Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on FOX 5's "Good Day New York"

May 19, 2025

Curt Menefee: Well, as the hours pass, we continue to see more and more dramatic video of Saturday night's ship crash, when a Mexican Navy vessel struck the Brooklyn Bridge.

Rosanna Scotto: The ship's mast hit the bridge, breaking on impact, sending the debris falling onto the boat's deck, along with people. Officials say two crew members lost their lives, 19 injured. 
Joining us this morning, on what happened here in the city, and the response, Mayor Eric Adams and FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker. Nice to have you both back on Good Day New York.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Good to be back.

Scotto: Mayor, let's talk. What happened? I mean, they're saying technical issues. Do we know anything more?

Mayor Adams: Still under investigation. It seems to be moving in that direction. And I think sometimes people underestimate how strong our tides are. But we're looking at it and trying to find out exactly what happened. 

As you indicated, two people lost their lives in the process. And our hearts go out to them and the entire crew, but we're still examining exactly what happened. 

Scotto: Commissioner, were your people involved in jumping in the water to check to see if there were sailors or anybody who might have been knocked into the East River?

Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker: Yeah, thanks. Good morning, Rosanna. No one was in the water and our firefighters did not have to go in the water. There was an extensive search conducted by the NYPD, our partners, using their aviation units. We used drones, a very, very extensive canvas. But there was no information given to us by anyone on the crew that anyone had gone in the water.

Menefee: Commissioner, any update on the 19 people that have been hospitalized? I know that two of them were in critical condition when it first happened.

Fire Commissioner Tucker: Yeah, you had four critical patients. Two of them, as the mayor said, have passed away and our hearts go out to their family and to the crew. Two remain in critical condition as well. And then the rest were all, what we term, walking wounded.

Menefee: Mayor Adams, can you tell us what the traffic is like around it? It's at Pier 36 right now. From the boat traffic standpoint, but also we're seeing more and more people going down just to kind of look and take pictures with the boat.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, you know, when you look at the photos, it was clear that it was a beautiful day that evening. And so you had a number of people that were at the Brooklyn Pier as well as the Manhattan Pier. That's why you were able to get the photos that we were able to accomplish. That really helped us look and determine what was taking place. 

And so it's a heavy traffic. You know, when you see an incident like this, to Brooklyn Bridge, which is an iconic bridge for all of us, it just drew a lot of attention to it. 

But thank God the first responders were there, the Coast Guard, FDNY, NYPD and the crew was extremely helpful as well. We were able to get the bodies off the boat that were actually injured. And so I just really want to commend the entire team, the police commissioner and I went to the location and communicated with the ambassador, the consul general and the electeds that were in Mexico as well to coordinate this effort.

Scotto: Mayor, was the captain of that ship following protocols? I mean, it looks like it's got a very tall mast. Was it ever intending to go under the Brooklyn Bridge and could it go under the Brooklyn Bridge? 

Mayor Adams: That's a great question. Of my preliminary understanding from what we were able to determine, it was headed out to sea. And we don't know what happened mechanically that caused it to move in the opposite direction. But from our understanding, it was headed out to sea. And that is why it's quite possible that it was a mechanical issue that caused it to drift. 

Our tides are extremely strong. That's why you see those who are caught up in the tides, either in swimming incidents or accidents, because, it seems calm, but trust me, they are extremely strong.

Scotto: Mayor, Senator Schumer held a press conference yesterday and he suggested that possibly cuts from DOGE might have had some kind of, you know, impact on the Coast Guard during this crash. Do we know whether the Coast Guard was not there because of cutbacks? What have you figured out?

Mayor Adams: Well, I was speaking to the Coast Guard official who was there and he said something that was extremely important. He said, “When you go to other regions to deal with Coast Guard related issues, the Coast Guard must come with a lot of manpower.” He said, “Not in New York City.” 

New York City, from our harbor unit, NYPD unit, harbor unit, FDNY, our police response, our EMS, he says, “You guys have a one shot fit all when it comes to crises.” So I'm not I'm not clear on where the senator got that information from, but I know we had a full response on both sides of the river. And we normally do that. We manage crises extremely well in the city.

Scotto: So cutbacks were not an issue.

Mayor Adams: Unless the senator knows something I don't know. But I don't know what other role the Coast Guard would have played. We have the boats that were needed. We have the manpower that was needed. And we responded accordingly to get those 19 injured off the ship.

Menefee: Commissioner Tucker, let me ask you, there's a 3 p.m. press briefing, I believe, is being led by the NTSB. What answers are you looking to hear?

Fire Commissioner Tucker: Look, from our perspective, we're in charge of rescuing people who need our help. And I think that evening showed great choreography. We train in the FDNY for events like this all the time. As the mayor said, we had a massive response from our emergency medical service and our fire operations members. 

Our rescue divers were on the scene. Our marine company boats were on the scene very quickly. We responded both on the Brooklyn side and on the Manhattan side. From my perspective, the job of the FDNY was done really well that evening. And at this point, we'll let the federal authorities and our partners at the NYPD take over as to what happened.

Menefee: Mayor Adams–

Mayor Adams: You know, what's interesting is that as I was speaking with the Coast Guard official, this was a military vessel. And the investigation appeared to take different methods when it's a military vessel and not a passenger, just simply a passenger vessel. And so I think there's some limitations on what we can do when it comes down to investigations. 

Just as we don't want individuals boarding our ships in other waters, there's some protocols in place and I think that's going to actually materialize as the investigation goes through what the exact role we can do as federal authorities here and in this city.

Scotto: So it seems like everybody who was injured was on that mast. And I guess people are wondering, were they tethered to the mast? Like why didn't they jump to save themselves? Could they have jumped? Do we have any information on that?

Mayor Adams: Well, you know, that's a great question, because when we boarded the boat, I was speaking to one of the crew members who was still on the boat, and they stated to get up there, it takes five minutes, roughly, to climb up there. So that could give you a real indicator of how high it is. 

And when you see something that happens in that method of time, getting down or getting out of the way, or sometimes one just gets shocked by what they're about to see. So it's sort of difficult to make that Monday morning quarterback call, because a five minute travel time to get up and down that mast, it tells you how high it is. And it was extremely high.

Menefee: Before we let you go, Commissioner Tucker, a tough way to kick off EMT Week. But we know that was already scheduled this week to honor the men and women who do so much for New Yorkers each and every week, each and every day.

Fire Commissioner Tucker: I was filled with pride last night watching the Empire State Building light up in EMS colors. Our EMTs and paramedics work so hard, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help save the lives of New Yorkers and the people who visit New York. And it's appropriate to have a week of events scheduled all over the city to honor them and their heroism.

Menefee: Well, we appreciate everything they do for us minute by minute here in New York. Mayor and Commissioner Tucker, we thank you both for joining us this morning on Good Day. 

Mayor Adams: Thank you.

Fire Commissioner Tucker: Thanks for having us. 

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