Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces Upcoming Cultural Events As Part Of "Founded By Nyc" Campaign To Commemorate New York City's 400th Anniversary, Celebrates Historic Investments In City's Cultural Institutions And Holds In-Person Media Availability

June 10, 2025

Mayor Eric Adams: Man, anytime you have Laurie here, you're gonna bring all that energy. Good to be here, and as always, it's great to see some of you, you know, as we talk about—What are you laughing at? 

[Crosstalk.] 

Mayor Adams: So really excited about today, and you see we have some guests, so you all need to be on your best behavior. Talking about what, Laurie, you have pushed for for years, you know, and what we're doing in our Best Budget Ever. We really looked at our cultural institutions.  

I remember Laurie and I, Commissioner Cumbo and I talking about the role of cultural institutions, and sometimes people believe it's just a performance on the stage, but it's so much more than that. It empowers us to celebrate our diversity, to understand that in our dance, our song, our movements, it is a way of expression, and also it compels people to come inside and to embrace each other. And so in our budget, we took an extraordinary step in putting a $215 million investment in our city's Department of Cultural Affairs.  

And the one area that really Commissioner Cumbo just spiked the ball because she stated over and over again, we need to ensure that we baseline the dollars, and this has included a $45 million baseline funding increase, a further substantial increase in over a decade, and the funding will be a permanent part of the city's budget year after year after year.  

This funding will go to the Cultural Development Fund to support our over a thousand organizations across the city and to the Cultural Institutions Group to bolster some of our city's most beloved institutions. And again, year after year after year, it would exist. These historic investments would be good for our families and good for our cultural organization, good jobs, and good for the entire city.  

And “Founded by New York City,” the investments are just in time for the Founded by New York City campaign to celebrate our city's 400th anniversary. As part of Founded by New York City, New Yorkers can enjoy cultural programming all year long, and that includes 400 blocks of open streets to celebrate 400 years of New York City’s history as well.  

This initiative will show just how much the city has to offer. We will have iconic New York City centric movies as part of our Parks Movie Summer Series. What is your favorite New York City movie? Spike Lee, you know. An exciting Broadway concert this September and much more.  

And speaking of Broadway, I don't know if people realize last year was the greatest year for Broadway in the history of the city. The history of the city. Greatest year for Broadway in the history of the city. We use that term, the history of the city, so often.  

And so New Yorkers can get in on the excitement later today of the Museum Mile, something that I enjoy doing along Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street to 110th Street. It will be closed to cars, and eight of the city's most prominent museums will be open to the public. And so not only can you get free admission to eight of our city's leading museums, which is our top tourist draw. Many people don't realize but it is really a draw for tourism in our city.  

So I'm excited to welcome a key partner in this work. Stephanie is from the Museum of City of New York to talk more about this program. I love that museum. We did the walk through. I encourage everyone to walk through the Museum of the City of New York and it shows the history of the city and I can't wait until our administration is in there so people can see how great I've been as a mayor, all the records that we have broken. But, you need to get by there and see this. If you have been New Yorkers, go to the Museum of the City of New York but, why don't you come tell us about it. 

Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, Ronay Menshel Director and President, Museum of the City of New York: Thank you so much Mayor Adams. We are so grateful to you, to Deputy Mayor Adolfo Carrión, to Commissioner Laurie Cumbo, to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and everyone in the administration for your historic investment in New York City's cultural future.  

Your continued support ensures that the city's museums and cultural organizations remain economic and social anchors for our communities. It is an honor for me to be here today as Ronay Menschel, Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York and as the Executive Vice Chair of the Cultural Institutions Group of the City of New York.  

At the Museum of the City of New York, we explore the city's history, art, popular culture, and civic life, highlighting the ways that people of different backgrounds come together in this city to drive creativity and innovation. From the city's stages to its museums and galleries, cultural institutions define New York City's identity. Culture is the soul of our city. It reflects our diversity, tells our stories, and drives $110 billion into our economy every year.  

Later today, the Museum of the City of New York will be one of eight iconic cultural institutions and numerous partners celebrating the Museum Mile Festival, a collaboration established in 1978 to expand public access to the arts. All New Yorkers are invited to join us tonight for this free celebration which kicks off at 6 o'clock p.m. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Africa Center, and with partners like the Asia Society, Cool Culture, and the 92nd Street Y, we are activating one of the world's greatest corridors of culture.  

I am especially proud to invite you to join us for a Museum of the City of New York's exhibition, Urban Stomp, Dreams and Defiance on the Dance Floor, which showcases New York City as a global center of social dance, including ballroom, swing, disco, latin dancing, hip-hop, freestyle, and more.  

Events like the Museum Mile Festival celebrate the spirit of a city where creativity and resilience thrive. From Museum Mile to other incredible events planned this year and beyond, the arts and culture community will continue to foster curiosity, civic dialogue, and pride in our extraordinary city, this extraordinary place that we all call home.  

