Transcript: Mayor Adams Calls In for Live Interview on 77 WABC’s “Cats & Cosby”

June 5, 2025

John Catsimatidis: Right now, we have the mayor, Eric Adams, with us on the phone. And Mayor Adams, well, welcome to WABC.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. And I caught part of what the governor was just saying. And what you saw, Governor Paterson, is that when you are not honest in what you believe, it's difficult to articulate it. Because you say one thing today, you talk about defunding police departments. And now you want to talk about funding them. 

You talk about taking away, putting in place Tier 6, which caused our civil service to work longer years. Now you say you're going to take it away. You say you're against congestion prices. Now you're for it. You talk about your bail reform is no good. Now you're saying it's okay. 

You know, if you don't believe in what you're saying, and these folks who are on the stage, it's hard to be consistent. Go look at what I said about the quality of life in this city, supporting police, pro-business, pro-housing. All those things that I said 15, 20 years ago, and they listen to the tapes today. It's the same thing. I'm the same person. I'm the same blue collar, hardworking mayor. And I don't have to stumble when I'm on stage doing debates.

Catsimatidis: Mr. Mayor, the debate that went on last night, do you feel there was a clear winner or a clear loser?

Mayor Adams: Yeah, I do believe there were clear losers. [Inaudible]. 

Rita Cosby: Who lost the most, Mr. Mayor?

Mayor Adams: You know, it was challenging to even say, when you hear people try to say that now we believe in Eric's policies, but we want to, but we dislike Eric. You can't have it both ways. I've turned around the economy. More jobs in the city's history. Reduced crime. Last five months, the lowest number of shootings and homicide in the recorded history of the city. 

When you look at everything that we're doing to put money back in the pockets of New Yorkers, from paying off medical debt to those who qualified, to ensuring that we reduce the cost of child care from $55 a week to less than $5, Summer Youth Employment. You look at all of these indicators on how you define the success of the city. It's impossible to walk away with saying that this mayor has failed to reverse the city's direction. 

We came out of COVID, came out of migrants and asylum seekers, came out of the criminal problems, 21,000 illegal guns up our streets. I mean, you just have to look at the numbers. If I didn't have to deal with that bogus case, these people would not be running against me. They didn't think I was going to survive. And so they all jumped in and everyone wants to be mayor with no credentials. They're running from their records, folks. I'm running on my record. That's a big difference.

Catsimatidis: Governor Paterson, you have a question. 

Former Governor David Paterson: So, Mr. Mayor, you are running as an independent candidate, and I thought that was the right decision because after you were cleared of the charges, it's obviously going to take you some time to ramp up your campaign to where it was before the charges. My question, though, is now you're running as an independent and that will have a certain appeal to a number of people who are tired of the two major parties. But at the same time, you're going to need some people from one of those two parties to vote for you. How are you going to be able to put that coalition together?

Mayor Adams: That's the beauty of the general election, as we found in the general election. The beauty of the general election is that now people are no longer voting on party lines. They're voting on ideas. They're hearing the candidates. 

And that's what I'm enjoying, because you're right, governor. Listen, you've been doing this for a long time, and you are a master at this. You know, you got them to get the majority. You know how to analyze this stuff better than anyone that I know. So, what I'm faced with right now...

Former Governor Paterson: I told you I was a master reader. 

Cosby: Oh, no. Mr. Mayor, I got to live with this guy in the studio. He's going to want an agent and everything after this.

Mayor Adams: The problem I had is that I went through 15 months of, I think, a beating that no other political candidate has ever had to experience. And then even after, people just started writing stories, making it up as it come along. 

Catsimatidis: Mr. Mayor, you're wrong there. The other people had to recognize it was President Trump himself, and he felt your pain. That's why he was on your side ever since the Al Smith dinner.

Mayor Adams: Well said, John. And you know what's interesting, what a lot of people don't realize, I didn't know President Trump. We never met. We grew up in the same city, but he was in one end and I was in another. 

So, there was no reason for him to have to say, this is wrong what they're doing to Eric. He said that while on the campaign trail. This is wrong what they're doing to him. And so, when I went to and met him at the White House, the first thing I wanted to do was to say, I thank you. 

While you were on the campaign trail, you raised how it was wrong that I was being persecuted and prosecuted. It was lawfare. And I'm not going to apologize for calling it lawfare. Now, I have to go out and educate the public on how I delivered for the city. 

What happened these last three years and six months and how we've made life better for everyday New Yorkers. And I'm looking forward to doing that. And as you say, Governor, I have now the opportunity to get out and I have a runway to do it. And then the voters will decide.

Catsimatidis: Mr. Mayor, the one number item, number one item that people are leaving the city and etc., etc., is the fact of the quality of life, whether it is to walk to walk to their favorite restaurant after dark or whether it is to go from the taxi cab or Uber to the sidewalk without getting run over by bicycles. I mean, that's a tough situation.

