Transcript: Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton Announce New 116Th Precinct in Southeast Queens and Give Update on April's Crime Statistics

May 3, 2016

Police Commissioner William Bratton: Good morning. We’re holding our monthly crime briefing here at the 1-0-5 Precinct here in Queens. I’ll take the opportunity to thank those elected officials, some of whom are here, and members of the local community who have worked for years to get an additional precinct station house in this area of Southeast Queens.

I must also note the memory of Detective Brian Moore, who lost his life one year ago serving the people of the 1-0-5 Precinct in the City of New York. There will be a memorial service here at the site of his murder tomorrow, the one-year anniversary of his death. As we find ourselves saying far too often, the NYPD does not forget its own, its heroes, its family.

Out of the 77 precincts that cover New York City, the 1-0-5 ranks number five in both square mileage and population. Not only is the 1-0-5 Precinct big, but it is long – eight-and-a-half miles long. The current station house where we are today is the northern portion of the command. So, to get to the southern portion, it would be an eight-and-a-half mile drive as precinct officers leave roll call. Although dedicated patrol covers have been established in the southern section, the local community has long expressed concerns over the lack of a base of operations in that area. 

In 2007, the Department established a satellite command near the Belt Parkway for local police presence. Satellite was recently expanded in the last several months to, for the first time, provide 24 operations and a dedicated staff. This facility will continue to operate in the area until the new dedicated station house is up and running several years from now. The actual site of the new 116th Precinct, as it will be named, has yet to be officially established. We’ve already begun an assessment to determine what the staffing needs will be, as well as how the current area of the 1-0-5 Precinct, and possibly the surrounding precincts may be subdivided to afford better coverage and service. We’ll also be working closely with representatives of the local community on these issues, as you might expect. 

Although the recent introduction of the smartphone technology will significantly reduce the need for our police officers to return to the local station house for various administrative and reporting purposes, such as making out accident reports, the need of the local community to have reasonable access to their precinct staff is extremely important, and the new 116th Precinct will help the residence of this Southeast Queens area have better and closer access.

I’m going to introduce the Mayor and following the Mayor and discussions around the new precinct, Dermot Shea will provide the monthly crime update to you, and then we will – Steve Davis will explain the sequence of on-topic and off-topic events.

Mr. Mayor, good morning. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you very much. Thank you. Good morning, Commissioner. Good morning, everyone. It’s an honor to be in the 1-0-5 Precinct. I have to tell you, today, Commissioner, I know we’re going to hear some statistics on what the NYPD has accomplished in the month of April, and what has been accomplished so far this year. I just want to offer my congratulations to you and all the leadership present here because, once again – and this I think has to do with the approach that you’ve taken from the beginning. I keep saying the NYPD does not rest on its laurels – it keeps getting better, and we’re going to show again when we talk about the month of April – continued progress in how this department keeps innovating and strengthening itself. And, Commissioner, that is in large measure due to your leadership. I want to thank you for that. 

Commissioner Bratton: Thank you, sir.

Mayor: It is powerful to be here at the 1-0-5 for many reasons, but, first and foremost, because this is where Detective Brian Moore served. We miss him. We feel his loss. We know the men and women of this command feel his loss and remember him so fondly – remember his warmth, remember his laughter, remember his exemplary service. Just about a year since we lost him lost him and he is very much on our minds today and will continue to be in our hearts for years and years to come. But it’s very appropriate to be here to celebrate, at the same time, that we’re going to be taking a great step forward for this community; and doing something that will mean even better policing. But again, this is very much in the vein of the NYPD never resting on its laurels, constantly looking for better ways to serve the community.

What we celebrate today – the new 1-1-6 Precinct is going to be a part of making policing in Southeast Queens even better. And that is something to be very, very grateful for. The folks gathered here – I want to thank everyone who is here with us today. I want to acknowledge and thank – you’ll hear from Deputy Commissioner Shea in a moment, talking about what’s been achieved in April, but I want to thank Chief Boyce, Chief Secreto, Chief Fox, Chief Barrera – everyone who is part of the leadership; Chief Gomez, of course, everyone who is part of the leadership who really gets the credit with the men and women of the NYPD for all the achievements that we’re going to go into. And I want to thank the elected officials who are here with us. You’re going to hear from some of them, but I also want to thank everyone who has contributed and believed in and fought for these changes including, of course, the Borough President Melinda Katz, DA Richard Brown, Councilmember Donovan Richards, and Councilmember Barry Grodenchik. I want to thank the Community Board leadership as well; Community Board 13, Brian Black the Chair, and Mark McMillian the District Manager, thank you for your leadership.