Thank you again to the administration for supporting arts and culture, and thank you for believing in the power of museums and arts education to inspire and connect us all. It is my pleasure also to introduce Ajna Dance, who will preview their performance tonight at Museum Mile. 

Mayor Adams: Open to a few questions before we get to off-topics, if there’s any questions on what we’re doing over these next– 

Question: I am curious, I know this is the New York City 400 celebration, but I know it was also celebrated in 2009. I think that was to commemorate Henry Hudson's trip up the Hudson, I mean, it wasn't called Hudson River then.  

But I'm just curious if anyone from the New York City Company's here, because I think it was confusing to me initially, and I think to some New Yorkers, because if you were here long enough, or have a memory long enough, you know that this was previously celebrated in 2009. 

Mayor Adams: Yeah, New York City Tourism is leading that, and they have a list of events that are part of the 400 celebration. They have it on their website. And we should, probably next week, we'll bring in New York City Tourism so you can see the full scope of what they're doing.  

Question: So I just want to ask, so obviously this whole year was the 400th anniversary, so why are we talking about it now in June? And then in the end of 2024, the Post reported that the director of the Quadricentennial Commission hadn't heard from City Hall. They actually said they're not really organized for whatever reason and kind of was unhappy with the organizational skills of that. Have you reached back out to that commission and what is the status with that? 

Mayor Adams: Yeah, again, as I was sharing with Katie, New York City Tourism is leading that entire 400th celebration. And next week, we'll bring someone in and they will give you the full scope of what they're doing. And they have a series of events that are happening like the 400 blocks events that we're talking about, but there's many more. So we're bringing them in to hit a full scope of it. Let them do a presentation on what they're doing. 

Question: Commissioner Cumbo, this is for you. It is part of a milestone to have tens of millions of dollars baseline in the budget, but this comes at a time, a difficult time for the New York City and national arts scene, because we are seeing that President Trump's proposed budget would eliminate national dollars for arts, and we've actually seen some incidents of impoundment of money where it was expected not to occur. Can you talk about why New York City's investment is so critical now in light of these developments? 

Commissioner Laurie Cumbo, Department of Cultural Affairs: Thank you so much for that question. We are really excited here in New York City. As commissioner, over the past three years, we've passed the largest cultural budgets in New York City's history, and this year is truly a milestone budget. This was an investment in New York City's cultural scene that came at a very critical time.  

We did not baseline the budget because of what was occurring on the federal level. We baselined the budget because these organizations have certainly exemplified the importance and the power of the art to our community. And so there are many individuals on the foundation level and individual level who are stepping up in very profound ways to make sure that we safeguard our cultural community during this very challenging time for many of our cultural institutions.  

So, we have baselined the budget by $45 million. We have increased funding to our local arts councils by 15 percent, which I'm extremely proud of because that's also going to help the investment for our artists in New York City who are the lifeline and why people are attracted to coming to New York City.  

We're expanding the cultural institutions group by five organizations, and we have some more exciting news that'll be announced with the passing of the budget. So please stay tuned, and we're gonna make sure that we safeguard our cultural institutions because they are essentially what makes New York City great. Thank you. 

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Any other questions on this? Thank you, you can dance your way out. Thank you.  

A few off-topic questions. I want to just really, as you know, we announced a 15 mile per hour speed limit. And it is crucial that this speed limit, no matter what town hall or those of you who covered, the town halls, you know we hear it all the time, the illegal and legal mopeds, scooters moving too fast, in bike lanes, on sidewalks, just the entire crackdown. The call was clear and we did just that.  

We lowered the speed limit to 15 miles per hour, so important to do because it's about public safety. I know there are those who say it's a crackdown on a host of different groups, but it's not. It is ensuring public safety in our city. New Yorkers have communicated, and we have responded accordingly. And we're going to continue to monitor. The Police Department, they have a job to do and they're going to do just that.  

Last topic, but I want to really bring on FDM, why don't you come up for a moment, FDM, talk about the Hudson Yards initiative. Great job in landing the plane. Why don't you give folks an overview on that? 

First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro: Thank you.  

Mayor Adams: That's a sharp tie. 

First Deputy Mayor Mastro: Thank you. Coming from you, that really means something.  

Today is a historic day. There are discussions recently about expanding Hudson Yards to the west, putting a platform there, developing office space, acres of open space for the community to enjoy, and up to 4,000 units of housing, both market rate housing and apartments, including a level of affordable housing.  

We're thrilled to be able to report that this administration is supportive of that plan. It involves a pilot where the platform will be built and then Related will expand the yards to create this beautiful, wonderful space. The entire Hudson Yards development, $25 billion. This phase, $12 billion. The largest real estate development in U.S. history. A perfect complement to what's going on there now.  

And we're very happy to say that Related has upped its commitment. First working with the City Council, but now working with this administration. It is now committed to create at least 625 affordable housing units as part of this development. That's 50 percent more than it previously committed to. And the greater of at least 625 affordable units or 25 percent of all the units created, depending upon whether it reaches the 4,000 level. So this really is a wonderful day.  

