Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces Citywide Expansion of Program to Improve Quality of Life in Persistently High-Crime Areas, Root Out Causes of Systemic Violence and Disorder

July 18, 2025

Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry, Public Safety: Good morning everyone. We are here in Manhattan to give an update on one of the many initiatives that this administration, the Adams administration, is leading. To make New York City safer, cleaner, and more livable. We are going block by block, street by street, to deliver real change where it is needed the most. 

I'm joined here today by the Honorable Mayor Eric Adams, Assistant Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Mona Suazo, my Office Chief Strategy Officer Saira Khan, who leads this initiative, Troy Neazer, who serves as a community enrichment officer, also known as Block CEO, and has been a great partner. And a voice for the neighbors in this effort. 

I'm also joined here by representatives from over a dozen city agencies who are doing this work on the ground. Listening to residents and delivering real results every single day. This is a great day to be out here, to be outside at Inwood, where residents and city agencies and community leaders are working together to build safer, stronger neighborhoods. Because public safety is more about enforcement, it's about responding to New Yorkers' concerns. 

And showing them that we care about their safety. And their well-being, of their block, the same way they do. No one understands that better than the man who made the vision possible. Someone who spent their career walking these streets in uniforms, wearing a vest to protect the city. And now, at least from the front, please join me in welcoming the Mayor Eric Adams, to the safest big city in America.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thanks so much DM Daughtry, and all of our community residents. One thing for sure I don’t need a GPS to find Inwood. I know this community well. I frequently [visit] their locations, their houses of worship, their business establishment, as we see many of the business owners that are here just celebrating this concept of Every Block Counts. 

And kudos to DM Daughtry and his team for understanding that you can't leave one block behind. I often say, in front of Gracie Mansion, the home of the mayor. That we don't allow trash to build up. We don't allow vagrants to sleep in the parks. We don't allow disruptive behavior. So if we don't allow it at Gracie Mansion, we can't allow it on Dyckman. 

Of the same quality of life that we show to the mayor's home and the people's house, we need to show it to the homes and the communities across the city. And Every Block Counts is stating just that. Every block in this city counts. Every block in the city is significant. Every block in the city should remain safe. When we talk about our success in decreasing violence, particularly shooters and homicides at the lowest level in history, we know there's still blocks where we do have shooters. 

And we want to zero in on those locations and stop the violence and stop the quality of life concerns that New Yorkers are facing. New Yorkers deserve to live in a safe and clean neighborhood. And we're going to do everything on our part to make it happen. So when streets and sidewalks are clean and well lit, where street signs are clear and easy to read, that gives a sense of security and it impacts the feeling of safety. 

We know we've done a great job in bringing down the numbers of crime, continuously decreasing crime, but people must feel safe to match our success in numbers. We use a multi-pronged approach to address public safety in our city. A coupling of upstream intervention with downstream solutions. As a result, the approach to public safety has been working. 

Over 22,000 illegal guns removed off our street, 2,800 removed this year alone. And for the first six months of 2025, our shooting incidents reached the lowest level, as I stated– in the recorded history of the city. Major crime for the first six months of the year is down by close to 6 percent.  And since January 24, crime has consistently declined throughout each and every quarter. And for the month of June, crime was down 6 percent, and every one of the seven major crimes were down as well. 

But what I'm excited about is what happened among shootings in the month of June. Historically, during the months of June, July, and August, we witnessed increases in shootings. We are down 30 percent in June. Retail theft, something that was nagging the city and our small business owners for years. We have witnessed a 17 percent decrease for the month as well. And hate crime. Hate crime is something that we have stood strong on. We're seeing hate crime decreased both in antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other parts of the city. 

And we continue to go granular, making our city safe, every block safe in the process. In October of last year, we launched Every Block Counts. Many critics thought it was not possible. We knew it was. And it is a comprehensive pilot program to make sure that specific blocks in New York City, those have historically seen high levels of gun violence, receive intensive multi-agency support in order to reduce crime and improve quality of life, making these neighborhoods more livable and safe. 

Participating agencies include NYPD, FDNY, Department of Sanitation, the Parks Department, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Health, as among others. And now we're expanding. We're expanding this program to all five boroughs by adding five more blocks in Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island, in addition to the blocks already designated in Brooklyn and in the Bronx. 