People in this community worked for a long, long time for this change – 30 to 40 years, in fact. And it is a credit to them. I always say that real change comes from the grassroots. It is a credit to them that they believed this could and should happen and this day has come. But let me put it in context for a moment of how the progress that we’re talking about today is going to continue to strengthen. When we say New York City is the safest big city in the country we have no fear of contradiction, and that statement has been proven many, many times over. And the first quarter of this year was particularly powerful – lowest number of homicides, lowest number of shootings of any first quarter or any quarter in our history. Now we add to that another important statistic; the fewest shootings of any month in modern history – 68 shootings in a single month, the fewest we’ve ever seen in any month. These are stunning statistics. These show an approach to policing that literally is getting better all the time and reaching levels that were unimaginable even just a few years ago. But we want to go farther, that’s the central message today – we want to go farther. So, we’re investing $70 million for this new precinct – for the new 1-1-6. And we know it will contribute to driving down crime, driving down violence, and addressing quality-of-life crime. And that is such a concern for so many of the communities of Southeast Queens. The overall numbers again are striking. Dermot will go into detail, but citywide overall crime down 4.2 percent from last April – a 4. 2 percent drop. For the first time ever, burglaries are under 1,000 incidents citywide, and a new record has been set – a new record low for car thefts – 464 cars stolen citywide compared to the previous record of 550. So, again records are being set constantly by the NYPD and these are numbers, again, I don’t think could have been believed even a few years ago – that the NYPD would have ability to reach this.

To the Commissioner’s point about the meaning of the 1-1-6, you heard the sheer statistics. The 1-0-5 covers so much, 350 miles of roadways, and is one of the biggest precincts in the city. The new 1-1-6 will mean faster and better police service for the people of Laurelton, Rosedale, and Brookville, and Springfield Gardens. And this is what we want to see more of, it fits beautifully with the new neighborhood policing strategy that’s being put in place more and more all over the city – bringing the police closer to the people in every way. And when you consider these developments, this progress that’s being made, the new investments we’re making in this precinct on top of the investments that have been made in technology and in safety for our officers, on top of the investment we’re making in counterterrorism activity, on top of the 2,000 new officers who will be on patrol by the end of this year – it adds up to a very positive picture for the safety of the people of this city. I just want to say a few words in Spanish before I pass it back to the Commissioner.

[Mayors speaks in Spanish]

As that last sentence, I didn’t say it in English. I’ll say it in English now. We’re going to work with the community, with the community leaders present, with civic associations, with clergy to figure out the best location for the new precinct, and then we’re going to get to work building it, so it can serve the people of Southeast Queens.

With that, back to you Commissioner.

Commissioner Bratton: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Dermot Shea, in a moment, will give you the full update on the crime picture that the Mayor gave a brief summary of. I point out that in addition to the crime reduction – and I want to, while we’re here in Queens, certainly acknowledge and that Dick Brown our longest serving District Attorney in the city for the extraordinary partnership that we have with his office, and certainly here the crime stats in Queens reflect that partnership and the coordinated effort to make this area a much safer area. I point out that with this decrease in crime also comes a very significant decrease in arrests. As you’re well aware, we’re emphasizing trying to reduce the number of contacts that we have with the public that are not necessary to the enforcement arm in the reduction of crime. That trend is continuing.

Overall arrests are down 10.2 percent or 3,047 fewer arrests for the month of April 2016. However, and this is reflective of our precision policing model that we’re working with, index crime – the more serious crime – arrests are up almost 7 percent for April. So fewer arrests for minor offenses –  broken windows types of offenses –  while at the same time more significant numbers of arrests for the serious crimes that we’re focusing on. Recovered guns are up 19 percent, an additional 49 guns for the month of April. Recovered guns are up 16.8 percent or 162 for year-to-date in 2016. And I remind you that’s with about 650,000 fewer stop-question-and-frisk activities each year. We’re running at a pace this year between 25,000 to 35,000 stops versus the peak back in 2010 of close to 700,000. So all the numbers are all going in the right direction – the ones we want going down are going down, the ones we want going up and going up. With that let me turn it over to Dermot Shea who will give you a more intimate picture of where we are year to date as well as the specificity of the month of April.

Deputy Commissioner Dermot Shea, NYPD: Good morning, everyone. Commissioner Bratton just mentioned Judge Brown and the Queens District Attorney’s Office, but I specifically wanted to begin with that. I often sit up here as the face of crime to report the good or the bad as each month passes, but it is, as we have said many times, a shared responsibility. And what we are accomplishing, the excitement that we see across the city right now, we maybe the face but we have many partners. And I’m speaking to the five district attorneys, the special narcotics prosecutor, our federal partners – the Eastern and Southern District – as well as our law enforcement partners, probably too many to name. But the FBI – you saw the case takedown in the Bronx last week, spearheaded by Homeland Security. All of these partners, I truly believe it’s been said before, but never as before have we been work closer with them, sharing data, combining strategies – and I think you’re seeing the fruits of the labor in these numbers that we’re going to get into. So, my many thanks to our partners. And the incidents of shared productivity are too much to mention.

Overall index crime for the month of April, as you heard, fell 4.2 percent. That brings us to approximately a one percent increase for the year-to-date. There’s really – that boils down to two simple facts – we’re carrying an extra year this year with the leap year, and we’re seeing an increase –

Mayor: – day.

Deputy Commissioner Shea: An extra day. We’re seeing an increase in grand larceny complaints, particularly skimming. And this is a crime that we think with crime prevention outreach – the community’s help – we think we can really make a significant impact. But I’ll get into that at the end.

This crime reduction that we’re seeing for the month of April – spread across New York City – four of the five boroughs saw crime decrease, and I’m very happy to report that Queens was one of those four boroughs. The one borough that we saw a crime increase in April was the Bronx, with approximately an eight percent crime increase.