The City Council is scheduled to vote on this tomorrow. And working in partnership, we are hopeful that this development not only goes forward, but is another transformative event for our city in providing housing, affordable housing, in providing office space, and providing wonderful open space in an area of Manhattan.  

Understand that this western part of Hudson Yards hasn't been developed. It needs a platform, it is over rail yards, and it literally was undeveloped, undevelopable property. But working with this private developer who has done so much on the west side already, we are going to see a transformative event in our city's history. And it's a wonderful occasion and we look forward to and are hopeful that the City Council will pass this overwhelmingly tomorrow. Thank you. 

Mayor Adams: Thank you. And thank you, Deputy Mayor Carrion on for you and your team for assisting in landing this plane. It's a very, very important initiative and it's building every place, everywhere, every day. We have to build more housing.  

Why don't we open up to some more topics? 

Question: So I have two questions. The first one is this, so given the protests that have been going on around the country having to do with immigration, do you ever see, can you see a possibility where the National Guard might be sent to New York and I wonder what you would do about it if that were to happen? 

Mayor Adams: I spoke with the governor yesterday. It was really good seeing her over at the FIFA celebration. As you know, the World Cup is coming here, and the finals, and we spoke about this issue specifically.  

You know, I hear this over and over again when my federal partners come to the city. New York is unlike other cities. Our infrastructure, our manpower, just about every agency that we have, you see that it is the largest in the country, from the FDNY to the NYPD, etc. And that continues here.  

We have Police Commissioner Tisch. We communicated this morning. We know what we have to do to keep the city safe. And if there's ever a need to go beyond the manpower that we have, there's other ways you do it before you have to come with the look of a military operation.  

So I don't foresee that. We have the best police department on the globe when it comes down to dealing with those who want to protest. We've done it before. We saw it over and over again. We're going to continue to do it now. 

Question: So my second question is a little bit different. There was a two-year-old who went missing in the Bronx. She was reported missing on May 30th, but the NYPD didn't alert the media that it was in the picture until June 9th. Why was there a delay in trying to find this missing two-year-old?  

Mayor Adams: You said until June 9th?  

Question: [Inaudible] the NYPD yesterday.  

Mayor Adams: Oh, to June 9th. I'm sorry. The preliminary information I received was that on May 11th the family reported. We're still unraveling exactly what happened, were proper procedures followed. This was a troubling series of events. Based on the actions of the dad in handling the child that we need to find out exactly what happened.  

We're still praying that the child is alright. We don't know the final outcome based on the briefing I received late last night. We were still investigating all actions, the actions of the dad, the actions of officers who responded, and once we have a full understanding based on the detective division, we'll be able to answer what happened. But right now, our goal is to try to find the child.  

Question: [Inaudible.]  

Mayor Adams: And again, I'm not sure exactly what happened here. I looked at the timetable. It appears as though during that timetable, there was a visual of the child, and so I'm not sure what happened. We have to peel back, we have to look at every row that our officers responded to, and everything from filling out a domestic incident report to referring it to the detective division, that whole process we're going to examine. 

Question: Mr. Mayor, I ask your opinion. Do you think that the activities of immigration federal authorities, are they overstepping their authority? Do you think those protests are justified, that the ICE, what they're doing is almost illegal, that's how it sounds, from these protests? 

Mayor Adams: Well, as you know, we filed an amicus brief, and the court determines if a federal authority or city or state is overstepping those authority. I don't determine that. The courts would decide that.  

When you look at the 237,000 migrants and asylum seekers that are here, we went to Washington D.C. and advocated for TPS. We know how important it is for people to follow the process.  

And you know, I tell people all the time, I always shared a story when I was a police officer and there was a Chinese gentleman who was the victim of a robbery in a subway system at the Canal Street station. I was off duty at the time. I heard him screaming and yelling and I responded to the robbery of two– I think it was two or three suspects who were robbing him and he was afraid to go to the police because he was afraid that he was going to be deported.  

And we were able to eventually get him to report on the robbery, but you don't want that fear. And so I don't want people to be fearful. I said it over and over again. If people are not comfortable going to school, our children won't be in school. They're not comfortable going to the hospital, it would overpopulate our emergency rooms and so on and so forth. You heard me say it over and over again.  

But the determination is something that the courts are going to have to decide. My focus is going after criminals. People who break the law, that is always my focus and I have not shied away from that.  

Question: So yesterday, your office and the council were going back and forth on X about the Department of Sustainable Delivery bill that was released in February and has not yet been introduced by anyone in the council.  

It seemed like you were saying that if the council had maybe passed this bill or introduced this bill, you would not have needed to start maybe the criminal crackdown on electric bikes that we're seeing or created an e-bike speed limit. Is that what's going on? Can you kind of explain what that sort of fight was about? 

Mayor Adams: No, we would have moved to decrease speed limits no matter what. So it has nothing to do if they would have passed it or they didn't pass it. What we're finding when we speak with the workers, the employees, et cetera, is that the rush to deliver food is a problem.  

