Transcript: Mayor Adams Makes Public Safety- and Heat-Related Announcement

July 8, 2025

Deputy Mayor Camille Joseph Varlack, Administration: Good morning, everyone. My name is Camille Joseph Varlack, and I serve as chief of staff, deputy mayor for Administration, and extreme weather coordinator for City Hall. I'm joined today by Mayor Eric Adams, NYCEM Commissioner Iscol, representatives from our first responding agencies and our essential utility providers. We are anticipating high heat, humidity, and potential flash floods to impact our region in the coming days.

As we gather to provide updates on our activations and plans, our thoughts and sympathy are with those impacted by the recent flooding in Texas. We extend our deepest condolences to those facing this immense loss. To share more details about our preparations and plans for supporting activation, I will now turn it over to Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much, Camille. And I, too, and the entire team here want to send our prayers to those in Texas. Particularly, you see that the great number of those who were lost were children, and it just really reinforces preparedness, notifications, and how these extreme weather patterns not only could be an inconvenience, but it could also take lives. And we know here, Commissioner Iscol reminds us all the time, that extreme heat is the top death-related weather emergency that we have in our city.

And so, it's our goal is always to prepare New Yorkers, and no matter how many times you hear this, we want to create what's called muscle memory so people can know exactly what they have to do when we have to witness this extreme weather pattern. And the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory that will be in effect from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. tonight.

We will see high heat and humidity and expect to see temperatures in the 90's and feel like it's almost 100. This is some serious heat and we should take it into precaution and preparation. And the National Weather Service has also placed New York City under a flood watch from 2 p.m. today through 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected this afternoon and evening, and we could see rainfall of one to three inches, with high amounts possible in some areas, high amounts. These storms may produce a torrential downpour, leading to flash flooding, and New York City is prepared and we have activated our flash flood plan and our emergency crews will be monitoring the situation across the five boroughs. And they will be on the lookout to address downed trees and power lines.

As I said before, New Yorkers should have a plan to beat the heat, use our pools, our beaches to stay cool, and rest assured that because of our hundreds of lifeguards and our drones on the lookout for sharks, we will have you covered and we will have your backs. We're asking all New Yorkers to stay hydrated, drink as much water as possible as you move throughout the day, and limit time outdoors, stay in an air-conditioned space, and head to a cooling center if needed.

And if you must work outside, as we say over and over again, take frequent breaks and consume as much water as possible and stay in the shade. And never leave pets or children in cars. The temperatures inside a car with closed windows can get increasingly high. And as being good New Yorkers, please check on your neighbors, particularly those who are older adults, to make sure that they are doing well. And you can find many ways to stay cool online by going to nyc.gov/beattheheat, nyc.gov/beattheheat, or by simply calling 311.

And remember our grid system we witnessed earlier during the year, during the summer, the beginning of the summer, we saw these high temperatures and it had a major impact on our grid. We want to thank our partners over at ConEd, but we need to do our share as well. Let's really minimize the use of electricity, so we won't have brownouts or blackouts.

A hydrant is important as well. We should make sure you use the hydrants in an appropriate way. If it's opened properly, it releases up to 1,000 gallons of water per minute and decreases water pressure to fight fires. A spray cap is available for adults who would go to their local firehouses and releases, it would only release 25 gallons per minute. That's a huge difference if it's needed.

And so please keep all New Yorkers aware of what we're doing, particularly if you see an open hydrant, please call 311 and FDNY and the team will respond accordingly. Additionally, stay off the roads this afternoon during a thunderstorm. If you can limit your travel and if you must travel, use public transportation.

And I want to be clear to New Yorkers, they should avoid driving or walking through floodwaters. That could be extremely dangerous and unpredictable because you don't know clearly what the depth is. New Yorkers can sign up. We have one of the best notification systems in the country. Sign up to NotifyNYC, it's free and you will receive emergency notifications.

This will keep everyone updated who is signed up on our program. And finally, I really want to, again, thank the commissioner for his response to the tragedy in Texas. It's unimaginable and it breaks all of our hearts, the aftermath of a historic and deadly flood of this magnitude. And we know this has been a painful moment for so many in the Lone Star State.

And we have seen the devastation, the lives lost, the homes and communities underwater. In times of need, New York City is always there to lend a hand. At Texas requests, we are deploying two members of our New York Task Force, one team to join FEMA's Incident Support Team in Kerr County, Texas, to help with rescue and recovery.

