Transcript: Mayor Adams Participates in Live Interview on News 12 and Takes Questions from New Yorkers

June 17, 2025

Amanda Bossard: Hello, everyone, and thanks for being with us here on News 12, where local matters. I'm Amanda Bossard, and this is Ask the Mayor. It is a pleasure to be back here with you for the next half hour as we give you the opportunity to ask New York City Mayor Eric Adams your questions right here on the air. 

So the number to dial into right now with your questions is 718-861-6800. A reminder, it will be at the bottom of your screen throughout the program for reference. With that, we welcome back once again tonight New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

Mayor Eric Adams: Good to see you. 

Bossard: Always a pleasure to have you here, and thank you so much for the time.

Mayor Adams: Thank you.

Bossard: As we wait for those calls to come in, I'll ask off the top about some news of the day, and specifically the detention of city comptroller and current mayoral candidate Brad Lander. This scene unfolding at a Manhattan courthouse. Earlier this afternoon, the comptroller was taken into ICE custody. 

DHS says that he assaulted law enforcement. Since then, he has been released, and the governor has said that his charges have been dropped. So as mayor, I ask you, what do you know of that situation, and do you think that Mr. Lander should have been detained by ICE to begin with?

Mayor Adams: I know very little, and I'm clear every day, I say this over and over again, I wake up every day, how do we deliver for people, and that's what we've been doing, particularly those who are part of our undocumented population, our largest know-your-rights information, everything from putting on kiosks, to holding seminars and conferences, to how we've helped thousands of people get their temporary protective status, and so what I'm doing, I don't have the luxury of protesting, I must deliver for the people of this city. 

And when you do an analysis, that's exactly what we're doing. He made a decision, I think the best thing to do is to ask the comptroller what his thought process, I need to deliver for the people of this city every day, and that's what I'm doing.

Bossard: Yeah, we've all seen the video of what unfolded there today, and we were told by the Department of Homeland Security that he was arrested for what they called assaulting law enforcement. Based on what you saw unfold, do you think that matches what you watched?

Mayor Adams: Well, I didn't see the whole video, I saw clips of it, my security team sent it over to me, so I didn't see the full video, and I don't know what happened on camera, off camera, I'm not sure, and I always like to wait until I get all of the information, and I don't have all of the information. 

I know what my job is every day, and my job is to get up, look at the resources that this city needs, particularly those who are undocumented, and we've done that. When you look at 237,000 people entering our city, and over 78 percent of them have gone on to the next step of their journey, the number of Know Your Rights forms we have been doing. 

What Commissioner Castro is doing, the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, what we're doing, the TPS, the legal services, putting money into it, I'm delivering for those. And then I'm telling, let's tone down the noise, go to school if you're a child, call the police if you need help, get medical attention if you need some, go to your houses of worship, that is what I think is important in this issue. 

It's not about one person, it's about what this city has delivered for [237,000] migrants and asylum seekers, and countless number of others.

Bossard: And with that line of messaging in mind, what do you say to those immigrant communities here in this city who are living in fear because of the current climate, and then they watch a citywide elected official who is an American citizen be taken into custody by immigration officials? How do you continue to send that message to continue life as normal?

Mayor Adams: Well, and let's be honest, why they feel the way they do. It's a combination of what's happening, and one of the things that I see is happening is that we're raising the noise. If all of us were saying the same thing, go to school, ICE is not in our schools, our children should be going to school, ICE is not raiding our houses of worship, they're not raiding our hospitals, and so we should be all saying the same thing. 

Now, if policy changes, then we should communicate those new policies and changes, but when we're adding to the energy that everything is chaotic, everything is terrible, people start to feel that, and I'm telling people don't live in fear. When we have to go to court, we file the amicus corp briefs, we sue through the corp counsel, we're going to do what we need to do, but I think it's imperative that we don't add to the anxiety that people are feeling.

Bossard: And then lastly on this topic, I'll just ask, given what you do know at this time, do you think he should have been detained by federal officials?