You know, we were able to increase their pay and many people know the historical increase we've done in the pay. We just won a lawsuit around that, but when you're rushing in the streets because your salary depends on it, it creates an unsafe environment.  

What we're saying, the sustainable delivery legislation that we produced that they've been sitting on, we're saying that it would help us deal with the big corporations, make them also responsible for what we've done. We sent the bill to the council nine months ago, nine months ago, and they have yet to deal with it. 

Question: You mentioned in your intro that like you're trying to lower the speed limit also for mopeds and it was my understanding that it was just for e-bikes but you know why are you moving ahead with this 15 mile per hour e-bike speed limit when the city has had the power for a year to lower the speed limit for all vehicles, for cars and mopeds, to 20 miles per hour? You know, cars cause 99.6 percent of pedestrian injuries, according to the city's own data. 

Mayor Adams: Yeah, and you know what's interesting is that people forget my history. In the State Senate, I was the leading voice of decreasing the speed limit. I joined with advocates back then and we were successful in lobbying Albany and getting my colleagues on board. And so it's all, we want all vehicles to move at the appropriate rate.  

When it comes down to cars, of my understanding, and if I could be corrected, I'll be corrected, that for cars we have to get assistance from Albany.  

Question: Part of Sammy’s Law which was passed, that gives the city the power to lower the speed limits from 25 mile per hours to 20 miles per hour [inaudible]. 

Mayor Adams: We lowered speed limits in this city from I think it was 30 miles down to the 25 where we are now. And if we could lower it even more, that’s something that we will look into and make that determination.  

But what is often missing from the conversation, street safety, it involves everyone. It involves pedestrian crossing at the green. You know, there used to be a commercial that says cross at the green, not in between. We don't want to engage in that conversation, but I will. It involves bikers who run red lights and who drive on sidewalks and who are reckless in driving. It involves scooters and mopeds that speed through bike lanes. Everyone must be involved.  

So you may say, “Okay, well, 96 percent of fatalities are involved in vehicles.” Fine. To the family members of the 4 percent, I'm looking for zero, zero, net zero. And so I'm not going to leave 4 percent because there's no consolation in knocking on the door of someone that lost a loved one and say, “Well, you know what? 96 percent of the people didn't die that way.” No, zero. That's what I'm looking for. And every aspect of it, we're going to deal with. 

Question: So you said in a statement earlier this month with this amicus brief filed in Dylan's case, that he was punished for doing what we all asked him to do by going to a routine court appearance. 

Mayor Adams: I'm sorry, say that again? I was punished for doing what? 

Question: This is about that Bronx high school student who was detained by ICE. In the statement you said he was, quote, “Punished for doing what we all asked him to do” by going to this routine immigration court appearance.  

In this amicus brief filed by your administration, your Law Department wrote that the actions by ICE created a culture of fear amid court proceedings and that that would deter people from participating in judicial processes. I'm wondering if these raids at the immigration courts now give you any pause about welcoming ICE and other federal authorities onto Rikers? 

Mayor Adams: No, and I turned that over to my first deputy mayor. He's handling that. But I want to be clear, and I said this over and again, and I hope one day that it resonates. ICE is not an illegal organization. It's a law enforcement organization, and we need to be clear on that.  

Now, one may not like some of the things they're doing. That's fine. No one likes when the Police Department pulls them over and gives them a summons, you know, but they are a law enforcement organization, a legal law enforcement organization. And I'm going to collaborate with every federal, every state, and every city law enforcement organization. We've made it clear from this podium and from other podiums.  

We're not going to collaborate when it comes down to civil enforcement, and we have not, and we won't. But, when it comes down to criminal enforcement and taking dangerous people off our streets, those who force women into prostitution that are undocumented, those who shoot police, those who are carrying guns, those who are running through our streets snatching chains on mopeds, documented or undocumented, I'm going to collaborate with my law enforcement partners.  

So ICE has a law enforcement role. That's their job. And that job has– they've been empowered to do that. And one, someone may not like part of their roles, but those are men and women who took an oath to carry out their jobs. And that's their job. 

Question: My second question is on your antisemitism executive order, you said that that order would allow you to crack down on funded organizations that deny the right of the Jewish people to self-determine. I'm wondering what specific groups, if any, are you looking at? 

Mayor Adams: I'm not looking at any specific groups. The head of the unit, our unit, is going to examine that. So there are no specific groups I'm looking at. Whomever is doing what's wrong, those are the groups we're going to look at. But there's no specific group I could pop out right now and say I'm looking at group A or B. 

Question: Just on the two-year-old in the Bronx, do you know if police are looking at the possibility that the father may have thrown the child into the Bronx River. Do you know if that's part of the investigation? 

Mayor Adams: Every every aspect of finding the child is part of the investigation. We know that the child was reported missing. And so he was the last person that the child was in his custody. And so we're troubled by the fact that the child is still missing when he was the last person that we know that the child was in his custody.  

And so we're not leaving any stone unturned. We're going to do a thorough investigation to determine where the child is or the outcome of the investigation.  