And we're ready to send more personnel or equipment if we're asked. Members of the NYPD, FDNY, NYCEM have the backs of our neighbors in Texas, just as they've had the backs when we were in need, the backs of New Yorkers. From day one, this administration has made public safety the center of everything we do, and safety around weather emergencies is part of that public safety mindset. So I'm going to now turn it over to Commissioner Zachary

Commissioner Zachary Iscol, New York City Emergency Management: Thank you. First off, as Camille mentioned, and the mayor, on behalf of our entire agency in the city, to the people of Texas, the families and friends of loved ones who were lost, the loved ones of those still missing, and to the heroic first responders and public servants on the ground, all of you are in our thoughts and prayers, and we are sending you our love and our support.

Whenever something like this happens, regardless of where it is in the country, even internationally, the mayor always reaches out and always has a question, which is, "What can we do to help?" This is no different. You know, at his urging, we've been in close contact with the state, our colleagues in Texas, in the federal government, looking for ways to support.

And as the mayor said, we're currently deploying two members of New York Task Force One, who will be deploying to assist with federal response to the catastrophic flash flooding in Texas. They include Dr. Dario Gonzalez, an FDNY doctor. He will be serving as the deputy medical officer on FEMA's Incident Support Team. And then also Detective Scott Mateyaschuk of the NYPD Special Operations Division. He will be serving as the division group supervisor coordinating K-9 search operations for the Incident Support Team.

Both are departing this morning for Texas. And they will be assisting with the search and recovery operations down in Texas. And as the mayor said, we're also standing by to provide any additional support that is needed on future deployments. And so, New York stands with Texas, as always. Shifting back to New York City, today we faced two serious weather events.

The dangerous heat and the risk of flash flooding later today and tonight. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory through 8 p.m. and a flood watch through 2 a.m. We've activated both our flash flood emergency plan and the heat emergency plan. Our priority is to keep New Yorkers safe from extreme heat and possible flooding throughout the afternoon and this evening.

There's also high risk for rip currents along our beaches through this evening. The heat index may reach 100 degrees or higher. We're encouraging all New Yorkers to stay in air conditioning. That's the most effective way to stay safe. Even a few hours in a cool space can make a difference. If you do not have air conditioning at home, you can go to a cooling center. You can go to a friend's house. There's a lot of places around the city with air conditioning.

You can find out where these are by calling 311 or by going to nyc.gov/beattheheat. Some cooling centers accept pets. Service animals are allowed at all cooling centers. We've also been working very closely with our utility partners, Con Edison, PSEG, and National Grid, joined today by Con Edison's president, Matt Ketschke, and New York National Grid president, Sally Librera.

We're asking everyone to help us conserve energy. I know nobody likes to hear it, but set your thermostats to 78 degrees or the highest setting that still feels comfortable. Try to avoid using large appliances during peak heat areas. Use them later tonight when it's cooler. Keep your blinds shades closed to block the sun. Turn off your lights and electronics when you don't need them. These are really, really critical steps you can take to help us protect the grid.

That's important for protecting our critical infrastructure, our nursing homes, our hospitals, our schools, to make sure that we don't have any of those impacts around the city. Taking care of our vulnerable is incredibly important. We have members of MOPD, the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, and the Department for the Aging are reaching out to their communities. We've also activated a code red level one with our Department of Social Services. They will have teams out assisting homeless New Yorkers, getting them out of the heat.

If you see somebody in need of assistance, you can always call 311. We're also sharing information with our Summer Youth Rising Programs to make sure that children in those programs are safe. Taking care of our vulnerable is always a priority. As the mayor mentioned, if you see open hydrants, please call 311. During the heat emergency a week or so ago, DEP, supported by the NYPD, our team, FDNY, was out, believe it or not, shutting down hundreds of hydrants around the city. This is incredibly, incredibly dangerous.

It makes it very difficult for our firefighters to fight fires, and it's already extraordinarily difficult for them when you think about wearing all that gear in the high heat. So please help our Fire Department by calling 311, letting us know where those hydrants are. If you want to open one, as the mayor said, get a spray cap. They're available at all firehouses.

At the same time, we're also facing a flood risk today. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected this afternoon through early tomorrow morning with up to two inches of rain possible. In some areas, rainfall could reach one to two inches per hour. Some spots may see even more. Flash flooding is possible, especially in low-lying neighborhoods or areas with poor drainage. We've been coordinating very, very closely with the National Weather Service, our city and state agencies, utility partners, and private sector partners.

We've been doing calls, making sure that we are doing everything we need to do to prepare the city. The mayor already covered a lot of this ground, but please make sure that you're not walking or driving through floodwaters. If you see a flooded street, turn around and find another way. And if you live in a basement apartment, take extra care.

Make sure you're monitoring the forecast, that you're signed up for alerts, and that you have a plan in place to get to higher ground should you need to. Planning ahead now so you know where you can go during an emergency is critical.