Mayor Adams: I can't make that call. When it comes down to public safety, when it comes down to federal officials, and that's so important what you just said, ICE is a law enforcement entity, and if someone is on the street, as we saw 54,000 people protesting on the street, we made 14 arrests out of 54,000. 

Some people were resisting arrests from police officers, some people were doing things that violated the rules, I would never encourage anyone to impede on an action of a law enforcement. I'm a former law enforcement officer, I don't want to ever see anyone placed in a position [where] they could harm themselves, harm the person that they're with, or harm a law enforcement officer. 

And so I don't have the full scope of what happened, but I would tell anyone, do not do anything that could jeopardize your safety when you're around law enforcement officers, or jeopardize the safety of law enforcement officers.

Bossard: I appreciate you sharing your perspective on that situation. I want to turn our attention to another headline that has really gripped the hearts of so many over the last week, and that is the death of two-year-old Montrell Williams. His 20-year-old dad is now facing murder charges. He is accused of tossing his own son into the Bronx River while still alive. 

And a lot of people are now focusing in on the timeline of events here. What we've learned so far is that the last time that boy's mother saw him was May 10th. On May 11th, I believe, she tried to engage with police, and then we, as the public, as the news, didn't get even a missing persons alert up until June 9th. 

We heard from that little boy's maternal grandmother for the first time yesterday, and she places blame on the NYPD and ACS, who she believes could have intervened sooner. What do you say to her in light of what she is going through right now?

Mayor Adams: Well, it's a horrific, horrific case, a two-year-old being murdered by their dad. I don't know of anything that is more just painful to just think about. I have one son, my son Jordan, and I cannot even imagine losing him. And so I understand the pain that the parents are going through. 

We're doing an investigation to look at the timeline. It is our belief that the child was murdered on the 10th. And I really want to say to New Yorkers that we need to see how horrific this case was. And we're doing an examination, did we do the DIR report, domestic incident reports that we're supposed to do. 

We're reviewing the communications with the agency. But the fact is, no matter what happened, that two-year-old should not have been thrown off the bridge. And that's what needs to be clear. His dad should not have murdered him. And his dad must be held accountable for murdering his child. And that is my primary concern, to make sure he's held accountable for his actions.

Bossard: And based on whatever ultimately comes to light as a result of that investigation, are you prepared to take action against perhaps people who are working for city agencies should it come to light that not the proper protocol was followed?

Mayor Adams: No. There's always disciplinary action if someone failed to take proper protocol and to take proper action. That is always the case. You do an investigation. You determine what happened. And based on the actions of those involved, if something was done improper, then there will be disciplinary action. 

Bossard: I appreciate your thoughts on that as well. I do want to get to our first caller of the evening. We have John dialed in from Bed-Stuy. John, thanks for the call. And what's your question for the mayor? I'll ask that you ask it quickly so we give him enough time to respond.

Question: Okay.

Bossard: Whenever you're ready.

Mayor Adams: We can hear you, John, if you want to ask.

Question: Mr. Mayor, thank you for your service. And I have a situation in Brooklyn. I live in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. And I have a scaffolding that's been on my property for like six years. And it's very dangerous, you know. And I can't seem to get the Buildings Department to do anything about it. 

Can you tell me what you can do or what's being done about the apathy of the Buildings Department and that scaffolding? And it's falling apart because we've gotten so much rain.

Bossard: John, this is something that we've heard time and time again. And I know something that you have approached and addressed.

Mayor Adams: But, John, I didn't understand something. Is it your building or are you a tenant in the building?

Question: It's my building, right. The building next door has scaffolding. And it's been on my property for six years and it's falling apart. 

Mayor Adams: Okay, so let me do this, John. Can you leave your information and they're going to connect me. And I'm going to give you a call when I'm back in the car so we can get the address, the location. And I'll have them look and find out what's going on with their buildings. 

You know, we have a problem with scaffolding in the city. We did the Get Sheds Down. We have changed legislation. Some real partners in the City Council that assisted us. And we have been going after these sheds. 

Like you said, some of them have been up as long as you can imagine. And we're really tackling this problem. So let us get your information and let me call you and I get back in the car to find out where you are.