In addition to the overall index crimes, some of the benchmarks that you heard mentioned – grand larceny auto – stolen cars – never before have we seen this low of in April. Burglaries, under 1,000 for the first time in New York City recorded history. Incidents – shooting incidents – historic lows. So, those are some of the highlights for this particular month.

When you look at homicides recorded in New York City in April of 2016, we recorded 27 homicides. That’s versus 25 for April of 2015.

When you look at recorded incidents that happened during the month, we were actually flat 25 versus 25. We added on two additional homicides this April that occurred in the past, that were ruled homicides now – one in 2005, one in 2010, one from the 9th Precinct, one from the 42nd Precinct in the Bronx. So we maintain a level very close to the all-time low in homicides. And as the year goes on that’s one of those records that we clearly want to surpass.

Shooting incidents, we were down 19 shooting incidents for the month of April. I think even the most seasoned people sitting amongst me here – and throughout the ranks of the NYPD – continue to be amazed at the shooting levels in New York City that we are seeing right now. This is unprecedented levels. For April we had a 21 percent reduction. As of midnight last night, I believe the number was 49 fewer shooting incidents this year – a double-digit decrease in shooting incidents.

What you’re seeing is a blending of multiple strategies – a momentum building in New York City that is frankly quite exciting. When you look at the data, the tools that are available to the men and the women of the New York City Police Department, the collaboration with our partners throughout New York City, we believe that we are not at the end, we are closer to the beginning – and it is exciting to see, really, how low we can push this crime down.

Transit crime has been discussed – as I look at Joe Fox. Earlier this year, we had a spike in transit crime. Transit came in in the month of April with a significant crime decrease, and now sits at approximately five percent up for the year, and we’re very confident that we can get that below by the end of the year.

The Commissioner mentioned arrests, and I’ll just briefly highlight a few of those numbers again. For the month of April alone, we affected 3,000 fewer arrests citywide. [Inaudible] approximately two percent down in arrests this year, which may not seem like a large number until you realize that we were down 12 percent last year, and we were down again from 2013 to 2014. So, we continue to identify – the recurring theme is here a scalpel. And we continue to identify areas that we can make fewer arrests while not impacting negatively on crime. And quite the contrary, we continue to push crime down significantly with those fewer arrests.

Bob Boyce’s detective arrests are up significantly; felony arrests up; index crime arrests up. The Commissioner mentioned gun seizures and arrests up. So, these are the metrics that we’re most interested in.

I will finish and be available for questions at the end. But with the – but what I began with, with the grand larceny, something that often time goes unnoticed. What we’re seeing lately is an increase in this white collar type of crime. We’re up about 600 complaints in New York City this year of grand larcenies. And it’s one that really affects everyone. And what we’re seeing lately is a trend away from bank ATMs – the criminals are learning and we will adapt too – to smaller locations, locations without video cameras, where they attach these skimming devices.

So, you will see in the days and weeks to come an increased outreach by us to try to get the word out to the community on that – but just to be aware, whenever you’re using an ATM machine, whether it’s in a hotel, it’s in a retail establishment, or it’s on a sidewalk; the criminals have, and continue to target these locations. They are very difficult to note and to see if they are there. But we don’t want to see anyone become a victim in this type of crime.

Thank you.

Commissioner Bratton: Thank you, Dermot. To point out, he reported very significantly last week the major gang takedown with Preet Bharara’s office – that was certainly one of a very large scale. I would emphasize, however, that our focus on gangs – the majority of our gangs in the city are much smaller than that gang, or two gangs, that we dealt with last week. So, we will be continuing [inaudible] on an ongoing weekly basis, taking down these gangs. We’ll have one later this week – about 15 people that we’re moving on, small gang, but [inaudible] terrorize their particular couple of blocks is significant. So the gang emphasis, the precision focus on them and the resulting impact in reduced shootings and violence are going to continue as a trend here in the city.

With that, Mr. Mayor, if I can take it back over to you to go back to our guests – the elected officials – on the precinct.

Mayor: Absolutely. Well, I want to thank, again, all of the elected officials who intensely supported this effort over years to better serve the people of the Southeast Queens. And I’m just going from this direction over – starting with the Borough President. And thank you Borough President for all your support.

Borough President Melinda Katz.

[…]

Unknown: What we’re going to do know is we’ll take some questions on this topic, and then we’ll transfer to other police topics [inaudible] allow some of our guests to leave [inaudible].

Question: Hi, Tom Tracy from the Daily News. I’m just curious – when was the last time a police precinct was built because there’s been a lot of talk about renovating and retrofitting precinct houses over the years.

Commissioner Bratton: Maybe Staten Island, 1-2-1, several years ago. Back in the 90’s we created an additional precinct up in the Bronx – the 3-4. So, 20 years ago, when I was commissioner the last time, we created one. And then a couple of years ago, the 1-2-1 out in Staten Island. And, so I’m pleased to be Police Commissioner once again when we’re actually expanding the number of precincts, once again.

Mayor: On the topic of the precinct? Any questions?

Yes.

Question: So, when will this get done?