That's why we always encourage everybody to stay informed, be ready to adjust your plans. You can sign up at NotifyNYC for emergency alerts. You can also do it by calling 311, texting NotifyNYC to 692-692, or visiting nyc.gov/NotifyNYC. We also have a special basement apartment subgroup on NotifyNYC that you can join. Your safety always depends on staying alert, taking action early. As we say here, knowing is always half the battle. Thank you so much. I'll turn it back over to Camille.

Deputy Mayor Joseph Varlack: Thank you, commissioner. And now we will invite Commissioner Manuel Castro of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs to give us remarks in Spanish.

Commissioner Manuel Castro, Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs: Thank you so much, deputy mayor. Mi nombre es Manuel Castro, soy el comisionado de los asuntos de los inmigrantes de la ciudad de Nueva York. Antes de compartir el anuncio de hoy de parte de la ciudad de Nueva York, de parte del alcalde Eric Adams les queremos enviar nuestra condolencias a las familias que han perdido seres queridos por las inundaciones en el estado de Texas. También, les queremos enviar un abrazo y un agradecimiento a los rescatistas que corren peligro mientras buscan a personas y continúan su labor en el estado de Texas.

Hoy estamos reunidos agencias de la ciudad de Nueva York para anunciar una advertencia de emergencia de humedad y temperatura altas que va experimentar la ciudad de Nueva York en los próximos Cientos de personas mueren por causas relacionadas con el calor, especialmente adultos mayores y personas con afecciones médicas. La mayoría de las muertes ocurren en lugares sin aires acondicionados.

Nuestro mensaje es urgente, planifiquen ahora. Si tiene aire acondicionado, úselo cuando haga calor extremo. Programalo a baja temperatura, alrededor de 78 grados para mantener seguro y administrar el consumo de energía.

Si no tiene aire acondicionado, conozca sus centros comunitarios donde pueden recibir aire acondicionado. Llame al 311 o visite nuestra página web para encontrar centros de refrigeración y opciones de refrigeración cercanas usando el buscando en línea actualizado.

El Departamento de Manejo de Emergencia de la Ciudad de Nueva York también ha emitido un aviso de viaje para el martes 6 de agosto hasta el miércoles 7 de agosto. El Servicio Nacional de Meteorología ha emitido una alerta de inundación para toda la ciudad que estará vigente desde 2 p.m. de martes, hasta las 12 p.m. el miércoles.

Se urge a los neoyorquinos a suscribirse a alertas meteorológicas de emergencia en notifynyc que amplifica todos los avisos de alertas y advertencias del Servicio Nacional Meteorológico. Si tiene alguna duda de la información que ha escuchado hoy o cómo encontrar apoyo, no dude en llamar al 311 donde encontrará información en su idioma. Gracias.

Translation: Thank you so much, deputy mayor. My name is Manuel Castro, and I am the commissioner of Immigrant Affairs for the City of New York. Before sharing today's announcement from the City of New York, on behalf of Mayor Eric Adams, we want to send our condolences to the families who have lost loved ones due to the flooding in Texas. We also want to send a hug and a thank you to the first responders who are in danger as they search for people and continue their work in Texas.

Today, New York City agencies are gathered to announce an emergency warning of high humidity and temperatures that New York City will experience in the coming days. Hundreds of people die from heat-related causes, especially older adults and people with medical conditions. Most of the deaths occur in places without air conditioning.

Our message is urgent, plan now. If you have air conditioning, use it during extreme heat. Set it on a low setting, around 78 degrees, to stay safe and manage energy consumption.

If you don't have air conditioning, find your local community centers where you can get air conditioning. Call 311 or visit our website to find cooling centers and nearby cooling options using the updated online search.

The New York City Department of Emergency Management has also issued a travel advisory for Tuesday, August 6, through Wednesday, August 7. The National Weather Service has issued a citywide flood watch that will be in effect from 2 p.m. Tuesday, until 12 p.m. Wednesday.

New Yorkers are urged to sign up for emergency weather alerts at notifynyc, which amplifies all National Weather Service watch and warning alerts. If you have any questions about the information you've heard today or how to find support, please don't hesitate to call 311, where you'll find information in your language. Thank you.

Matthew Ketschke, President, Consolidated Edison Company of New York: So, over the next several days, as the mayor and Commissioner [Iscol] have indicated, we're going to see some significant heat through the area. That tends to put more strain on the energy delivery systems, like the electric delivery system, which peaks with air conditioning used during the hottest periods of the day.