Question: Mr. Mayor, congratulations on the Hudson Yards announcement. You guys are making real estate, basically, turning this platform. But there was concern when Hudson Yards was originally approved by the fire unions and EMS that, and we do see now, response times are going in the wrong direction. Are you concerned that there's not adequate attention and we need to make sure that there is? That there is proper coverage for EMS and for firefighters as you make this dynamic? 

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Great question. We're building these new communities. This project is going to have a school, another daycare, and other items. As we build these new communities, we need to factor in EMS, FDNY, what is the increase around NYPD, and that is imperative to do, and that was part of the conversation with the team. How does this impact? Because we're talking about almost an entirely new neighborhood that we're building. 

Question: When you were with 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement [Who Care], as far as driving the conversation on police accountability, you were always talking about that in the community, police need to be identified, you need to develop a relationship with the people who are policing.  

One of the things that's developed with the Department of Homeland Security is the practice of wearing masks. And I wonder if you don't think that's antithetical to the kind of thing we were talking about when you're leading this police reform movement? 

Mayor Adams: Yeah, you know, the practices, and I'm not sure if everyone that's part of HSI performs that way, but these are law enforcement practices, and they have a reason for what they do and how they do. I know what we do in NYPD, I cannot speak for what the training is for HSI and other federal authorities. They have a reason for what they do, and I respect that reason. I'm pretty sure that safety is at the top of the reason for what they do. 

Question: Mr. Mayor, you spoke about how you might react if the National Guard was called in here. I'm wondering what your reaction is to them being called in L.A. over the protestations of Governor Newsom and also Mayor Bass, and then, separately, you know, Cuomo's gotten endorsements from several orthodox groups in Brooklyn, the Bobav, in Borough Park, in Chabad, in Crown Heights. I'm wondering, you know, in the general election, are you concerned that they're going to stick with him instead of, going with you? 

Mayor Adams: Well, you know, a couple things. One, there's a mayor in L.A, Mayor Bass. Mayor Bass doesn't go into what happens in my city and I'm not going to go into what happens in her city. She's the mayor of that city and she'll make the determination [on] how to manage what she's dealing with in LA.  

Let me tell you the art of what Andrew does. You know, because I have a Master's in public administration, but I have a PhD in Andrew. He comes out on weekends, he'll stop at a Black church, and then they'll list him as an endorsement, and oftentimes they call me and say, we never endorse him. He'll go and identify one or two people in a community and say, I have the community. And in that community of Crown Heights, the Lubavitch community, you have Chanina Sperlin, you have Devorah Halberstam, and many leaders.  

He'll take two or three people from a community and he'll give the impression that he has the entire community. That's just not the reality. And we buy into the Cuomo methodology. You know, you can't ask me questions. I'm hiding behind a wall of people. I'm going to get one or two people from my community, one or two black clergy leaders. I'm gonna go eat at a soul food restaurant and let everybody know I eat chicken.  

So, you know, I am, see, black power. You know, that's him. He's a master at giving the impression that let me just pick one or two people. I'll stand up and do a press conference with them, and it'll give the impression to everyone else that, he has the whole Crown Heights Lubavitch community. You know, go ask Chanina Sperlin. Go ask Devorah Halberstam. Go ask the list of people who are in that community.  

And so he'll go to Borough Park, and he'll get one or two people in Borough Park, and then we'll write that, he has the whole Borough Park community. He'll get one or two Black preachers, and have them endorse him, And they say, he has the whole Black clergy. You know, that's just how he operates. He'll come out on weekends, do a Black church, stand in the pulpit, and then he'll disappear for the next six days.  

But I'm gonna tell you what you're gonna see. Since the polls are shifting, he's gonna start coming outside more.  

Question: He's already doing that.  

Mayor Adams: Right. He thought he was going to sit it out, ride it out, and no one is going to critique it. But now, you're going to see, this is New York City's mayor's race. You have to campaign in New York City. Now, who was here in the beginning when I said this is going to be one of the most interesting campaigns in the history of this city? I said this over and over again, over and over again.  

This is going to be the most interesting campaign in the history of the city. And you know what's interesting? Hasn't even started yet. You're going to see some things in this race that we've never seen before. And he thought this was going to be a traditional race, like when he ran for governor, like when he ran for A.G., like when he was HUD secretary.

  

No, this is New York City. New York City is a different animal. And you can't sit back and hide in New York. And he's learning that right now. And so, he has three, four people that endorse him in Crown Heights? I was in Crown Heights the other day at Devorah's event with her son. I stood with Devorah Halberstam when Ari was shot and killed on the Brooklyn Bridge. We're talking about relationships of over 30 years. 30 years.  

So, you know, let the primary run its course. You know, we're gonna see what's gonna happen in the general course. You know, and speaking of that, I don't agree with Mamdani's policies. We're diametrically opposed to each other. I don't agree with his stance on many things. But I respect the fact he's true to who he is. I don't know who the other folks are. You know, one year you are for Tier 6, taking away the retirement of civil service.  

