Transcript: Mayor Adams Calls In for Live Interview on Caribbean Pepperpot Radio

May 31, 2025

Jeff Simmons: Mayor Eric Adams, welcome to WBAI.

Mayor Eric Adams: Hey, how are you? Great to be on with you guys.

Simmons: Thank you so much for joining us this morning. So throughout the show we've been talking about the landscape across America because there's hundreds and hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills across the country, the highest in the country's history, a record number specifically targeting trans people. Talk about how your administration is preparing to support LGBTQ New Yorkers who may feel threatened by this national climate.

Mayor Adams: And I think it's so important what you just pointed out. It's a national, if not international, crisis that we all must stand together to address on a large scale but also on a small scale. What we can do every day in our cities, in our neighborhoods, in our communities. And this administration has been committed to doing just that. It's really part of my life’s work. One of the leading voices around gender, around marriage.

When I was in the state senate and even in the borough president's office, I had one of the largest LGBTQ entities inside the borough president's office as well. The goal is, number one, we need to lean into whatever laws we have in place here in our city to make sure that they're followed.

We need to go after any form of hate crime that targets members of the LGBTQ+ community as well. We have to be vocal. We should not hide in the shadows. We're not going backwards when people cannot have the right to protect themselves and have the right to live their lives as they see fit. And our office is going to continue to be extremely aggressive around fighting this large scale of really hate that we're seeing on those who are part of the LGBT community.

And that means also supporting gender affirming care and being very clear and loud about that. That's something that we put in place in 2023. And we're going to continue to just be on the forefront to fight and push back on this unprecedented assault. The administration signed an executive order back in 2023 to protect gender affirming care for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. And it's going to make sure that we continue to do our job here in the city.

Former Councilmember Carlos Menchaca: Mr. Mayor, again, thank you for joining us and for being part of WBAI's bigger conversation about protecting our New Yorkers. I'm really curious about this executive order and if you've seen any real impacts in the city, either through agencies that may have reported to the commissioners or other staff, about how this has really impacted positively folks who want to get gender affirming care, or maybe other cities as you're traveling or talking to other mayors of other cities that may be seeking counsel about how they can do what we're doing here in New York.

Mayor Adams: Yes, and that's a great question. You know, I'm a member of the African American Mayors Association. And we were in Washington, D.C. a few months ago. And this is one of the conversations that came up that, you know, what we're seeing, particularly in big cities, of what we're seeing and how we can coalesce around pushing back.

But, you know, being mayor is both substantive and it's symbolic. And the symbolism is as important as the substance. And hearing us continually as the mayor of a big city like New York, hearing that we take a very vocal and affirmative stance, that has really led to tone that others are now adopting. We saw years ago when I did the initiative Just Say Gay, the pushback of what was happening in Florida. I think that was back in 2022, actually.

We started to really start to see how government was passing laws and taking other actions. And we wanted to be vocal not only here in New York, but throughout the entire country. And we're often hearing from LGBTQ+ residents here in the city how they're proud of the posture and the stance that we have taken.

Simmons: You know, Mr. Mayor, we've talked about earlier in the show about a report that's coming out from GLAAD tomorrow, just noting across the country the rise in incidents of crime and violence against members of the LGBTQ communities. We're starting Pride Month right now. Talk a little about the steps your administration is taking to ensure that the city remains safe for LGBTQ New Yorkers this month.

Mayor Adams: And that's so important because, you know, Pride Month is very important throughout the entire city. You're going to see several different events. Many people focus on one of the largest parades in the country around Pride. But it's also the small events and different events that take place in different boroughs, like Queens, for example. And we want to make sure the Police Department is clear that this is to do with other major events that are sensitive, like we just did with the Israeli Day Parade.

We, too, will make sure that we have maximum force out to make sure that those who are participating are going to be able to do so in a safe manner. And the [inaudible] is one of the largest routes you have for a parade, and it's very intricate. Normally, you have a parade that goes just up and down the avenue, Fifth Avenue in particular. But as you know, the Pride Parade swings through, you know, the Midtown area, goes down through the village and over to the West Side.

So it's a completely different march, and it takes a different level of security personnel to make sure it's handled correctly. And we're doing just that. The commissioner and I have been speaking about making sure that this is a safe Pride, and we're looking forward to continuing the celebration throughout the years.

Former Councilmember Menchaca: Mr. Mayor, the Pride March is so special for so many people, and it's a moment to kind of lift up people in our lives, people in our family. Is there anyone that you think about that maybe you're going to be thinking about this year as we get into Pride Month and celebrate?

I know you probably go to the – every borough has a march in resistance, and it feels a little special this year. Is there anyone in your life that just keeps you strong as we fight these big, big winds of hate that are coming from federal and really all over the place? Anyone come to mind?

Mayor Adams: Yeah, and that's a good question. I like that personal question, because sometimes in politics we tend to deal with the professional aspect of it, but we all human beings do the professional aspect of it. I'm going to use only an issue – an issue DG, because I don't want to say his name, but he was a longtime tenant of mine in my small building that turned out to be – develop a personal friendship. He transitioned during COVID, but he was having an extremely difficult time because he was dealing with some real health issues, and he was moving from one location to the next.

And when I met him, he shared the story with me. I took him in as a tenant, and we just developed a real friendship. I would stop up and we'd sit down and chat, and he was a very spiritual person. And we lost him during COVID, but that friendship was just amazing.

As many of my tenants, when you're in a small business building, the relationships are different with your tenants. But he was a close friend. He stayed with me for almost 10, 12 years, and he became almost a brother to me. And he inspired me while I was running for borough president, and I was running for mayor. He would just sit down those tough days. As a former elected, you know how sometimes you get tough. Those tough days, I would just sit down in his apartment, and we would just chat about his story, his journey. And I was just really proud, in all my tenants, I was committed to them. I would never raise their rent.

I was proud that, you know, during his difficult times, he knew he had a stable, clean, safe environment free from any hate and from some of the hate he experienced throughout his life. And I often think about him as we come to this month, because he's [not] here to celebrate Pride. But he's someone that inspired me, and I reflect on that relationship during this time of the year.

Simmons: And Mr. Mayor, I know our time is short, so in our final 30, 45 seconds, what's your message to LGBTQ youth and families in New York City on this first day of Pride Month?

Mayor Adams: Don't go backwards. You know, we can no longer live in the shadows of, you know, the LGBTQ community coined the phrase, coming out. We did not come out to go back in. We need to be proud of who we are, and I think it's crucial that they know that this city is a city where Pride lives, where we have probably one of the largest LGBTQ+ communities, and I say we're going to continue to fight and not go backwards, but to continue to forge ahead. And the movement isn't as significant as all movements.

All movements, from the civil rights movement, the immigration movement, to the antisemitism movement, to the AAPI movement that I'm marching with today, that's what these movements are. And we need to coalesce with each other and cross-pollinate, because all of these movements want one thing, and that is we have to live safe in a city where we can raise healthy children and families, and we're all partners in this, and I say to this community that has been leading advocates on many levels, let's continue to forge ahead. As we used to say back in the civil rights movement, forward ever, backwards never.

Simmons: Mayor Eric Adams, thank you for joining us here on WBAI today.

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