[Laughter]

Mayor: You went to the heart of the matter, didn’t you? Well, I’ll start and defer to the NYPD after.

First, we need a location. And that’s, again, a process we have to go through with the community, and it has to be a location that can work for everyone’s needs. And then we’ll get to work as quickly as possible building. But I know NYPD has to make sure the location works and think about whatever realignment comes with it.

Commissioner Bratton: Again, it is a multi-year process. However, as the Councilmember referenced, that we recently made the substation a full-time police facility. So, officers report there for roll-call. They roll out of there to answers calls in that area. So, the area will receive a significant increase in coverage in the interim until the new facility is in fact actually built. And when that facility is built it would require additional personnel to be assigned out here. So, they get the benefit of not only an additional precinct, but additional personnel at that time.

Mayor: Okay, on this topic of the precinct?

Question: Once the precinct – the 116th is built, what will happen [inaudible] the satellite precinct will continue throughout. But what will happen with it after?

Commissioner Bratton: That satellite station will be used for other purposes, whether it is police purposes or maybe returned back to the community for other uses.

Mayor: Okay, media question. Yes.

Unknown: Media question?

Question: How long ago was the 1-0-5 opened? And when did they draw the boundaries? If anybody knows –

[Laughter]

Councilmember Barry Grodenchik: It’s old. But police precincts are supposed to be [inaudible] with community board boundaries. So, there are some community boards in Queens – as the Borough President will tell you – that have two precincts in them. Community Board 12 has the 1-0-3 and the 1-1-3. But this goes on forever. I mean, it goes from North Shore Towers all the way down to the bottom of Rosedale. You know, I mean it’s – take a look at the map right there. It’s right outside. It’s just unbelievable.

Unknown: The 1-0-5 was opened in 1929.

Councilmember Grodenchik: I was not here.

Unknown: Alright folks, we’re going to allow some of our guests to leave now. And then we’ll transition into other police related topics [inaudible].

Mayor: Okay. Let’s get reassembled here, everyone. We’re going to go to other police topics. So we’re going to give people a couple more seconds to make your move. Other police topics. Way in the back.

Question: I know you said we have more crew round-up [inaudible]. And I know there’s been a lot of talk about the use of social media – Instagram, Facebook – to figure out who is involved. Can you talk about the kind of line there? Like if a kid lives in a housing [inaudible] uses a hashtag associated with a crew, does that make them part of the crew? What’s the kind of line where crewmembers become someone you would arrest?

Commissioner Bratton: First off, those who commit crime. And suggest that the young man or woman that you’re describing that if they want to be identified as a member of crew, I strongly discourage that because that’s the quickest way to get on our radar. And when you get on our radar, we’re going to focus on you and we’re going to zero in on you. So, they should stay out of crews and stop bragging. Dermot, if you want to speak to that?

Deputy Commissioner Shea: I would just say that in the last few years as evidenced by the arrest numbers, the cases clearly are continuing. And the message is if you’re in a gang and you want to be involved in violence or pick up a handgun in New York City, we are going to come after you. That’s the clear message. With that said, everyone that gets on Facebook and makes a statement on Facebook does not necessarily, obviously, make it to criminal action. And we are very selective when we do our cases, and we pare down – when appropriate, in conjunction, hand-in-hand with the prosecutors – to get the greatest impact on these. But just this week, with the use of social media, we took two firearms off the street throughout the New York City. And I won’t go into further details on that. But the message is clear – we are not done coming after violent people in New York City.

Question: Two questions. First, can you talk about the ceremony for Brian Moore tomorrow? Who will be there? When is it? Will you be there Mr. Mayor? Second of all, can you talk about the arrest in the 78th Precinct of a burglar in Park Slope?

Commissioner Bratton: In reference to the ceremonies – the memorial service tomorrow – there will be further details on that coming out this afternoon. As it relates to the incident you’re referring to, as is our practice, I’ll let – I’m going to ask Chief Boyce to fill you in on the details of the specific case. And if there are other questions relative to current crime, incidents that you’re interested in, Chief Boyce can also, with the most knowledge, speak to those for you.

Chief Boyce: The arrest in the 7-8 of the burglar – I’ll have to get back with the specifics of it because I don’t have it in front of me right now. So we’ll see you on the side – we’ll give it to you.

Question: Mr. Mayor, will you be at the –

Mayor: Yes, I’m going to be in Albany testifying at the State Senate Committee on Education.

Question: [Inaudible] can you talk about the [inaudible] gun seizures, and if you have any at all concerns about the gun owners who have yet to voluntarily turn those guns in?

Commissioner Bratton: The case you’re referring to is the one that involves our gun licensing unit. We have a major investigation in partnership with the U.S. Attorney and FBI on some of the activities that may have occurred in that unit. We are also in the process of conducting our own in-house series of audits on that unit. To put it in perspective, the – in the City of New York, at this particular time, we have 94,419 handguns registered and we have 52,498 rifles and shotguns – so approximately 145,000, 150,000 firearms registered in a population of 8.5 million people. In the United States, there are over 300 million firearms for about 300 million people. So we have many fewer firearms that are registered here than in the country as a whole. In terms of the numbers of licenses, we issue licenses for business carry, guard carry, limited carry, business premises, long gun permits, residence permits, special carry, and retired police officers.