Bossard: Absolutely. And you hear from John, rather six years with this new legislation- 

Mayor Adams: Keep shortening the period of time, we need to make it more expensive to keep it up [then] to take it down.  Right now, it's just the opposite.

Bossard: All right. More to come on. Ask The Mayor right after this quick break. Call in right now because we're getting back to those questions right after this. Stay with us.

[Commercial Break.]

Bossard: Thanks so much for staying with us here on News 12 for another edition of Ask the Mayor with New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Always great to have you here. 

Mayor Adams: Yes, thank you. 

And in the time since we've last spoken, we've seen some action on an issue that we specifically here at News 12 have covered closely, and that's some of the issues that they've been seeing on Bedford Avenue in light of a new protected bike lane that was installed. 

A lot of scenes of children trying to cross the street to the sidewalk and getting hit and injured by those bikers. Last week, you made an announcement that changes are coming. 

Can you talk to me a little bit about what those changes aim to bring? And then also, we have seen some pushback. Transportation Alternatives filed a lawsuit saying that you acted out of line by making those changes without following protocol. Will that impact how those changes are ultimately brought to life?

Mayor Adams: If there's one thing New Yorkers know how to do, it's sue. 8.5 million New Yorkers, 35 million opinions. Listen, we went into the community, we heard from the community, they raised their concerns, we looked at it, I met with the commissioner, and we had a forum, a substantial number of people came out. 

We're going to reconfigure the lanes to bring it back to its original location and make some original layout and make some other changes in the process. We think it's safer. We just heard a number of complaints from the residents there that stated that they felt unsafe, that a couple of incidents with children were almost struck by bikes. 

And bikes are vehicles. People tend not to understand. That's why we lowered the speed limits of even our scooters. Because all of these forms of transportation on our streets, we need to be thoughtful in how we handle them. 

We've done an amazing job when it came down to bike lanes. We have done a substantial amount of bike lanes, of protected bike lanes. We have witnessed a decrease in fatalities in our city to impressive levels. 

So we understand that these are tense environments and tense situations when it comes down to bike lanes, and not as you see on your film, that this young child was almost struck. So we just want to be thoughtful as we make these decisions.

Bossard: In some cases, violently struck. You see that, and you understand the concerns for some of the community members there. I want to get to some more callers that we have lined up. I believe Elizabeth is waiting on the line from East New York. Elizabeth, thanks so much for your call. And what's your question for the mayor? 

Question: Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: How are you, Elizabeth?

Question: I'd like to find out– I'm well, thank you. I'd like to find out what your administration is doing about the abuse that the staff is experiencing in the New York City shelter system.

Mayor Adams: Tell me more about that, Elizabeth. This is the first time I'm hearing that.

Question: We are being abused by our clients physically, mentally, verbally. And this is a regular thing every day. What can be done about that?

Mayor Adams: Well, we need to, I would love to come and sit down and speak with some of your colleagues so that we could identify exactly what is happening. Because you should not be the victim of assault. You should not be the victim of any form of harassment. And we need to identify exactly what is the problem so we can get in and address it. 

Because the shelters, as you know, they're run by often private non-profits, and if it's a city-run shelter as well. So let's find out. Let's zero in on exactly what the problem is. If you would reach out to my office, I'll get my commissioner involved, and if need be, the deputy mayor, so we can identify exactly what you're having. But you should not be going through any level of workplace abuse at all.

Bossard: Hopefully that provides some solace to Elizabeth to know that help is hopefully coming. I want to make the most of our time and get right to our next caller. We have Deborah waiting. Deborah, thanks so much. What's your question this evening? 

I believe that we did leave, we lost Deborah, but we have someone else on the line from Parkchester tonight. Thanks so much for your call. And what is your question? Hi Marie, are you there with us?

Mayor Adams: We can hear you, Marie. We can hear you.

Question: Okay. Hi, Mr. Mayor. How are you? 

Mayor Adams: Good. And yourself?

Question: I'm okay. My question is for you pertaining to the housing. It's very difficult to get with the lottery housing, so why is it so hard for people to get with the lottery housing?