Next time you [aren’t], one year you're for congestion pricing. Next time you [aren’t], one year you're from mental health. Next time you're closing mental psychiatric beds. You know, one year you believe our seniors are important. Next year you devastate 15,000 in nursing homes. It's like, not only him, I don't know who Brad is. I don't know who all these people are.  

Mamdani is the same Mamdani that he was before. Same person, I disagree with him, but at least he's not this politician that puts a finger in the air and sees where the wind is blowing. The rest of these guys are not consistent, you know? What's interesting, Cuomo is running from his record and others don't have a record.  

Question: You know, speaking about Cuomo and the campaign hasn't even started, are we going to see you finally out on the campaign trail after the June primary? It's interesting, you speak highly of Mamdani. Is that you showing some type of, you prefer him to be somebody that goes on to the general election versus Cuomo?  

And then I had a separate question from our transit reporter, Sam Liebman. She says right now when it comes to e-bikes to crack down, it's not going as smoothly, that there's issues when they're getting tickets, the summonses are being dismissed because they're not written correctly. How are you going to maybe change their training when it comes to the NYPD, and making sure that they're writing the tickets the right way for the 15  miles per hour speed limit? 

Mayor Adams: Okay, first let's go to the Mamdani. You said I spoke highly about him. Saying he's consistent, I said I disagree with his policies. I respect people who are authentic and consistent, not who talk out of both sides of their mouths. That's what I don't respect. If you are consistent on a position on something, I respect that. And I don't have to agree with you. And I don't have to call you names. Well he's going to be in the generals, because from my understanding he seemed to have got Working Family.  

Question: [Inaudible]...unless you know something. 

Mayor Adams: No, I don't. I don't. I don't control WFP. But if he is the person that they choose and I'm running against him in the general, then I'm going to point out our differences and I'm going to show why it is imperative to keep doing what we're doing in this administration. But I don't have to be disrespectful. I don't have to call him names. I think he believes in something. He believes in a principle and those principles in many cases are diametrically opposed to what I believe and we could point that out.  

But at least he believes in something. He believes in something. Unless you tell me I don't know anything that he said that he has switched as the years went on, but I could point to these other guys and show how they've switched over and over and over again. They tried to placate to whatever room that they're in and so the same thing I said about myself,  I'm the same Eric on principles and philosophies and beliefs that I have been throughout my adult life.  

I've grown, I've evolved on stuff, but I'm the same person. I remember the Daily News reporter that did an analysis during my campaign in 2021, and she went back and looked at my entire public record and she said, this guy's been saying the same thing when he was a rookie cop. From state senator to borough president to running for mayor, this is the same person. And that's the same with Mamdani. Same person.  

You got to respect that. You don't have to like it, but you have to respect it. Now the rest of them can't say that. The rest of them, they're all over the place. You know, they change as the wind. You should do a whole story on how many people, I think you did, did you do that story on how many times someone in on the Post did a story on how many times Andrew changed his positions over and over and over again.  

There are a number of candidates in this race who would say anything that needs to be said to get elected. That's what they would do. Whatever needs to be said, they would go in front of people and say it just to get elected. And that's a problem. Now, the transit reporter of-  

Question: I have another question. What's the point of this enforcement when it seems almost every summons is dismissed because it is written wrong or dismissed in six months. There's no consequences. And if the cops can't correctly write the tickets, how are they gonna do that for speeders on e-bikes?  

Speaking about the previous crackdown that happened just a couple of weeks before, before the 15 mile per hour speed limit was passed. How are those two gonna run concurrently if there's already issues with the first one? 

Mayor Adams: What I like about Commissioner Tisch is her ability to identify a problem and put in place real initiatives to correct the problem. And so she will analyze if there are particular officers who are finding it difficult to properly fill the summonses, she's going to zero in, retrain those officers, to give them the opportunity to correct the problem, and if that retraining doesn't happen, then she'll put in some form of discipline, because it's imperative that we do our paperwork right, and make sure that it's done accordingly to the rules.  

And that's what retraining is about. And listen, officers have to fill out so much paperwork, in fact, too much paperwork, as we saw in the How Many Stops Act that we tried to prevent from happening. But we identify what the issue is and we'll correct it. 

Question: So, Mayor Adams, do you have any reaction to the mayoral debate last week and were you surprised by any of the answers? 

Mayor Adams: Well, I think a lot of them are starting to admit the things that we did, how our record is. But no, no, I don't. You know, I remember when I ran in ‘21 and many of you who were around, there was just like a deep talent, Shaun Donovan, ex-HUD, Maya Wiley, Ray McGuire, one of the top finances here in the city. I'm just trying to think of some of the other names.  

Kathy Garcia, real talent. I mean, you looked on that, you looked on that stage and you saw just talent. I remember walking to the first debate and I was just impressed with the room. These were some smart people and they understood the government, even Scott Stringer, you know in all these years of government. He was knowledgeable about the running of government and when I look on the stage now and see which is really interesting now, that you asked the question.  