We have over 16,000 police officers who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon in the City of New York. In terms of the investigation that we are focused on at the moment, that investigation – out of all of that – is focused on about 246 particular licenses at this time – 246. We have already pulled six permits in which we have ordered the person to return the license and the firearm. There are 11 pending revocations which I believe will probably occur this week. And meanwhile, we are looking at the approximately 250 other cases of interest to us at this time. I would point out that the revocations that have occurred as well as the 11 that I referenced that will occur this week do not involve, at this instance, allegations that have been raised about the issue of bribery. These are around insufficient paperwork, inappropriate paperwork, and so the scope of the investigation is certainly on allegations of criminal wrongdoing and licenses that may have been issued as part of a criminal conspiracy. At the same time, we are also going to work very hard to improve our administrative practices. On this issue that the Department treats very seriously, and this City treats very seriously, and the State treats very seriously. Gun ownership, licensing – who gets them and for what purpose. We probably have the tightest gun control laws of just about any city in America. We want to keep it that way, and that’s why the seriousness of this that we are focusing a lot of energy and resources on. This week, I assigned one of our inspectors from the Internal Affairs Bureau who has been involved in the investigation to be the commanding officer of that unit, so that I have a comfort level that his intimacy of the investigation will assist him with the multi-faceted activities that we have underway in that unit.

Mayor: Police topics?

Question: Commissioner Bratton of Chief Boyce, are you going to be able to talk about the [inaudible]?

Chief Boyce: Sure, we have recovered remains [inaudible]. Yesterday afternoon – yesterday morning, at about 10:30 a student from Kingsborough Community College saw a body washed ashore in Sheepshead Bay – notified the Fire Department who notified the Police Department. We responded. Right now, we are seeking to identify that person. We are investigating it as a homicide. This individual was wrapped in black plastic bags and his arms were tied behind him and his feet were submerged in poured concrete, obviously, a homicide. So, we’re going forward with that now. He does have some substantial tattooing on his back. It is the image of the Virgin Mary with a rose. We’ll have pictures of him – a sketch of his face going out tonight as well as a sketch of that tattoo in order to identify this individual. So right now it is a homicide investigation and we’ll go forward in that fashion. The ME is doing the autopsy today, we’ll determine about how long that person was in the water. So that’s where we are right now, trying to identify the body.

Question: Commissioner, a week ago we asked this question after you came back from the Middle East, but in those seven days or so have you been briefed about any more situations with the FBI [inaudible] investigation? And do you anticipate, as a result of those [inaudible], anymore disciplinary action being taken?

Commissioner Bratton: I’m briefed every day in person by our Chief of Internal Affairs Joe Reznick. So, I receive briefings everyday as to the activities of that joint investigation with the U.S. Attorney’s office, the FBI. It is an ongoing investigation and each day we are interviewing people and each day the investigation is continuing. So as it unfolds and we have information we can share you in the spirit of transparency that we have showed so far on this. I will explain to you when we are transferring personnel, when we modifying personnel, when we’re arresting personnel, when we are firing personnel. So, it will be on a day by day basis.

I would take this opportunity, however, to offer clarification. I think one of the statements I made was unfortunately taken out of significant context by one of the media outlets, and then basically mirrored by many of you. I made a comment that this investigation mirrored – was worst in some respects, the worst one since the Knapp Commission. Let me clarify, my comment that day was very specific to the fact that because it involved a number of very senior officials in the NYPD, that was the first time in my understanding of this history of the department that we had had that level of involvement going back to the Knapp Commission. What we have engaged in right now – the scope of this investigation as we understand it and I am very intimate with it – that there’s nothing going on in this investigation I’m not aware of. This in no way mirrors, in any way shape or form, the scale and size of that systemic citywide corruption in the 1970’s. I had dinner with Bob McGuire who was the Commissioner at the tail end of those investigations and he confirmed what was going on back in those days. Bob McGuire actually represented [inaudible] during that period of time. What we have is a number of senior officials and a number of other police officers, but it is nowhere – no way systemic throughout the organization. It is contained as far as the scope of it. So, thank you for the opportunity to make that clarification. This is not the Knapp days all over again if you will. This department is a very good police department. It has an extraordinary Internal Affairs capability to investigate itself. And one of the reasons why the U.S. Attorney and the FBI are so willing to have our complete and intimate involvement is the fact that there is that trust level with them.

Question: Mr. Mayor, why haven’t you met with the mother of Ramarley Graham? [Inaudible]

Mayor: Very different circumstances. The broad standard we hold is once there is disciplinary action underway by an agency that I have ultimate responsibility for, it is not appropriate to meet with the family members. The Blake situation as you remember, we instantaneously saw the video. It was before any of the disciplinary processes had gotten underway; so, very different situation. Look, what happened to Ramarley Graham was obviously a tragedy and my heart goes out to the family. And there will be, because now the Justice Department has concluded its activities, there will be a disciplinary process by the NYPD and that has been made very clear to the Graham family.

[…]

Mayor: Okay, and showtime. Questions? Questions?

Question: Mr. Mayor, the Board of Elections inspected [inaudible] election results this week. Are you satisfied with the actions they have taken to address the possible disenfranchisement of 126,000 Brooklyn voters?

