Transcript: Mayor Adams Calls In For Interview On 94.7 The Block's "Jonesy In The Morning"

June 4, 2025

Tarsha Jones: Ladies and gentlemen, Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Hey, how's it going? Good morning.

Jones: Good morning. I saw you in them streets. I saw you in them streets, dancing. Dancing in the streets.

Mayor Adams: We outside. We outside. Yesterday, we raised the Puerto Rican flag down at Bowling Green to celebrate their culture and this important month as we move towards the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Wayne Mayo: Yes, the parade is this Sunday.

Jones: Y'all don't appreciate this, mayor. Like, y'all don't understand what y'all got, and I'm afraid, but I'm just going to say, I appreciate you. I see what it is. I never had nothing like this before in my life, and I'm not ready to let go.

Mayor Adams: I feel that, you know, as your son said, before I let go.

Jones: So silly.

Mayor Adams: And I don't know if you saw the announcement also, you know, I always promised that this was going to be a safe city, and the last five months, we had the least number of shootings and homicides in the recorded history of this city.

Jones: That's huge. I'm almost afraid to say congratulations, because then some idiot will go and try and uno-reverse it.

Mayor Adams: Yes, no, without a doubt. But we're on top of it. You know, when you think about it, what we attributed to that success is that we took over 22,000 guns off our streets, illegal guns off our streets. It's just we have been consistent in dealing with public safety. 

You know, folks want to be safe in their community. They want to come outside and enjoy the city. That's why we got this whole We Outside series going on a bunch of things throughout the summer that allow people to come outdoors and enjoy their city.

Jones: Rat free, thanks to the Empire Bins.

Mayor Adams: That's right.

Jones: Let's go.

Mayor Adams: We've seen a real decrease in rat complaints. Those Empire Bins are amazing. You have to, you know, deal with the cleanliness. It's all part of the overall– people want to be safe, and they want to feel safe.

Jones: Now, what do you say about the people like me that are like, “Where am I going to park now?”

Mayor Adams: Well, you know, in New York, no matter what you do, 8.5 million people, 35 million opinions. So no matter what you do, people are going to complain. I would rather make sure that my streets are clean. There's always a way to find parking space.

Jones: They're going to make a spot. So, congratulations on appointing Iris Rodriguez-Rosa to the New York City Parks commissioner, the first Latino to ever serve in this role.

Mayor Adams: And she's solid. She's been in the agency for about four decades. And, you know, she was the Bronx Borough commissioner. She went on to become the deputy commissioner under Sue Donoghue. 

And now to have her as the commissioner, it's a real proud moment for me because, you know, I continuously want to diversify and give everyone an opportunity that one ethnicity should not override one's ability. She's solid, and I'm happy she's at the helm.

Mayo: Mr. Mayor, I have a question for you. You know, unfortunately in politics, sometimes perception trumps reality. And you just cited these incredible crime numbers, but with the debates going on in the Democratic primary, you're going to have your opponents on TV basically nitpicking and finding everything wrong. 

How do you get your word out, which is reality, about the crime and kind of overtake, you know, some of the negative stuff you're going to hear in the next couple of months as the election season goes on?

Mayor Adams: Without a doubt. That's so important. That's a great question. You know, the campaign intensifies for me after the primary. That's the way the campaign intensifies. And I have an opportunity to lay out my plan. We're going to use various forms of communication to do so. 

And separate the facts from reality. You know, you hear even Andrew Cuomo stating that the city's out of control. Listen, he was the one that passed bail reform. He was the one that passed the cannabis law that was flawed and we had to go back and fix it. He was the one that closed psychiatric beds so that we don't have those with mental health illness to get the support that they deserve. He didn't invest in NYCHA. 

We could just go down the list of the things that he did and have to come in and fix what he did. And now he wants to say he's sorry that he did it. He should not have stepped down. He would have acted differently. But that makes no sense. 

And so I have to make sure I get the message out that people see, you know, the reality of how successful we have been in turning this city around. You know, someone stopped me the other day and we were talking about my case and they were saying, “Eric, if you didn’t do anything wrong, the federal government wouldn’t have come at you.” And I told them, “Tell that to Dr. King. Tell that to Malcolm X. Tell that to Medgar Evers and the Black Panthers.” Even Brian Benjamin who was indicted as the highest ranking Black and the charges were dropped, but his career was destroyed.

So there's a history of malpractice when you come to these federal agencies. And I'm one of a lineage of those who have gone through this. But God is good. And, you know, we have to keep moving towards hope. And that's what I want to instill in this city.

Jones: I appreciate you. My son, when I told him this morning that yesterday, that debate, Cuomo didn't respond to you. But someone in his campaign said that you are experiencing the five stages of grief because you're facing the end of the term of your failed career. My son, Jalen, was like, “Wait, who's he running against? Chris Cuomo?” I said, “No, his brother, Andrew.” 

Jalen: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was very shocking to hear, given his past, his history and, you know, I mean, the things I've read about him on the news.

Jones: Yeah. He was like, “Wait, how did he even get to be a candidate?”

Jalen: Position of power. But yeah, that was super shocking to me. So I'm surprised he's even able to run. But, you know, given the fact that politics are in a weird place on a federal level and on a state to state level, I guess anything's possible nowadays. You don't have to necessarily have a fully clean record to be considered eligible to run for a position of power.

Jones: Just to let you know, the kids are paying attention, too.

Mayor Adams: Yeah, I love that. You know, that says a lot.

Jones: Thank you, mayor. We appreciate your time. And we'll talk to you a week from now.

Mayor Adams: Okay. Be well. Take care.