We have seen great results so far since the beginning of this program. The 46th, and 73rd precincts have had significant reductions in shootings or shots fired incidents on these 10 targeted blocks. Major crime has decreased on these blocks. And on these blocks, we have repaired street and parking signage, cleaned public spaces, removed graffiti, and repaved sidewalks and more. We continue to build on the improvements and focus on the next steps that are needed to keep each neighborhood safe and orderly. 

Each block has been designated a Block CEO, which is so important. That is the chief executive officer of the block. This is a resident who has volunteered to communicate neighbors needs and keep track of progress and Every Block Counts is one of our last initiatives to increase cooperation between city agencies and communities. 

We have seen time and time again with Community Link programs throughout this city, and now with Every Block Counts the tremendous success we have witnessed through the entire city working together, the administration and all city agencies– the community members coming together to improve and create a safe environment. Together, we can do anything that we believe is possible, and we're making that happen, every day, and so block by block, street by street, we are regaining control of our neighborhoods. 

When you add this to our quality of life initiative, our Q teams– we’re really zeroing in on how people are feeling from removing unsightly vendoring to abandoned vehicles to disruptive behavior, it's all coming together to make sure that every block in this city counts every block in this city with this safe place to raise children and family. I’ll turn it back over to the deputy mayor.

Deputy Mayor Daughtry: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Let me take a moment to explain how the Every Block Counts program works. First things first, we look at the data. We zero in on specific residential blocks across the city that have experienced high levels of serious violent crimes, including shootings, assaults and robberies. Once we identify these blocks that are in need of some more support, members of my office and the host of the city agency start to pound the pavement. 

We walk block by block together with the residents and their designated Block CEOs to identify any issues needing immediate attention. From there, we create a punch list. In other words, a GSD, Get Stuff Done list. That punch list serves as both our roadmap and as our measure of accountability. Once the action items are set, the team gets to work. And we are continuing to go through those punch lists line by line, item by item, to make sure every concern is addressed. 

But the work doesn't just stop there. At the same time, we are making sure that we invest in our most important resources, the people who live on these blocks. We are not here to make a quick fix and then just disappear. Our team stays on the ground to make sure the residents have direct access to services and opportunities that they need to succeed. 

That includes going door-to-door with the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit to connect the people with the city services and benefits that they need, as well as hosting resources and job fairs on these blocks. We started Every Block Counts as a pilot program eight months ago on 10 blocks in the Bronx and in Brooklyn. 

Since its launch, we have resolved more than 160 issues on just those 10 blocks alone. Those improvements include everything from sidewalk and crosswalk repairs to lighting upgrades, graffiti removals, and cleaning up vacant lots. Building on that success today, we are proud to announce that we have expanded Every Block Counts to five boroughs. 

With 15 new blocks, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. That brings us to 25 blocks citywide. These blocks are that, that are needed and deserve our sustained attention. And that's what we are going to do. And that's what they are going to get. As the mayor mentioned, it is clear that the strategy is already making a difference. 

Since launching Every Block Counts, major crime on 10 pilot blocks is down nearly 22 percent. I'm just going to say that one more time. Since launching Every Block Counts, major crime on those 10 blocks are down 22 percent, with a 33 percent drop in shooting incidents and a 60 percent reduction in shooting victims. Those are live saves. And we're going to keep pushing forward in doing this work. So we can see the same success in the 15 new blocks. 

I want to give a shout out to Saira Khan from my office for leading this effort and taking the initiative, and making sure that we are addressing every single one of these community needs. This is just one small part of the mayor's public safety strategies, which has led to record low shootings, substantial reduction in murders, and a continuous drop in crime across our great city. But we know that statistics alone don't tell the full story. Real success is when people feel safe where they live and can see a difference in their streets. 

We want every New Yorker, no matter what zip code that you live in, we want you to feel safe in your blocks. Clean streets, brighter lights, fewer crimes, and stronger relationship between government and the people that we work for. That's why Every Block Counts is all about. None of this would be successful without the people who live on these blocks. 