Mayor: Look, I think it is clear that a lot has to be addressed at the Board of Elections. And I have spoken clearly about the changes they should make administratively, including changes that we will help to provide resources for if we get a clear written memorandum of understanding – a binding memorandum of understanding. I have been clear, I think we need bigger changes through legislation in Albany to professionalize and modernize the Board. In terms of what happened on Election Day and the impact, I think, obviously, we need to get all the details, all the results. I can’t imagine a scenario where it would have changed the outcomes given the magnitude of what we saw in each case. But it is certainly another example of why we need fundamental change at the Board of Elections.

Yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor, did you read the Conflicts of Interest Board letter to Lawrence Laufer about the Campaign for One New York?

Mayor: I want to be careful about what I read in what sequence. I can tell you this much, we sought the Conflict of Interest Board clearance in a variety of situations, and then followed those instructions very consistently. And a number of people were involved in ensuring that there was follow-up on that guidance on a consistent basis. So, the whole point was to go to the Conflicts of Interest Board, which by the way, if you check your history there are many cases in New York City history where people did not first go to the Conflicts of Interest Board before doing something. We really believe in doing that. And we got that guidance; we followed that guidance throughout and we’ll continue to follow that guidance.

Question: Did you yourself read any of the letters from them?

Mayor: I know at different times I have read some of their letters, but I want to, again, in the interest of absolute consistency and clarity say I can’t give you the sequence of which letter I read when, and if I read every single one. But I can tell you that the guidance was always explained to me by lawyers. And lawyers were involved in every step of the processes to make sure the guidance was consistently followed.

Question: [Inaudible] matters pending or about to be pending – that donors who had matters pending or about to be pending toward the City shouldn’t have given money. Does that phrase – what does that mean to you?

Mayor: Yes, so this is why we have the Conflicts of Interest Board, and this is why we have lawyers to interpret each definition. And I’ll let, obviously, [inaudible] I’m not a lawyer, so I’ll let better legal minds explain the nuances, but the point is we believe – and this is how we’ve comported ourselves in everything – we believe in disclosure, we believe in seeking guidance from the relevant regulatory body, and then following that guidance. And that is not something I pretend to interpret. I go to a lawyer to interpret it. And then, literally, what the lawyer says is applied case by case very consistently – each individual case is looked at, each individual name is looked at, and when a specific situation is taking place. So, here’s what I’m confident of, I’m confident of the fact that we handled everything legally and ethically; that we did the things I wish more people would do in public service, we sought guidance from an ethics board. We followed that guidance and we disclosed everything we did. Some of the questions that you or anyone else might ask are based on disclosure, right? You’re literally looking at individuals’ names because we told you, so you could ask the question. I think the more interesting, bigger issue we’re confronting in the State of New York and federally is no such disclosure is required. And a number of people are doing things without any attempt at disclosure. So we’re very comfortable, we do the disclosure, because we believe it’s the right thing to do. We go beyond the law. We’re also very comfortable that in disclosing it, you will ask lots of tough questions, and we can show you how we very scrupulously followed the law and followed the ethical guidance. Yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor, the Campaign for One New York took donations from people like Wendy Neu and Steve Nislick and 11999 and DC37 and Two Trees and James Capalino and the developers of the Brooklyn Public Library. Those are all people who had matters pending before the City.

Mayor: Again, it is a very important thing to get the definitions right on, which is why we went to the Conflicts of Interests Board, got a definition and then had lawyers determine how to follow those definitions. So, I am very, very comfortable. Again, it has all been disclosed because we’re comfortable that it is the right thing to do to disclose to begin with, but we’re disclosing things because we have confidence in the fact, also, that we followed the specific guidance we received.

Question: So, under the lawyer’s definition, people like Wendy Neu and Steve Nislick did not have matters pending?

Mayor: Again, what I want you to understand is the Conflicts of Interest Board laid out a set of rules, and we followed those rules. It’s as simple as that. And we can show you case by case, okay?

Question: Mayor, Sheldon Silver who’s being sentenced today had argued that his outside income was legal, and that many people in Albany had done the same thing as he did in working outside of his office. Do you think it was appropriate for the U.S. Attorney to prosecute him?

Mayor: I don’t know the details of the case. I think it is a tragedy what happened. I think it’s exceedingly sad, but again I am not a lawyer. I don’t know the details of the case. I think it is clear that something was done wrong, but I can’t go into the nuances of it.

Question: Do you think the response that you’ve been given with some of the investigations into your campaign finance – that things were legal and that you had followed all of the appropriate rules – do you think that that might remind people of the argument that Mr. Silver made?

