Scott Stanford: As we've been talking about all morning, crime on the subways has taken a nice dip since this same time last year. More officers deployed down below may have had a lot to do with it. I want to bring in New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Mayor, good morning. Congrats on those crime numbers.
Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you, thank you, and success throughout the city, and I'm also joined here with Sheriff Miranda, who's also showing us success in closing down these cannabis shops. When you look at our robberies in the subway system, it is the lowest in the history of recorded information and data, and the decrease in crime, I would say, in the last 14 years, you take out the two years of COVID, this has been the lowest in over 14 years. It shows that we're moving in the right direction.
Stanford: Yes, mayor, but before we talk with Sheriff Miranda about yesterday's big bust, you've got a pilot program that's being rolled out in the next few days. We're going to see some metal detectors, little technology in select subway stations?
Mayor Adams: I am a big believer in technology. It is a technology that's a gun detection technology that can detect if someone is carrying a firearm on their person. This is really something that New Yorkers have been concerned about. When you see shootings on our subway system in a confined area, it's very traumatizing, and we're looking forward to seeing that this is the first step. If it's successful, we're going to see an evolution of how we protect our subway systems.
Stanford: All right, Sheriff Miranda, tremendous day for the NYPD yesterday. Not one, two businesses in the Bronx busted. They were fronts for pot distribution. Sheriff, Operation Padlock to Protect doing exactly what it's supposed to do, huh?
Sheriff Anthony Miranda: Absolutely. Over 600 locations closed, civil penalties of over $50 million, and over $20 million of products that has been seized since the Padlock to Protect program began.
Stanford: What did you guys come away with yesterday?
Sheriff Miranda: Yesterday is over $3 million of product that was seized, and it's truly based and driven on information received from the community. We want to encourage the community to continue to make the complaints, continue to supply the information, because they're the first ones that see the abuses that are coming in their communities, and we're their partners, and we're hearing their voices.
Mayor Adams: It would have been difficult for us to identify this location because it was a normal deli, but because the community gave us the information, we were able to see that deli was just a cover, and our goal is to continue to enhance this partnership so that we can close down these illegal shops.
Stanford: Yes, congrats on that, guys. I'm sure lots more shops could be shut down in the future.
Mayor, I want to talk about President Biden. Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer are reportedly going to Delaware to talk to the president about the polling numbers. CNN now even reporting Nancy Pelosi spoke to the president in private about the same thing, and that was even before the COVID diagnosis. Have you spoken to Mr. Schumer or Mr. Jeffries at all? Where do you stand now on keeping Joe Biden in the presidential race?
Mayor Adams: I'm riding with Biden. I've made that clear over and over again. I believe that what he has done in this country around the economy, around public safety, and even in areas where I disagree, I look at the totality of a person's work. Clearly, I believe that he can continue to move this country in the right direction.
And I know how important it is for Senator Schumer. Schumer is the leader of the Senate. It's important to continue to retain the Senate, and I had a brief conversation with Congressman Jeffries. He's focused on those seats that he needs to take over Congress, and I believe that the Democratic Party will come together and put the right plan together to accomplish all three of those goals.
Stanford: Yes, and mayor, everybody's still talking about what went down this past Saturday. Earlier this week, you talked about getting a handle on hate in the country here in the city. You say there's a lot to be blamed on social media, and also public officials are now signing on to a letter about that topic. Tell me about it.
Mayor Adams: The goal is social media is really using algorithms that, number one, I think they radicalize our children. When you have a 20-year-old climb on the top of the roof and discharge a semi or automatic weapon at someone they don't know but just disagree with, that's troubling, and we must really refocus our attention on how social media is bringing our young people into dark places.
We also have a role as elected officials to know that we could disagree without being disagreeable, and we could be angry about something without hating another person, and that's what I'm hoping to accomplish as we really tone down the rhetoric and tone down how we are talking about these areas we disagree on.
Stanford: We've been reporting all morning, mayor, about City Councilwoman Susan Zhuang getting arrested yesterday for biting an NYPD deputy chief during a protest over a new homeless shelter in Bensonhurst. Have you spoken to her yet? Do you plan on it? What do you tell her?
Mayor Adams: Oh yes, and I like Susan. I was disappointed on what happened in this unfortunate situation. I think she's a new young councilperson that wants to advocate on behalf of her community. And these are extremely emotional issues that we're talking about, but it was a pretty nasty bite that the chief received from the councilperson, and we have been talking about assault on police officers as they carry out their jobs.
And so I'm going to reach out to the councilperson and sit down with her and try to resolve this issue, but it was really unfortunate. She has always been an advocate for law enforcement, but these issues are extremely emotional, and we have to find ways to resolve them without any form of violence.
Stanford: Mayor, got about 20 seconds left. How's it going as you look for that replacement for Laura Kavanagh, the head of the FDNY, resigned over the weekend? How's that going?
Mayor Adams: I cannot thank her enough. She announced that she was going to do something else in her life, and that's expected. Being in charge of these agencies are challenging. We're going to look at many of the people who we believe are in this city that can actually do a job as well as she has done in her time in office.
Stanford: Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda. Gentlemen, thanks for a few minutes. You guys at least get to cool off a little today, right?
Mayor Adams: That’s right.
Stanford: The schvitzing is over, gentlemen. Have a great weekend. Thank you very much.
Mayor Adams: Thank you.