of certiorari to submit to the U.S. Supreme Court by the end of next month. 

And so guess what I'm gonna tell them? I'm going to tell them that while I have pending litigation against your administration, I'm being punched in the head, having to go to an emergency room. So, basically, my point is First Amendment retaliation in response to protected First Amendment activity after having a conversation with you, in which essentially you lie straight to my face. Have a nice day. 

Mayor Adams: Thank you. And first, no one should be assaulted. I'm really sorry to hear what happened to you. And as you indicated, you don't belong in a homeless shelter. No one belongs in a homeless shelter. Every New Yorker should have the right to housing. 

And the reason we could not continue with our conversation is because you had ongoing litigation, and our counsel stated that when someone has ongoing litigation, we should not interfere with that litigation at all. And so I'm going to repeat that, since you didn't get it when you were recording the first time. 

I'm going to say it again: the reason we did not continue to communicate with you is because you had ongoing litigation. And the corp counsel that represents the city advised us that we should not have continuous conversation with someone that has ongoing litigation. 

But if you have litigation or not, no one should be assaulted in this city. That's something that I stand for, that's something that I believe. And I'm hoping that you reported it to the Police Department, so they could have taken appropriate action, because the person who's responsible for that should be held accountable. 

That goes for you, and that goes for the 64,000 64,000 other housing and the over 180,000 migrant and asylum seekers that have come through our city. 

You spoke already, let me finish. 

That goes for those who are already in our system and those who are still coming in our system. Our obligation is to make sure they're safe and they're treated in a humane manner, and that's what we're proud that we're doing. 

I'm going to turn it over now to the speaker of the City Council, Speaker Adrienne Adams. 

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams: Thank you so much, Mayor Adams. I would say "no relation," but it gets to be repetitive after a while, my friend. 

We really appreciate you for signing these critical bills into law today, so thank you again. And I will recognize my colleagues in government who are here today, Councilmember Linda Lee, Councilmember Lynn Schulman, who was instrumental in bringing the Paul Vallone legislation to the floor. Councilmember Sandra Ung… You can clap for them. 

Majority Leader Amanda Farías; and of course, Councilmember Pierina Sanchez... I know your name. Pierina Sanchez, just want to make sure I got everybody. Very proud of you for this awesome legislation today, and thank you, colleagues, for being here today. 

I do want to celebrate the signing of Introduction 1-B, which is my bill to designate Animal Care Centers of New York City's facility in Queens as the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center. 

You can tell I'm a little enthusiastic when I talk about that and really when I talk about him because he was so, so special to so many of us. It is an honor and only fitting to name this Queens facility after former councilmember Paul Vallone. 

Following in his footsteps of his father, my buddy, former Council speaker, Peter Vallone, Jr. I'm sorry, Peter Vallone, Sr., speaker one. And his brother, former Councilmember Peter Vallone, Jr. 

Paul was a passionate advocate within the City Council. for animal care and welfare. He shepherded many bills to advance the welfare of animals, including the landmark law, Local Law 123 of 2018 that requires the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to ensure that full‑service animal shelters are operated in all five boroughs. This law was the culmination of a decades‑long, multi‑generational effort that his father and brother championed. 

Paul was not just a colleague of ours in the City Council, he was a dear friend of myself and the mayor and so many others. He was a dedicated public servant. After representing Northeast Queens in the Council for eight years, he continued to serve our city as deputy commissioner of the Department of Veteran Services. 

We will continue to honor his memory and legacy in our home borough of Queens — the world's borough — and throughout this city that he loves so much, and this is just one way for us to do just that for Paul. 

In addition today, we're here for the signing of Introduction 653‑A sponsored by our Housing and Buildings chair, Pierina Sanchez. This bill, together with Resolution 256, declares that there is an ongoing housing emergency in our city to extend the rent stabilization law from expiring on April 1st, 2024 to April 1st, 2027. 

As we know, the 2023 Housing and Vacancy Survey found that the citywide vacancy rate was just 1.41 percent, the lowest since 1968. The vacancy rate for the city's most affordable units was less than one percent, that's almost non‑existent. 