We would ask customers and residents to conserve, particularly during those high load periods. Set your air conditioning for the most comfortable temperature, highest comfortable temperature possible, typically around 78 degrees if that's comfortable for you. Defer the use of high intense energy appliances like dishwashers and washing machines until the evening hours, preferably after 10 o'clock, after peak energy use has kind of peaked and loads start to come down.

Our energy delivery systems are exceptionally reliable for New York City, but they tend to be under the most stress during heat waves. We're not susceptible to overhead storms as much as we are to heat waves underground. If you do have an electric outage, please report that to us. You can do that by going to the website, that's ConEd.com.

You can report an outage and sign up for text alerts on the estimated restoration times. We have extra crews and staff on through the duration of this heat wave to respond as quickly as possible to any customer outages that may occur, and we'll be in close communication with the New York City Office of Emergency Management to address any problems that come up. Thank you.

Question: Good being able to ask you a question, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. I absolutely do. The commissioner mentioned you can go to a friend's house if it's too hot and you don't have AC at home, but is the city opening up any new cooling centers, like deploying additional cooling center resources? And maybe a question for you as well, commissioner. The cuts to FEMA and other weather emergency agencies, how do cuts like that impact preparations for an emergency like what we're seeing?

Commissioner Iscol: Yeah, so the budget is still being negotiated. So on the second question, I think we actually have to see what actually happens with the budget for FEMA, some of the grant programs. Certainly we as a city have been doing a lot of work advocating for our needs, but also the needs across the country for mitigation funding, resources to enable response.

In terms of cooling centers, as I mentioned in my remarks, our cooling centers are open today. New Yorkers can find out where their local cooling center is by going to nyc.gov/beattheheat. I can get you a specific count of how many are open today after the conference.

Question: But no additional cooling centers being open?

Commissioner Iscol: What do you mean by additional cooling centers?

Question: Because there's always cooling centers operating in the city during the summer, right? I'm just wondering during an extreme weather emergency like this, are there additional resources being deployed?

Commissioner Iscol: The resources are the cooling centers that we are opening up, right? So there are cooling centers that are available at, you know, older adult centers, libraries across the city as well, and there should be– do we have an exact count? So we have 540 cooling centers open across the city. People can find out where they are by going to nyc.gov/beattheheat.

Question: I'm going to ask, I don't see anything from the Parks Department here, correct me if I'm wrong, but are–

Commissioner Iscol: Parks Department is here.

Question: I'm so sorry, it's because they didn't speak. So is there the heat emergency activated where they keep lifeguards near the shore but not there? And will pool hours be extended?

Commissioner Iscol: Thank you, it's a great question. Pool hours are extended today until 8 p.m today. Thank you for the question. And then, yes, we have the task force that's out there until 8 p.m., but beaches are closed at 6 p.m.

Question: I mean, because this weekend there were people in the ocean for hours after. Would there ever be a possibility in another heat wave or a high heat day that we have today that we would extend them on the beaches as well?

Roy Tellason, Chief of Central Operation, Department of Parks and Recreation: Thank you for the question. That's difficult to do. Safety is paramount for everyone at the beach, including the lifeguards, and it's a physically taxing day to be out there in the sun all day. So at the end of the day, at the end of their shift, to ask them to stay on for overtime would just be too physically taxing on the lifeguards and wouldn't be safe.

Question: Are they there in the lifeguard shacks?

[Crosstalk.]

Tellason: Yes, sometimes we do keep them in the shacks until 8 p.m. just in case they're needed, but we hope that doesn't happen.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Thank you all.

Question: Zohran Mamdani said that if he were mayor, he would arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he visited New York City? How do you respond to that?

Mayor Adams: It's inappropriate. New York is a very unique city. We have the United Nations here, and we always want to send the symbol that no matter what happens globally, this is a place where you have a level of comfort that you can articulate these complex global conversations.

I'm not quite sure what his fixation is with Israel, but to make a comment like that to an elected leader or a leader of a country, it's just inappropriate. The United Nations is here, and we have always had the symbol, particularly in the role of the mayor, that we are going to treat people in a humane manner, and I don't quite understand why he would make that comment.

Question: Walden says that we should do a poll, whomever wins should run. How do you respond to that?

Mayor Adams: We have looked at these polls. There was a poll that showed Andrew up 32 points, and I think that even his spokesperson stated the day before the election that he was up 10 points, and we know that he was down by 12 points. That poll was taken on primary day, and that primary day poll stated that Zohran will represent the Democratic Party, and now we are going to hit the ground running and to make some type of deal of that nature.