Mayor: No. I think these are entirely different matters. First of all, to the credit of everyone involved in this discourse, no one is talking about anyone lining their pockets, which unfortunately has happened in way too many instances. The things we’re talking about is that we were trying to achieve working with outside colleagues – things like Pre-K For All, affordable housing programs, a Democratic State Senate that we thought would better serve the interest of the people of New York State and New York City. So, I think that’s apples and oranges to begin with. But again, there’s some questions being asked of investigations going on. We’ve said we will fully cooperate; we’ll openly and happily cooperate because we are comfortable that we did everything the right way, which is the same point about disclosure. People who don’t disclose you really should have a lot of questions about. And they’re in this State and in this country – any number of people, I’ve mentioned a few days ago – you know—millions and millions of dollars of advertising was utilized against me when I first became Mayor. You don’t know the names of who those people are. I don’t know the names of who those people are. Under the  law, sadly, they could put millions of dollars up – they happen to be  wealthy individuals in the hedge fund industry, that much we know. And there is no way for us to know even who they are and what interests they represent. We certainly saw at the State level, tens of millions of dollars collected with no disclosure whatsoever. So, we believe in disclosure, and we believe in following the letter and spirit of law; in fact, going the extra mile and seeking guidance in this case as we were discussing earlier from the Conflicts of Interest Board. I think that is how people should comport themselves. I think the other cases you’re referring to are an entirely different matters, and unfortunately very tragic matters.

Yes?

Question: [Inaudible] First of all, do you think you’ve been well serviced by the investigation into [inaudible] – do you think you’ve been well served by the advice you have gotten from those lawyers? And it also seems as if they were playing very close to the line at the very least.

Mayor: Well, that’s an editorial comment. I don’t agree with that. I think, again, I’m never surprised if someone comes to these discussions with a worldview, but let me offer you what I think is objective truth – and I’d urge you, please, to look at history and see if you can find many other situations that parallel ours. Find me situations where people went and sought Conflict of Interests Board guidance upfront so frequently. Find me situations where each individual phone call was vetted by lawyers to make sure they were in compliance – the call was in compliance – with the Conflicts of Interest Board. Find me situations where people voluntarily disclose, beyond the requirements of the law. And again, what were we trying to achieve? Pre-K, affordable housing, a Democratic State Senate. So, I think I’ve been well served. I think all the people I’ve worked with – were trying to figure out the right, and legal, and appropriate ways to achieve those goals. I’m proud to say – in the case of pre-K, we achieved it. In the case of affordable housing, we achieved it.

Question: Why do you think there are so many investigations [inaudible]?

Mayor: I don’t conjecture. I can say I think, you know, there should be a fair standard. I think there should be a consistent and fair standard. And another thing that we’ve made very clear – and I’ve said it to you guys many times – we’re very comfortable. We’ve said it to the U.S. Attorney repeatedly – we are happy to assist and work together in any way possible, if there’s any concerns they have. But we’re convinced that things were done legally and appropriately. And, you know again, I think it’s a very important fact, when someone discloses voluntarily, it suggests comfort that they have, that they’re doing things the right way.

Yes.

Question: There is a Department of Investigation report out this morning. I don’t know if you has a chance to look at it – looking at ACS and a number of incidents –

Mayor: I have not seen the formal report. I have had a summary of it though.

Question: Okay. I mean the idea is that there was cases – two fatalities and one near fatality where ACS had opportunities to intervene and did not due to a number of [inaudible]. I was just wondering if you had any response to that.

Mayor: Yes, we are making a series of changes. I think the report is important because it’s pointing out things we have to do better now. As you know those cases go back years in some cases. So, some of the things happened before we got here. But the bottom line is I never accept the notion that we can’t do better to protect our children. My view is – our job is to literally save every child. That is the standard I hold. And we’re putting substantial investments in to increase the amount of preventative services, to reduce the caseloads for our workers, to improve the training. I think all of these things will really have an effect. But this is an area, I think you know, I’ve worked a lot on before I became Mayor, and I care deeply about it. And I’m going to drive reform at ACS further. But it will take real investment, and we’re committed to making that investment. It’s in the budget.

Question: Mr. Mayor, on the 2014 State Senate matter – two parts. One – you said you’re confident that everything you did was legal, and you pointed to others doing similar tactics with [inaudible] committees and candidate campaigns. The BOE referral seems to get at the highly coordinated level of it – as exceptional. Has that given you any pause that maybe some of what your team did was especially coordinated? There’s that email about – is the $60,000 there yet?

Mayor: No, it doesn’t give me any pause. And I would urge, again I imagine a lot of people have read Laurence Laufer’s seven-page letter. It’s really worth reading because it points out not just how everything was done consistently with the law, but the long history. And I think sometimes in the commentary there’s been this subtext of, “Well, because there’s a long history doesn’t make something right.” I understand that theory. But the law is the law – and party committees play a role in our system.  I think this is even been coming out at the federal level, where there was a discussion of why was Hillary Clinton raising money for the Democratic National Committee or for Democratic congressional candidates. I’d ask everyone to pause for a moment – there’s an absolutely clear history – legal appropriate history – of people working on behalf of their party and other members of their party. And this is squarely in that tradition and appropriately legal.  So, I think a lot of conflating went on in that Board of Elections memo, which as I’ve said, I think it’s very important you all look into why that memo was created, what it was motivated by, who asked for it to be created, why it was leaked to the press – which is inappropriate. But I’m absolutely convinced that everything that was done, was done consistently with this law. Now, if you say, “We don’t believe there should be party entities working with candidates,” then that’s a great concept, go and change the law. But I go back to one of my first experiences in state politics – 1996, I was the Coordinated Campaign Director for New York State. And the whole of the state Democratic party trying to elect everybody from President of the United States through members of Congress to State Senators, State Assembly members – this is part of what’s legal and appropriate in this state. And we were squarely within that tradition.