Our city's housing crisis is dire, which underscores the importance of today's legislation to extend rent stabilization and protect existing tenants. Much more action is needed to fully confront the housing shortage and ensure New York remains an affordable city for all. 

The continued partnership and contributions of all stakeholders are critical to successfully address our housing crisis. I thank, once again, my colleagues in the Council for their support, and of course, Mayor Adams for signing these bills into law today. Thank you all very much. 

Mayor Adams: We're also joined by our amazing deputy mayor, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres‑Springer, and our commissioner of HPD, Adolfo Carrión. I want to bring up Councilwoman Sanchez. 

City Councilmember Pierina Sanchez: Thank you, mayor. If you had noticed that the mayor and I greet each other by Oss it's because we are both martial artists. 

So, thank you. Thank you, mayor, thank you, speaker, for your leadership. And to mayor, to your leadership team on housing, our Deputy Mayor, Maria Torres‑Springer, Executive Director Leila Bozorg, our commissioners, I thank you for blessing me with two amazing commissioners for the Housing and Buildings Committee, Jimmy Oddo and Adolfo Carrión are really great partners, and I appreciate their partnership. 

New York's intersecting crises of rising evictions, record homelessness and housing unaffordability are only worsening. The most recent Housing Vacancy Survey, as you heard, highlights the lowest vacancy rate on record since the 1960s, showing that 1.4 vacancy rate. 

But I want to highlight that nearly 90 percent of our unassisted lowest income households, they are severely rent burdened. As the demand for housing continues to surge and supply remains severely constrained, low income and working class New Yorkers have been leaving in record numbers. This is shown by the HVS. 

In charting the path forward, I always say that when we get up in the morning and we put on our clothes, we don't just put on shoes and walk out, but we put on, hopefully, a coat if it's cold outside, we put on pants, we put on everything. And that is how we have to address the housing crisis. We have to increase housing supply, and I, for one, look forward to deliberation among the City of Yes Housing proposals that are going to come before the council. 

We have to invest in building upgrades and tenant protections so that buildings don't fall in front of us, as 1915 Billingsley Terrace did in my own district. And we have to increase New Yorkers' ability to afford our homes so we can stay and contribute to its vibrancy. 

So, thank you, mayor, for your focus on protecting rent stabilization. Intro. 653 and Reso. 256 together acknowledge the finding of a historically low vacancy rate of 1.4 percent, and they allow for the continuation of rent regulation in New York City. And this together is the best in the world. is an important step in providing stability for nearly a million rent regulated households. Thank you. 

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Thank you. And can I put you on the spot, as being, you know…  

Charlie Vallone: Thank you, everybody. First off, I want to say a sincere thank you to Mayor Adams from the whole family for all of your beautiful words at my father's funeral almost two months ago. I believe I can speak for all of us when we say we were moved and touched by your speech in connection with my father. Thank you. 

Also, I would like to express our gratitude to Speaker Adams and Councilmember and Health Committee Chair Lynn Schulman, for their work and effort into passing of this naming. And to the many councilmembers who unanimously voted to name the animal care shelter after my father, thank you. 

This has been a legacy project since the year 2000, and with work of my uncle, Peter Vallone Jr., and initiated by my grandfather, Peter Vallone, Sr. 

As great as these guys were, nobody wanted this to pass more than my unwaveringly affectionate grandmother, Titi, or Tina Vallone. There was never a time any of us can think of when Titi didn't have some cat in her life.    

It's true. She cared for the animals of Astoria all the same, and fought alongside my grandfather in the battle for this bill. Currently, she has her adopted cat Cleo living lavishly in her cat haven as the many cats before her. 

So, our final thank you goes to our Titi from all of us. Thank you for being the advocate New York needed and to understand the love we should show our animals. 

Currently, one of my favorite new jobs my dad left me is filling up his prized bird feeder in our backyard. The whole sparrow population of Queens eats back there, I swear. 

It's amazing, but it matters. My father loved his birds, his dogs or cats or any living creature wandering in his house. 

For his next love of public service, his compassion, dedication and empathy meant for others was city renown. He worked selflessly and always considered the needs of others first, when in office in District 19. 

Now all four boroughs will have shelters, and Queens’ Paul A. Vallone Animal Care Shelter will forever hold his name. Thank you.