Mayor Adams: Yes. Think about this number for a moment. We removed 80,000 ghost cars, scooters, dirt bikes, the four wheelers. We remove over 80,000 of them off our streets. And now we just announced the decrease in the speed limit in the speed limit of scooters down to you have to stay below 15 miles an hour to make it safer. 

Now, are there those who are protesting and yelling at me that I'm inhumane because, you know, people are going to be summoned because they're speeding? I keep saying all the time. You don't have to get a summons. Stop feeding. Stop driving on the sidewalk. Stop hitting people and fleeing the scene.

Catsimatidis: Stop going the wrong way, you know, on a one way street. 

Cosby: Yeah, it's dangerous.

Mayor Adams: Right. And that's why we are putting these controls in place. And then you have the far left who believe that you can do anything you want in this city. You should never be held accountable. So what if you want to ride on the wrong way on the street or on a sidewalk or you speed in that 30, 40 miles an hour? 

Then that's what they think. I don't think that way. And one thing no one can say about me that I'm not inconsistent in what I believe we should be protecting working class people and their families in the city. I'm not on the other side. And I think it's time for elected officials to decide whose side are you on? 

I'm on the side of working class people that deserve to live in a city without fear. Now, let's think about this. It is challenging to get arrested, to get a reservation in restaurants right now. Our industry is booming. The city has recovered. I speak to my BIDs and other restaurant owners and what have you. And they say, Eric, this place has become exciting again and people are enjoying that. 

That's why I was out late at night to encourage people after COVID to go out. Let's eat again. Because that waiter, that busboy, that dishwasher, that cook, they needed to be employed. We could have lost our industry and it would have impacted hundreds of thousands of workers.

Catsimatidis: Mr. Mayor, the other thing we give you credit for is working to get New York City safe. I've said to everybody, President Trump wants New York City safe. It's his city. He loves the city. And he gave you Tom Homan to clean up, to clean out the city from all the criminals. And the basic thing is clean out the criminals. They're not going and necessarily removing hardworking migrants.

Mayor Adams: And, you know, it's interesting here, which we have to, you know, no one wants to commend this administration, the Trump administration for anything, you know, but the bottom line is when you want to criticize, criticize, but when you want to acknowledge success, acknowledge success. 

We have a 90 percent decrease in our border. We were getting 4,000 at some point, migrants and asylum seekers a week. Think about that for a moment. And now we have a 90 percent decrease. So we don't have to spend billions of dollars like we were before. We spent 7.7 billion dollars on the migrants and asylum seeker crisis from the previous administration. 

By decreasing and making sure with veterans coming into the country, we're not allowing dangerous gangs like the gangs that went after not only innocent New Yorkers that are documented, but also undocumented. Those 27 gang members we took down with ICE and with HSI, they were exploiting migrant women. 

They were taking their documentation, forcing them into prostitution, and threatening their families. These are bad people, and people don't want to deal with that, and they want to give the appearance that because you want to go after dangerous people, documented or undocumented, that you are anti-any group. I'm not anti-any group, I'm just pro-working class people.

Cosby: You know, Mr. Mayor, what are your thoughts when these topics came up last night in the debate with all the Democratic candidates there? Defund the police, defund ICE. And then, this to me was stunning, Zohran Mamdani, it seemed like he was getting asked a trick question when the question was, will you support an independent Jewish state? 

He didn't really know what to say. You have been really supportive, of course, of cracking down on antisemitism. What's your reaction to all of these things that are being discussed within people who are running to be the mayor of the city?

Mayor Adams: Right, and I like what you said, it was like he was being asked a trick question. It's a trick question when you don't want to give an honest answer. Look, the Jewish population makes up 10 percent of our city. Last year, they were 51 percent of the hate crimes. This year, the few years into the first quarter of this year, they were 61 percent. 

For us, not to focus on correcting those numbers will be malfeasant. If it was any group, if any group was a disproportionate number of a particular crime, I'm going to zero in and I'm going to focus on that, and I think that's what my record shows. My record shows I stood up when someone was attacked for wearing a hijab. 

I stood up when someone was attacked for being a Sikh. I stood up when someone was attacked because they're a member of the LGBTQ+ community and the African American community or the Latino community or the AAPI community. 

I don't want innocent people to be victimized, no matter who they are. You can't have numbers that are so disproportionate and has demanded the largest Jewish population outside of Israel to sit back and ignore what the numbers are showing, and so I'm going to be clear about protecting working class people in the city.

Cosby: What did you make of the defund the police comments and the defund ICE?

Mayor Adams: They don't realize public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity and every city, state, and federal agency must be a partner to accomplish that goal. ICE and HSI coordinated with us to go after those who have been dangerous for a long time. 

Now, the city is not allowed to collaborate for civil enforcement only, and we don't. We don't break the law to follow the law, but we are allowed to collaborate for those who are participating in criminal behavior, and ICE is a federal law enforcement agency, and we will collaborate with them to keep our streets safe for those who are committing crimes.

Catsimatidis: Mr. Mayor, another very important thing is, and we've been discussing it on WABC here, and we were the first ones to discuss it, who in the White House was pushing the buttons to go after President Trump, to go after Eric Adams, to go even after Andrew Cuomo? Somebody in the White House was pressing those buttons, and I don't think it was President Biden.

