Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on ABC 7’s “Eyewitness News at 5:00”

May 21, 2025

Sade Baderinwa: A big day of political news with reports that former Governor Andrew Cuomo is under investigation by President Trump's Department of Justice. Cuomo, of course, running for mayor of New York City. And joining us now to discuss this, the current mayor of New York, Eric Adams. Mr. Mayor, thank you for joining us.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Great to be here. 

Bill Ritter: Good to see you, sir. The DOJ generally does not investigate candidates. You know this, 60  days before an election. Democratic primary, just one month away. So does this feel to you a little like a political move by the Trump administration, which of course we know dropped the criminal charges against you?

Mayor Adams: Well, you know, I stated earlier and throughout the years, I stated that I was very concerned [about] what happened to nursing homes, what happened with the disproportionate amount of resources that went to particular communities of color. 

And when I saw the Democrats' report, the congressional Democrats came out [with a] report about the information and the handling of COVID. So I think that it is up to the criminal justice system to take its course. 

I'm not going to do what others did to me. I'm going to be focused on running the city and running for re-election and the other agencies will do what they are supposed to do and do it in an appropriate fashion.

Baderinwa: And Mr. Mayor, of course, a lot of this is up to the voters, but a lot of people think an investigation is only going to help Cuomo. And I know that late today he already released an ad, I'm not sure if you had a chance to see it, saying Trump doesn't want him to be mayor, but voters do. Do you think this is going to hurt or help Cuomo in the race?

Mayor Adams: I do not know. Voters are going to make the determination. I'm going to be on the ballot in November and I have an opportunity to present all the things that I've done in the city that was overshadowed by the bogus charges on me and overshadowed by some of the other incidents. 

And so I'm focused on really running the election and reminding voters why they fell in love with me the first time. They're going to see the success of what this administration has done.

Ritter: I appreciate that, Mr. Mayor, but you do have to know that this has raised the whole level of Mr. Trump's involvement in New York politics. And that's clear. When you were at the White House earlier this month, I wonder, did you speak to anyone there about this during your trip or even since then? In fact, when's the last time you spoke to anyone in the Trump administration, if you could answer that?

Mayor Adams: Yeah. And I want to remind you of something. You know, I was a year out from my election when the former Department of Justice was plotting to meet me at the finish line of the marathon. People need to really think about that for a moment. But I pushed through and I continued to deliver for the city. And I had no conversation with the president about any DOJ investigation. 

My conversation was solely about how do we deliver for New York. And we were able to get the wind farm project back as a stop work order was lifted. That's so crucial for us over 1,500 jobs, billions of dollars in investment. And that is what I've stated over and over again. I'm about delivering for the city. That's what I was elected to do.

Baderinwa: Mr. Mayor, just one more question about this. Do you think that Cuomo will now be seen as a target of Trump's Justice Department?

Mayor Adams: Well, one thing I know for sure, that many people that stopped me on the street told me I was a target of Biden's Justice Department and President Biden stated his Justice Department was weaponized. I stated it. The former president stated it. 

Brian Benjamin, who was the highest ranking African-American in the state, he was indicted, the charges were dropped, and his life was ruined as a politician. And so I'm going to focus, as I stated, on running this city. And I think I've done a darn good job and I must let the voters know about the success.

Ritter: You talked about how you didn't like doing this, having this done to you. Do you feel that it shouldn't be done to Mr. Cuomo either? It's about a federal government getting involved in a local affair.

Mayor Adams: Well, you know, what's important to me is that I'm not going to do what others did to me. They did not want to allow me to have due process. They were calling for me to step down. They were making lies. I mean, some of the reports that came out of it that I made a deal with with the president. 

I did not know President Trump and didn't meet him. He talked about me on his campaign trail. And so what happened to me for the last fifteen months, it was really despicable. And some of the reporting that came from our media… truth no longer matter[ed]. 

And my entire credibility of who I was as a person over 40 years delivering for the city as a cop, a senator and borough president, was tarnished by some of the reporting that came out.

Ritter: You did meet with him, Mr. Mayor. You did meet with the president.

Mayor Adams: I'm talking about prior to his running for office. He talked about me on the campaign trail prior to him running for president. I didn't meet with the president. He never asked anything of me. He talked about the unfairness of what was happening to me. 

And I think that was appropriate. I would have hoped all the candidates would have talked about the unfairness of what happened. But I pushed through and I continue to continue to deliver for working class people of the city. And I think they're going to appreciate that.

Baderinwa: Okay, Mr. Mayor, let me talk about crime in the city right now. We've seen a spate of shootings recently, especially in the Bronx. You've seen the headlines and crime, as we all know, typically increases during the summer. 

We've got Memorial Day. That’s on Monday. What is the NYPD doing to keep the streets safe this Summer? Are you planning on increasing patrols?

Mayor Adams: Yeah, great. That's a great question. And I met at Gracie Mansion with the crisis management team. These are the group of individuals who go out, they're civilians, but they go out and do an amazing job. And we have had some high profile cases. And when that happens, that plays on the feelings of New Yorkers. 

But crime has gone down five straight quarters. Three months is a quarter. So that's fifteen months. The last quarter, we had the lowest number of shootings in the recorded history of the city. Second lowest number of homicides. You're seeing all the major areas. 

The transit crimes, take away the COVID years, is one of the lowest in almost twenty years. So we know these high profile shootings and high profile incidents. When you have a 14 year old boy shoots a 16 year old girl, it begins to make you feel as though the city's out of control. 

We're the safest big city in America. We're going to make sure we go to our hot spots over the summer. And with the new quality of life, a unit that was put in place with 1,500 officers, we're going to go after those quality of life issues. And we're going to continue to ensure that this city remains the safest big city in America.

Ritter: Alright, Mr. Mayor, thank you for joining us. Talking about a lot of interesting and really important subjects, and we appreciate you coming on board. 

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care.

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