They know the challenges better than any one of us sitting up here, standing up here, and they have stepped up to be a part of the solution. One of those leaders is standing right next to me. His name is LaTroy Neazer. As the Block CEO here in Manhattan, Troy has been a great partner and advocate for this program and his neighborhoods. It is my pleasure to turn it over to Troy to share a couple of a few words, please.

LaTroy Neazer: Good morning. My name is LaTroy Neazer. My peers and friends know me as Troy. I stand here before you today to say how honored I am to be serving as the CEO of Every Block Counts in the Northern Manhattan community. It brings me great joy to be a part of this program and to be a part of this program with Mayor Adams and his team and to highlight the crime and quality of life issues our community deals with. But we are not only talking about crime and quality of life problems. 

We are also talking about partnering with the city to find a lasting solution to them. I have been a member of this community for over 30 years and since learning of this great program, I've been overly excited to join forces with all the city agencies involved in making a difference. Together, we can change if we put our best foot forward. 

Change doesn't happen overnight, and it is not easy, but it can be accomplished. I've visited other cities where the crime rates are off the charts. The quality of life is a lot worse, and that cannot be the story of New York City. As a Block CEO, I will not sit on my hands waiting for others who don't live in this community to find ways for it to work for us. I will work hard with wonderful people that both work and live in this community, the people that share the burning desire to see the neighborhood change for better. 

I plan to identify the problems and find solutions to help our neighbors achieve public safety and quality of life they deserve. I will spend my time talking to members of our community who may not be comfortable enough reaching out to the NYPD, FDNY, Department of Sanitation to hear their thoughts. I'll be their voice, loud and clear, passing along their concerns to the right people, saying, “Hey, we need you over here.”

I will continue to help and promote and provide food and other resources to those in need. I will support Mayor Adams and his team in the continued efforts to address the ongoing crime and quality of life issues. Let's take our blocks back. Let's take our community back. Let's keep New Yorkers from feeling like they have to leave the place that they love to call home just to have a better life. Again, I thank you for this opportunity to be a part of such a great program, something that will work, something that is for the people and about the people. Thank you. 

Question: Mayor, in following up on initiatives like this one and the cleanup of The Hub from earlier this week, in fact, we went back to The Hub yesterday and saw your cops still there, the social services still there. You didn't forget about it the next day or anything like that, but we're already hearing concerns from neighbors. The problem is just being pushed one block away or one subway stop away. How do you prevent that from happening?

Mayor Adams: To identify, and that's why it's important to have CEOs that are here, because when they identify and move to one block away, we can immediately respond. If it's one subway station away, we are in alignment with the transit police officers to respond. And oftentimes you feel like The Hub or like here when you have someone who's dealing with either severe mental health illness or homelessness. 

They will go to another location. We have to meet them there, offer them the services, and that's how you build trust. Because just as the neighbors are saying, is it a one and done, so too are those who are needing care. They want to know, are you going to follow up and build trust? 

I spent a lot of time speaking with individuals who are dealing with severe mental health illness or who are homeless. And it's only after you do it three or four times before they believe that you really care. And that is how difficult this work is. And you need people on the ground like the CEO of this Every Block Count area.

Question: Mr. Mayor, so how long do you do the cleanup, the extra patrols? How long does that last?

Deputy Mayor Daughtry: That's going to last as long as the community and the residents in that block feel that they don't need the services anymore. That's why it's important, like the mayor said, to have the Block CEO. We will have a conversation with the Block CEO. And once he tells us we're fine, then we're going to move to another location throughout the city, which we have already identified other locations which we're moving to. 

But like the mayor said, it's important to have that dialogue with the CEO because he represents the residents on that block. So this is not just a one and done. The same thing like Roosevelt Avenue, the same thing like the Channel 11 reporter said for the Bronx Hub, which, by the way, like the mayor said again, it's important to have that relationship with residents in the neighborhood because we got a tip that some of the individuals, moved to a different location, which we haven't even had on our map. 

And we sent the team over there and we picked up over 275 needles and we got some services for folks over there. So it's important to have that dialogue and the residents in the Bronx Hub as well as Roosevelt Avenue, they love having the open dialogue between city government and the community and the business district so that we can– it's just a one phone call. They're not waiting to call 311. They're calling us directly and our team directly and we're addressing their problems.