Particularly with Andrew, who created these problems we are facing, from bail reform to closing psychiatric centers to 15,000 of our loved ones dying in nursing homes to the Advantage program that led to the high homelessness issue that we are facing, the cannabis law, 1,400 shops we have had to close. We spent three and a half years fixing the mess that was created, and so I think that the new voters and those who are going to be activated with the energy I'm seeing on both ends, I've said to you guys and ladies over and over again, this is going to be the most exciting race probably in the history of this city.

Many of you laughed when I decided to do an Independent line, but Cuomo followed. Zohran is going to be on an independent line, so either you guys are no longer laughing or you realize that I know how to run a race. The only person that won a mayoral race that's in this race is Mayor Adams.

We're going to continue the success that we've done around safety, affordability, and revitalizing our economy. And I'm excited about getting back and talking. And by the way, the primary was, what, two weeks ago? Where has Andrew been? It seemed like he's using the same method he did during the primary.

Have you seen him? Have any of you interviewed him? Have any of you seen him? Have any of you seen him or interviewed him or communicated with him? No, I haven't. And so I know what it takes. You've got to get out among New Yorkers, and that's what I do.

Question: I wanted to ask you about the amicus brief that was filed for the student that was detained on July 4th when he went to a mandatory immigration hearing. In that brief that you sent out, the press release, you mentioned that these types of deportations and detentions are making the city less safe for immigrant New Yorkers. Are you saying that the president's policies are making it less safe? And then just quickly, Andrew Cuomo called you, or his campaign called you, unelectable yesterday. I wanted to get your reaction to that.

Mayor Adams: Well, one thing we know who was unelectable is who lost by 12 points on election day. That's a fact, not an opinion. And what has never been talked about that we need to talk about, Andrew's assault on Black electives. He did it to Carl McCall. He ran on the liberal line with Carl McCall and stayed on the ballot. Carl was running to be the first Black governor in the State of New York. Andrew sabotaged that.

He did it to Charlie King. Charlie King was running to be the attorney general. He raised $5 million. He was one of the leading candidates. Andrew decided to get in the race and sabotaged it. He did it to Keith Wright. Keith Wright was running to be the assembly speaker, the first Black assembly speaker. He put up a white candidate and supported it to run against him.

He did it to David Paterson. He wanted to be governor so badly that there are many things that he did to David Paterson that didn't allow David Paterson to run for reelection. And I was part of those conversations in hearing what happened. Now he's trying to do it to me. His disrespect for Black electives.

I'm the sitting mayor of New York, the sitting mayor, second Black mayor in history. For him to arrogantly believe because he abandoned his obligation and responsibility as the governor of New York and stepped down that I'm going to step aside, that is just the highest level of arrogance I've ever imagined. That is his belief when it comes down to Black elected officials. And I say it over and over again. Others may run, but I'm from Brownsville. Never run, never will.

Question: And then on the person that was on the student that was detained, you put that amicus brief out.

Mayor Adams: I made it clear over and over again that we signed up thousands of migrants and asylum seekers to follow the process. I advocated under President Biden to look at the temporary protective status because I believe a pathway to citizenship is the best thing you can do for immigrants, migrants and asylum seekers.

In addition to showing the humane treatment of 237,000 migrants and asylum seekers, we also place them on a pathway for work, a pathway for citizenship, a pathway to start the process.. And part of that process is going to court. And people need to feel comfortable about going to court. I don't want migrants, asylum seekers and undocumented people to feel as though they can't call the police when they need them.

They can't go to the hospitals. They can't send their children to schools. They can't go to their houses of worship. I want them to know if you follow the process, the hardworking, documented and undocumented residents of the city should believe that they can use our court system. And I believe that's the wrong thing to do by not allowing them to use the court system.

And we made it clear over and over again. There are places where we're going to disagree with this administration. And there's places we're going to agree, like lifting the stop work order that allowed us to do the multibillion dollar wind project in Sunset Park. Where we disagree, I'm going to share it and we're going to use the judicial system to express that.

Where we agree, we're going to work together. My role as mayor of the largest city in America is not to walk with the White House. It's to work with the White House, like I did with President Biden when I brought him to the city to deal with public safety. That's what a good chief executive would do. They would work with the White House.

I have to deliver for the city. And I'm not going to allow personalities to get in the way of that delivery. And we're delivering for the city. The city has returned around. The economy is the strongest it has ever been. Bond raters have increased our bond. We have built the housing and combined the 12 years of Bloomberg, the 8 years of de Blasio.

We have done more in housing than both combined. You see the record numbers that Commissioner Tisch has done around public safety. Shootings and homicides over the last six months are the lowest in recorded history. Housing jobs, the highest in recorded history. The case is clear. The most important thing we could do now is you guys just have to start writing about it.