Question: The second part is – you’re going to Albany, as you mentioned, tomorrow to face State Senate Republicans, and obviously, you were trying to remove them from power in 2014. With all of this in the news, you have a sense of what your reception is going to be like tomorrow? And are you worried that that will color how mayoral control is –

Mayor: It shouldn’t, if we’re talking about the needs of 1.1 million kids, and millions of their family members. It should be about the substance. Here’s another thing I want to advise, I think everyone in the context of New York – New York City, New York State – may have a certain set of assumptions that I’m not sure are fair because we have a particular political history.  I know many members of the U.S. Senate, many members of the U.S. House of Representatives over many years. They work very hard to elect the members of their own party. When those elections are over – until recently, recently obviously there’s been a bigger partisan divide, but that’s been much more about the Tea Party, etcetera – but for decades, once those elections were over, people went back to work on legislation. You can name innumerable examples of bipartisan legislation in the history of the Congress, but when it was election season, people wanted to be in the majority. They believed in their party and its values. They wanted, as leaders, to be in the majority where they could make more impact. They worked hard for their party. Look at Chuck Schumer – Chuck Schumer led the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. I’m very hopeful he’ll be our next Senate Majority Leader. But he’s well-known to have the ability to work with people across the aisle. It doesn’t stop them from fighting during election, as they should.  Here in this state, there’s been a – I think a very troubling – history of a willingness of leaders in one party to help the other party stay in power. And you can all look into that history for yourself. But I don’t think there’s anything unusual about a proud Democrat wanting to see Democrats in leadership in the State Senate and believing it’s best for the state and best for the city. I think that’s normal. If the members of the other party have a problem with it, well then act on that electorally. But don’t take it out on the children of New York City. That would be my simple statement. So I’m going to go and present the facts about why mayoral control is the only system of education governance that’s ever worked. It was started by Michael Bloomberg to his great credit – I’ve credited him many times. It was supported by the Legislature twice, to their credit. And it should continue to be supported with enough of an extension to allow us to continue to do the work effectively. That’s what this should be about – not who someone supported in election.

Question: Were you referring to Governor Cuomo there when you mentioned someone from one party supporting power for the other party?

Mayor: I’m referring to more than one person, but I think you can put together all the pieces. Yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor, can you complain why soliciting a donation that’s ten times the limit that you’re allowed to give to an individual candidate – getting that donation, giving it to a county committee –

Mayor: Again, just look at Mr. Laufer’s letter. You can ask it anyway you want.

Question: Knowing that it’s going to go to an individual candidate – I understand why that might be legal, but why do you feel that’s appropriate?

Mayor: Again, look at Mr. Laufer’s letter. The law is the law. We follow the law.

Unknown: Two more questions.

Question: On the Laufer letter – one of the things that he mentions is it that it appears that recent [inaudible] had willfully, in his words, misunderstood or disregarded the law as you’re saying. You know you have two now prosecutorial agencies who are investigating this. Do you think that they are misunderstanding the law?

Mayor: Again, I don’t draw conclusions. I raise questions where I have questions. And I think in the instance of that Board of Elections memo, it’s just too convenient to be possibly believable – that suddenly this memo is created referring only to one person and their colleagues who was supporting a change in the State Senate, but leaving out everyone else who was supporting a change in the State Senate, that that is very narrowly drawn with no reference to the actual election law, and then conveniently leaked to the media, and to a specific reporter, and a specific outlet. Now, if you want to follow an interesting set of evidence, there you have it – a lot of interesting facts. But that’s – my job is not to investigate the facts. That’s where all of you come in. Right there, please.

Question: Mr. Mayor, you’ve been a huge supporter of the St. Pat’s for All Parade over in Sunnyside.

Mayor: Yes.

Question: Do you understand one of the organizers are so upset that a Chick-fil-A is opening at the Queens Center Mall one mile away?

Mayor: I do, but again it is a country in which people have a right to open a business. So I think it’s – what the ownership of Chick-fil-A has said is wrong. I’m certainly not going to patronize them and I wouldn’t urge any other New Yorker to patronize them. But they do have a legal right. Yes, last call in the back. Yes?

Question: Mr. Mayor, do you feel that you’re a political target? If so, why? And who specifically do you think is targeting you?

Mayor: Look, I would only generalize that question. That’s the way I’d be comfortable answering it. I think we have come here to change a lot of things. And when people change a lot of things, they generate opposition. That’s age-old. And the opposition has – takes many forms, and it never surprises me. We’re going to keep doing the work that we told the people of this city we would do. And I’m very, very comfortable that different people can look at anything they want, and they’re going to find everything was done legally and appropriately. But again, it never surprises me – like the example I gave about the Board of Elections memo – it never surprises me when things like that happen. I’m not so naïve as to believe they happen spontaneously. I leave it up to all of you to figure out how the different lines connect. But yes, it’s typical that when you make change, you encounter opposition. It’s typical when you make change, some double standards will be held. But we just keep doing the work. That’s where I land – we keep doing the work.

Thank you everyone.