Question: So do you cycle the locations? How do you then identify the next group of like five?

Deputy Mayor Daughtry: By crime data. So we look at the data, we look at the data where some of the uptakes are at and throughout the city and then we reach out to that block. And everybody, on every single block in New York City, there's one person that they consider the mayor or the CEO. So once they're on the block and offices are on the block, the first person to come outside is like, “Hey, what are you guys doing? Can I help you? What do you need?” And once that dialogue starts, that's how we build that relationship. 

Question: It's public safety related. But not on this topic.

Mayor Adams: I love that creativity. We're going to do a few on topics. Let's stay on this one right here. 

Question: You've called the lawsuit by former Interim Commissioner Donlon political and that of a disgruntled employee. I wanted to put kind of a fine point on that. Do you believe former Governor Cuomo is behind this lawsuit ultimately?

Mayor Adams: No, there's other people who have political motivations to create a level of chaos or build on a narrative. And I don't make accusations on people unless I have proof to do so. But I see an alignment that the timing of this and the individuals involved clearly appears to be a rush in this recent one. I mean, they had spaces there. 

If you read it, if you read the 200 and something pages of a novel– typos, there were blanks. So it seems as though someone was trying to rush to get this out during this period of time, because any lawyer that's worth a dime would not submit something with typos, with blanks, with all of these errors on it. 

And, you know, if you really want to get an understanding of Tom, interview him for 15 minutes. Just do an interview with him for 15 minutes and you walk away. 

Question: Why do you say that? 

Mayor Adams: Just do an interview for 15 minutes. Just sit down and talk with him for 15 minutes and then you tell me what's your impression.

Question: What do you observe?

Mayor Adams: Listen, I don't want to be biased. Just interview him for 15 minutes. You know, you saw him at press conferences. You know, we know that there was a fast turnaround because to lead the department, there's certain capabilities you must have. So you interview him and you tell me your assessment.

Question: I'm just wondering, is it true that the overnight subway patrols have now gone down to 200? And do you plan to continue funding that? Because I know the governor really wanted the city to take over the funding for that. And also, subway crime actually is now only down 1.9 percent over last year. And, of course, you still have the subway assaults way up. So it seems like you'd want to keep that going. What's going on there?

Mayor Adams: Okay, we have to always put this in perspective. We have 4.6 million daily riders. We have an average of five felonies a day. Out of 4.6 million. I mean, that number is just astonishing when you think about it. We want to get rid of those five felonies. But we need to take our hats off to the men and women who are below ground doing the job. 

When you do an analysis with other countries and cities, to have that volume of people and still maintain a level of order and dealing with the mental health issue that we saw in our system, taking 8,500 people off the system that's dealing with mental health issues. And so what the commissioner is doing, she's really balancing out our manpower, particularly during the summer months. 

The summer months are really challenging when it comes down to public safety, because everyone is out of school. They're out from, you know, on vacation. It's just a huge, huge task. And she's done it well. You know, I think that to have the last six months and the last number of quarters, to have the lowest number of shooters in homicides in this city is just a remarkable feat. 

And so she's going to continue to look where we need it, create the omnipresent. I was in a system yesterday, and I saw officers there walking through the system. The platform is what we saw in many of our crimes when she did her analysis. And so it's about really deploying the police personnel where the needs are.

Question: Are they going to come back in the fall, though, fully, the 300?

Mayor Adams: She's going to continue to plan and make sure, wherever the need is, what she's going to do. 

Question: I was just wondering, do you regret not acknowledging James Gennaro endorsement, since he said he's now revoking it because of that?

Mayor Adams: I reached out to the councilperson, and we will communicate. You know, what's different from me and the other candidates, I have a day job. And, the number of calls I have to do while I'm moving around, I'm still doing my day job of moving the city forward. And I'll speak with the councilman. You know, the team, we always like to reach out. 

I'm calling those who endorse me and those who are trying to decide and those who even endorse other candidates I'm communicating with. And so I'll reach out to the councilman. I appreciate his endorsement. You know, he knows the work that we've done in this city, and we've always had a good relationship. 

And I think that he's in a community where there are many of my voters. People who are concerned about public safety, qualities of school, and our environment. So I'll reach out to the councilman, and we'll have a conversation. 

###