Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on PIX11's "PIX11 Morning News"

May 2, 2025

Hazel Sanchez: So what a difference a year makes. New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivering what he's calling the best budget ever. 

Dan Mannarino: The $115 billion dollar spending plan includes investments in after-school programs, public safety, infrastructure, a far cry from last year when the mayor called for cuts across the board. Now the optimistic budget is raising some eyebrows for several reasons. 

Mayor Adams and First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro joining us this morning to talk more about the plan. So great to see both of you. Good morning to you. 

Mayor Eric Adams: Good morning and I love what you said, “What a difference a year makes” because I think that's profound. What a difference a lifetime sitting on the stage at Bayside High School and now being the mayor of the City of New York. Stay in the game and you could win the game as we saw with the Knicks last night. 

Mannarino: Well yeah, we'll talk about the Knicks in a second. I know that. Let's go Knicks. But “Best Budget Ever.” That's a pretty profound statement right and it is a lot different than what we saw last year. So what I guess changed within the year for you to come out with this grandiose “Best Budget Ever?” 

Mayor Adams: Well when you look at it, three years of preparation, three years of navigating uncertainties, making the smart decision that bond rate is increased, our bond ratings at the beginning of my administration, making sure we have a record number of savings, 8.5 billion dollars. 

Then you look at the decisions we made that's going to help children and families of the city. When you have universe moving towards universal after-school, we look at the investment in our cultural institutions Pre-k, 3-K. These are real institutional driven changes and baseline, meaning is politicians safe?

First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro: Dan, to answer your your question about how are we able to do that this year as opposed to last year, it had to do with sound fiscal management to get us through the twin crises of COVID recovery and the migrant influx which blew a $7.5 billion dollar hole in the city's budget for the past three years. But that population, you know, managed down from over 230,000 down to less than 40,000. 

Mannarino: You didn't get the billion dollars you wanted from Albany. 

First Deputy Mayor Mastro: But we have achieved billions in savings on our own to be able to go into this year not having those obligations. We have had record revenue growth in our city over the last year [and it] was the best revenue year in city history. So that hundreds of millions could be rolled over in that regard and more than a billion was saved in reducing the migrant population. 

So we had the resources finally because of the sound management through those twin crises to invest in our city's future and that is a testament to Mayor Adams and his team. I've only been here a month but I got to tell you, I've never been prouder of a budget having participated 30 years ago in quite a few budgets when I was deputy mayor back in the late 90s. This is an investment in the city's future in public safety and affordable housing and in childcare. 

Sanchez: Can we quickly look though at the numbers and the timing? So you've added another $600 million to your initial $114 billion dollar budget. But since you've been in office the city's been plagued by limited 3-K pre case lots. Why wasn't that investment included in your January budget proposal? 

Mayor Adams: Well I think that going back to with the first deputy mayor stated our fiscal uncertainties looking at Wall Street, looking at tax revenues we have to we can't get it wrong. I think everyone if you go look at the movie Drop Dead New York you saw what Mayor Beame went through when it was not handled properly. 

We can't get it wrong. We don't have that option and Jacques Jiha, our budget director knew we had to make sure we were fiscally sound throughout the last three years. Now this is a celebratory time. You know, let's not underestimate what this city has gone through and the crises that we have gone through and we navigated our way out of it and we're able to invest in children. 

Settled 99 percent of our union contracts, dealt with the fiscal cliff that we were dealing with, decreasing crime in this city to important levels, more jobs in the city history, more housing than both administrations combined. 

Mannarino: There's certainly a number of wins no doubt about that right and I think people look at this and they say “Yeah there are some wins here” but there's also this looming threat that's coming from the Trump administration. They've already tried to claw back $80 million dollars and actually was $180 million dollars when you add the two together from the most recent one right and so some look at this and say well there should have been more of a rainy day fund in case you don't get federal funding or more money is pulled back. How do you answer that? 

Mayor Adams: Yeah think about this for a moment. Record level of rainy day [funds] $8.5 billion. The same people who are saying that now when it's not up when it is a political season were saying something different before. We should be investing in our future but also the battle is not only Washington D.C as you stated a little over a hundred million dollars from the Trump administration. 

We didn't get a billion from the state. We have to pay an additional $300 million in child care vouchers that was created by the state. So the difference between me and others, I'm not going to fight for New York based on the status of whose party is in power. I'm gonna fight for New York no matter who. It's Albany and Washington and the City Council. That’s the consistency

Mannarino: Some would say that you're bringing up election year right and someone say “Well this budget included so much because it is an election year and that's why you tried to make everybody happy.”

First Deputy Mayor Mastro: Well that would be just a failure to recognize the reality that we're investing in our city's future and that is the key. There's $8.5 billion in reserves as the mayor said. $2 billion of it just for emergencies. Those are record levels but it's also the case that in Fiscal Year 25 we're gonna spend $119 billion dollars. 

This budget is only $115 billion. We've been conservative despite a record revenue year last year where it was eight percent growth and only projecting one percent going forward. We're prepared for every contingency and this mayor will stand up for New York at every turn including suing when Elon Musk and the Trump administration pulled back that $80 million in migrant funding on a wire transfer. 
So we'll stand up for New York when we need to stand up for New York but I don't think any elected official in this state, I don't think any big city mayor [is] as well positioned to deal with what goes on in Washington than Eric Adams. 

Sanchez: Yeah Mr. Mayor, can we ask you about something that's happening right now? The rent guidelines board proposing rent increases. Do you think that there should be a rent freeze right now? 

Mayor Adams: We need to look at small property owners and I stated it over and over again it's good to just throw out a political comment of saying rent freeze but what about the mother and father that has the 18-unit building that they saw heat go, costs go up, repairs go up. 

Should we tell them that they should pocket that? That's unfair and if they lose the primary source of their funding and big landlords come in and take them from them or buy their homes from them in foreclosures, that's a real issue and so what we must do.  

We must balance seven percent is too high the independent board should come back and we should go at the lower end but we should always keep in mind our small property owners, when many people seem to forget these are working-class people that sacrifice everything for their properties and we cannot forget them and I'm not going to forget working-class people. 

Mannarino: Alright, by the way you mentioned the Knicks at the top. Are you gonna go to the next game? I know there's some controversy around you going to games.

Mayor Adams: Well,  you know whenever you go to games there's controversy. New York is controversial. 8.5 million people, 38 million opinions. 

Sanchez: Yeah and real quickly after the heroics last night, any chance you're gonna give Jalen Brunson the key to the city?

Mayor Adams: We're looking forward to giving that whole team the key to the city when they win this championship. 

Mannarino: There you go. Mr. Mayor, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, great to see you both thanks for being here. 

Mayor Adams: Thank you.

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