What does Jessica Ramos know about running a city of this complexity? Where's the other guy from the former assemblyman that runs for everything?  Blake. I mean Blake you trying to run the City of New York. Like this is not a college project and when you see people who are running a city this complex. This is a complex city, you know.  

Day one when I got in, this is a lot. And if you don't have real knowledge, not only knowledge of government, but life experience, being mayor is an adult job. It's an adult job. Because there's some tough choices you have to make. You have to have the ability to say no when it's not popular. You have the ability to make these decisions. And so when I looked on the stage, that's the first thing that jumped off at me.  

When a person is running for the mayor of the largest city on the globe, the first thing we should ask is, “What type of life experience do you have?” You know, “What do you bring, not only to the professional aspect of it, but what type of life experience that you have?” And I saw that with the candidates that I was running against.  

I don't see that now. I don't see that life experience. I don't see a record that you could critique. You can't even critique their records. You can't even look and say, okay, let me see how you handle a certain situation. We can't even critique their records. And so that's what I saw on the stage. And once I looked up on the stage, I said, you know what, let me turn this off. I went into the subway system to talk to passengers. 

Question: Sir, I'd like you to clarify your answer to Marcia's question, please. Are you saying that you can't envision a scenario in New York City in which, let's say, aside from a natural disaster, in which you would want or need National Guard troops on the streets? 

Mayor Adams: No, I didn't say that. I'm always going to put public safety first. If there's ever an opportunity or need because for some reason that we cannot manage and handle for whatever reason, we're going to utilize whatever resources we have to protect New Yorkers. I don't foresee that. We saw a lot of demonstrations after Floyd was killed.  

We saw demonstrations of thousands, tens of thousands of people on the street. After the Diallo issue, I was one of them, so I know how large the crowds were. So what I'm saying is that I have a lot of confidence in how we deploy, the strategies we'll use, the methods we'll use. I just have a great deal of confidence in what we can do, not only for what we've done under this administration, but what I did when I was in the Police Department and what I saw done under previous administration.  

But if it ever reaches the level that is something that we can't manage, I spoke to the governor yesterday, and the governor said, “Whatever, we're joined at the hip to make sure that it's going to be safe. If there's ever a need, we'll sit down and we'll find a way to give the reinforcement.”And it doesn't necessarily have to be the National Guards. There's other law enforcement communities in the state that we can also call on.  

Question: So you don't foresee that, but you could envision it.  

Mayor Adams: If I were to answer that, the headline would be from Craig, “Eric envisioned having the National Guard and the Army and the Navy and the Marines come in at our port.” So I got to be very careful because Craig is in the room. If Craig wasn't in the room, I could better answer that question.  

Question: Can you comment on the appropriateness of the chief of department and the deputy mayor of public safety golfing with the president at such a tense time, a time when so many New Yorkers are frightened. Was it an appropriate thing? 

Mayor Adams: Without a doubt. Any of you who play golf know that great decisions are made on the golf course. And if I could have, do you play golf, Randy? I hope Randy goes to play with the president. I hope police officers go play with the president. There's an informal connection when you are on the golf course and you are able to communicate and talk and knowing those two guys, they are public safety driven, they believe in our streets being safe.  

And I would think having my chief of department, my deputy mayor of public safety, to have the two of them to be able to communicate with the president on a golf course, to talk about things that are important to us. I'm sure they weren't talking about themselves.  

You know, I'm sure they weren't saying, what can you do for me? No, I'm hoping all of my staffers can have the opportunity to have a one-on-one so he can see the caliber of people we have in city government, so we can talk about these tough issues.  

A lot of great deals have been made on the golf course, and I thank the two of them for doing it, and I would encourage anyone else that could have an opportunity to do so. First of all, you guys know how I feel about Kaz and John. You know, those guys work 24 hours, seven days a week.  

They believe in protecting New Yorkers. And so those are, two of my favorite, employees and leaders.  

Question: I'm glad to agree that Cuomo doesn't take enough questions from the press, but I wanted to ask.  So June 1st is the start of hurricane season under the Trump administration. So under the Trump administration, 200 employees at FEMA lost their jobs, 1,000 employees at NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lost their jobs.  

Obviously, we’re a waterfront city and hurricanes have been a problem in the past. I'm curious how the city is planning to perhaps plug holes in this funding and if there's interagency coordination, because there's a lot of fears from other emergency groups around the states up and down the East Coast, I'm thinking of the East Coast hurricane season, that are concerned about these cuts when it comes to predicting hurricanes and major storms and other issues. So I want to get your take on those major cuts from President Trump and his administration. 

Mayor Adams: No one likes cuts. Everyone wants as much funding as possible. And even when we have funding, we still want more funding. So no one likes cuts. I have the utmost faith in Commissioner Iscol. Commissioner Iscol has the ability to adjust, monitor, to use his talent, his skills, and that goes back to what I was saying about life experience.  

This is a former military man that was not only, he was not in the office somewhere, he was on the ground. He knows how to adjust. And I have the utmost faith, and we're going to try to reverse as much as possible those cuts. We're going to do the best we can. But at the end of the day, you have to work with what you have. That is what running a city is about, working with what you have.  