Mayor Adams: I think that part of the review that's taking place right now is looking into exactly what actions were under the former president and what actions were not. Listen, when you do an analysis of how we saw some of these federal actions, it's real questionable, and people attack the fact that I say people should read Kash Patel's book, American Gangsters. 

That book is very revealing, very fact-driven of some of the things that have been taking place that I think we all should be ashamed of. [Inaudible] is real, and the fact that there are people who have been in government for so many years and believe that they are government, no matter who's the mayor or the governor or the president, they believe that they've been around and they are the government and they will make the decision, that can't happen in America, and you look at even in the Southern District. 

The Southern District classified themselves as a sovereign entity. Just think about that for a moment. Sovereign means you don't answer to anyone. No American gave power to any entity in our country that states they do not have to answer to anyone, and the mere fact you have that absolute power is an absolute problem. 

That is the mindset that we have witnessed in many of these law enforcement entities, that they didn't have to answer to anyone, they can carry out with any action. We saw what happened to Brian Benjamin, lieutenant governor, highest-ranking Black in the entire state, brought up on charges, his political career was destroyed, the charges were dropped, but the destruction was already there. Hundreds of thousands of legal bills, his name was destroyed in the process. This can't and shouldn't happen to people in this great country.

Catsimatidis: Mayor Adams, you believe, and we've discussed it with the Trump administration, with people associated with President Trump, that one of the DAs or one of the attorney generals that was coerced into doing these indictments by the White House, are they going to turn state's evidence against the White House?

Mayor Adams: Your guess is better than mine. No one shares secrets with me.

Catsimatidis: Well, I guess if they do point the finger of who was calling these shots and calling these indictments, then possibly that person would get off.

Mayor Adams: Well, I think that, you know, you'd probably be a great person to be that U.S. attorney, but right now, you know, we have an excellent one in Pam Bondi and her team, but I am not familiar with what they're doing on the inside. I try to stay away from the 26th Federal Plaza as much as I can.

Former Governor Paterson: So, Mayor, I think that one of the reasons this happens is you have these huge agencies and the presidency and other places, and even the Mayor's Office, and you have people who work under you who are not necessarily against you, they just feel that they know better. 

I call it, we know better. Like David Paterson, he's pretty smart, but we know better. We're three, you know, levels down from him, and then they go and do things that they think need to be done, but didn't consult with a higher authority, and then it blows up on everybody.

Mayor Adams: You know, I'm so glad you said that, because you know this better than anyone. And when we raise this, they want to act like we're talking about some form of conspiracy theory. And you know, and I know, governor, especially when you became governor, you would send out directives and send out what you want people to do, and you have people who have been in these agencies 30 to 40 years who would totally disregard what you said. 

And feel as though there's so much you need to govern, and we know better than you. 

Former Governor Paterson: Yep. You're here today, but we'll be here tomorrow. 

Mayor Adams: Right, right, right. And so when we talk about that, people want to say, oh, here you are talking about some conspiracy. No, this is the fact. You send out a directive, and you look and say, what happened to that directive I sent out? They just openly say we're not doing it. We're just going to do what we want to do.

Catsimatidis: Mayor Adams, do you think President Trump felt that way when he asked the general at the Pentagon to send troops in on January 6th, and the general ignored it?

Mayor Adams: I think he felt that way on several different times. I think in his first administration, there were people who just were sabotaging the things that he wanted. Now, you can agree or disagree with a president, and you can feel as though, I don't want it, I don't think that's the right thing to do. Then you resign.

Catsimatidis:  But he is the president, and you have to follow his orders. 

Cosby: Yeah, you can't be undermining. 

Catsimatidis: And Mr. Mayor, you are the mayor, and your people have to follow your orders. Absolutely.

Mayor Adams: Trust me when I tell you, John, there are people in my administration, the overwhelming number of them are committed, dedicated public servants, but there are people in the administration who believe that they are the government. They believe that they don't have to answer to the mayor. They don't have to answer to the deputy mayor. They don't have to answer to commissioners. They are the government, and they're going to do what they want, because as Governor Paterson stated, in their mindset, I've been through many mayors. We just wait you out. And so it's a constant fight that you have with these permanent governments who believe that they are the government. That's the most well-kept secret, governor, I think, in government.

Catsimatidis: They feel that they are the establishment and elected officials come and go.

Cosby: Yep, and President Trump sees it, too. Wow, well, Mr. Mayor, thank you so much for being with us. We so appreciate you being here and your candor and your perspective on all of this.

Mayor Adams: Thank you so much, love you guys.

Catsimatidis: Mr. Mayor, between the President Trump helping you and Tom Homan helping you, you [are] doing what you have to do in New York, maybe we'll save New York. And I'm dedicated to saving New York, like you are.

Mayor Adams: I think all of us are focused, if all of us stay focused on the mission, and that's to raise healthy children and families in a safe city, we'll all be well.

Cosby: Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, thank you so much. 

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