Mayor Adams: And it's called the Housing Connect program. You know, Marie, we have a 1.4 percent vacancy rate. That means 1.4 percent is functionally zero for those who are looking for affordable housing. That is why all that you were hearing about the City of Yes, we are now building more housing in every community. 

At one time, we had 59 community boards in this city. Ten of those community boards were building more affordable housing than the other 49 combined. We changed that. And the reason you find it difficult is because we would build a project, let's say hypothetically we have 500 units of housing. We would have 25,000 people applying for those 500 units of housing. We have to build more. 

We broke records in this administration in year one, year two, and we know we're going to do it in year three on the most housing renovated and built in the history of the city in individual years. We move more people out of homelessness into permanent housing in individual years, the more in the history of the city. So we have a record of building more, but we need more housing. We have an inventory problem.

Bossard: On the topic of housing, a lot to be made right now about conversations surrounding a rent freeze. It's kind of emerged as a decisive issue in this Democratic primary that's fast approaching. Some of your fellow lawmakers out in the space calling for a rent freeze. Where do you stand on this issue? Is that something that you would support?

Mayor Adams: Great slogan, and it's great to throw that out there, but it's terrible policy. And what do I mean by that? Let's say you are a husband and wife and you own a 12 unit building in your location. These candidates are saying, don't ever raise rent. All your costs are going up. Then we had a few years ago, these same candidates were calling for no rent. 

We are killing working class small property owners, and so everything is going up around them. Heating costs are going up. Electric costs are going up. Taxes are going up. Insurance is going up. Repairs of the building. If you can't afford that building, then they're going to lose it.

Bossard: Alright. We heard it here, and more to come right after this break, right here on News 12.

[Commercial Break.]

Bossard: Welcome back to Ask the Mayor here on News 12 with New York City Mayor Eric Adams. A busy time of year for lawmakers across the city as we are now exactly one week away from primary election day. 

I know we've had conversations about the lead up to this and in the past you've told me you're a true blue Democrat. 

Mayor Adams: Yes I am. 

Bossard: Do you plan on going to the polls and casting your vote in this primary election?

Mayor Adams: Yes, a true blue Democrat and also true blue collar. Now you know what's interesting? When I stated I was running as a Democrat on an independent line, people said, oh, you don't have any chance, you don't have any chance. The top leading candidates, they're all running on independent lines. 

So all three of us will be running on an independent line. And so because they realized I was right, this race is going to go down until November and I'm going to do what I do best. I'm going to outwork everyone and I'm going to get my message out and I'm so excited about it. So I'll be in the polls. I'm going to vote for my city councilperson, whatever other measures are on. But you know, my candidate for mayor is not going to be in the primary. So in November, my candidate for mayor will be there and that's Eric Adams.

Bossard: Okay, so you're planning on casting a vote for City Council, but not in the mayoral primary.

Mayor Adams: No, not at all. I'm a bullet voter. You know, the ranked choice voting system, I tell everyone else I'm a bullet voter. I know what we have done in this city, from returning jobs to bringing down crime to investing in our infrastructure. And I want to get that message out to New Yorkers.

Bossard: I want to also talk briefly about some tense moments that were had between you and a reporter today at your weekly media availability. There were words exchanged. You asked that security not let him back in the room. Now the union for the publication he works for, the Daily News, is asking that you revert your stance on that ban. Any chance that you will do that?

Mayor Adams: A couple of things. One, I have repeatedly shared with him over and over again– I have a belief [that] when my reporters are talking, I remain silent. When I'm speaking, I ask them to do the same. Perfect, proper decorum. 

I repeatedly say to him, can you please stop interrupting? Can you please stop over talking? He refuses to listen to that. I'm not going to create an atmosphere where reporters come in and [not] follow the rules. We have a good decorum. We don't have to agree all the time, but he's disrespectful, and I'm not going to allow that. They deserve more. My team deserves more and I deserve more.

Bossard: So as of right now, that ban remains in place or any hope that some common ground could be found there?

Mayor Adams: I look forward to the team speaking to the paper and then we'll decide what we're going to do from there.

Bossard: Appreciate it so much. As always, Mr. Mayor, and we'll see you next time here on News 12.