We will fight to get more, as we always do, but we will work with what we have, and that's why you have to have the talent to do so. And Zach has been with me since the beginning of this administration, through several storms, through several major incidents. What he did around a migrant and asylum seekers, you know, that guy is just a real leader. And we're going to work with what we have.  

Question: I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood the question. [Inaudible] to the federal agency's federal cuts, meteorologists around the country will greatly affect forecasting and predictions and figuring out even the strength of storms. So this is at a national level. So are you, A, not bothered by those cuts? And B, will you speak to your strong partnership with the federal government, and as especially as hurricane season starts ramping up for us in New York City? 

Mayor Adams: We got to do this again, because I keep saying this, and one day somebody's going to write a story about this. There's something called state lawmakers, federal lawmakers, and city lawmakers. Do you guys ask federal lawmakers what their positions are on this? 

Question: I don’t work in D.C., sir. I cover New York City. This is a concern for people, hundreds of thousands of people in New York City, and they're concerned about the cuts to FEMA and the cuts to NOAA that could greatly affect predicting storms here in New York City, and how we would then recover and react to storms. So I'm curious if you are concerned at all about these federal cuts. 

Mayor Adams: And I love that you said that. And you know what? I don't work in Washington D.C. I work in NYC. And so, what I would like for you to do, I would like for you to speak with your federal authorities and [tell them] about these cuts that their constituents in New York [are] concerned about.  

Just as you don't work in D.C., I don't work in D.C. I work in NYC. And I have an OEM that's here, that no matter what happens on that level, I still have to produce for New Yorkers. But the federal electeds need to be fighting on behalf of their constituents.  

Although they go to Washington, their constituents are in their home states. So my Office of Emergency Management, they're going to do their job no matter what happens on the federal level.  

Question: I wanna go back to an executive order that was signed Sunday, the governor issued a nearly identical executive order three years ago. You get a definition of antisemitism from Albany then? Kathy Hochul had issued us an exactly similar executive order three years ago. So did we not get one in the city? Are you picking up the baton here?  

And then separately, one of my colleagues had reported over the weekend, there was a football field in East Flatbush. The school was given the Eagle Academy for young men in Brooklyn, which then Chancellor Banks had founded. It basically displaced these girls' soccer team, and it had to force them to go out to Brooklyn to play their games. Do you support the DOE giving control of this $4 million refurbished field to this school? 

Mayor Adams: Well, I have a different understanding of that, and of my understanding, no one was displaced. And when I was briefed on it, we're going to look at exactly what happened, but no one should be displaced, particularly if those girls attend Boys and Girls High, which is a co-ed school, the Eagle Academy is a all-male school, but we're going to look into that and find out exactly what happened. 

Question: And then on the executive order from Sunday? 

Mayor Adams: I'm not sure if the governor did an EO or not, but what we did here in the city is opposition here in the city. And if the governor wants to do something, if a community board wants to do the same thing, if a bid wants to do the same thing, the more the merrier.  

We have to address the fact that we have a disproportionate amount of antisemitism in our city, and everyone should be on board on bringing down hate in general, but specifically what we're seeing around antisemitism. 

Question: Two questions. One is a follow-up. Last week, you were talking about the Staten Island and Ellis Island ferry. You said you're gonna have the police commissioner look into it. It needed to be a few days, as one of the ticket scammers down there was scared on Saturday. The people running these Statue of Liberty ferries said it's, even on a rainy day, there's 71 illegal vendors down there. Have you done anything on it yet, and are you gonna do anything?  

Mayor Adams: One thing I don't want to announce, because it seems like when I announce, they disappear. Somehow they communicate, Eric is coming. You know, so we want to do a surprise to go down there and find out firsthand what's happening because you don't want violence. And that's what you're saying is so important. Some of this illegal vending activity escalates to violence.  

And that is a problem that many people are fighting us to stop illegal vending because there's a large number of people, as you know, they're fighting us to stop illegal vending. This is why you have to do so. The scamming that comes with some illegal vending, we want to stop. Our goal is to clean up that issue down there, there should only be legal individuals selling the tickets. 

Question: [Inaudible].  

Mayor Adams: Yeah, I saw that the other day, I was driving by, it couldn't stop. 

Question: I know your question is another rerun, but maybe a little further down into the summer hiring season. Do you know if they have enough lifeguards to bring back youth swimming programs and Ocean Open up? 

Mayor Adams: When are we doing that announcement, Randy, for the lifeguards? When are we doing a nice announcement for the lifeguards, the number of lifeguards? I know it's coming up. 

Question: I think they said they were ahead of last year's numbers, but it didn't sound like they've gotten really hit. I think they need 1,200 to open up all the areas. 

Mayor Adams: I know the report is coming out soon. Okay, so we'll give the official count, but if you know anyone that wants to be a lifeguard, you still look like you've got some swimming in you, we would love to have you come and join, but we need lifeguards. Thanks everyone.