Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on PIX11’s “PIX11 News at 4 P.M.”

July 31, 2025

Kendis Gibson: Stand by because we have the mayor joining us on the phone to give us the very latest from City Hall on the situation. Mr. Mayor, can you hear us?

Mayor Eric Adams: Yes, I can. Thanks for having me on, and as you know, the area is being impacted by a severe thunderstorm watch until eight p.m. and a flood watch until tomorrow morning, and high winds up to 65 miles per hour, including the potential of hail up to one inch in diameter.

Arrianee LeBeau: And, Mayor Adams, we know that we've already seen some hard-hit areas. We're looking at video right now of Bayside, Queens, where some cars are submerged. Can you give us some insight into some of the areas that are hard-hit right now, especially as people are maybe traveling home?

Mayor Adams: That's so true. We're asking our commuters to be extremely careful while they're traveling, as you stated, Bayside and other low-lying areas. If you look at places like the Clearview Expressway and other locations, we are seeing the potential, and we're seeing flooding in those areas. 

That is why we executed a state of emergency to ensure that New Yorkers know that this is a severe storm, and we need to be on the lookout to make sure that we're not driving through flooded areas.

Gibson: Mr. Mayor, dig into that a little bit more. What's the difference between your state of emergency and the governor's?

Mayor Adams: Similar in nature. The governor, of course, represents the entire state, and it allows her to put, including New York, into the area. But in New York, what the state of emergency does is it allows me to deploy resources faster and efficiently to the right places, as well as redirect city personnel or equipment when needed. 

It also allows us to cut out regulatory red tape and speed up our emergency response. Many of our emergency agencies, such as FDNY, NYPD, DEP, they have a pre-laid-out plan to deal with extreme weather, and the state of emergency allows them to execute it at a faster rate.

LeBeau: Mayor, we know when we deal with extreme weather situations like this, it hits our subway system hard. What impact is it having right now as many people will begin trying to jump on those subways to head home?

Mayor Adams: Yes, and really, we put out earlier today for people to travel prior to the storm coming in. But [for] those who couldn't, and they will be using the trains, if there's flooding in the station, we're asking them not to enter the station because the trains are not going to be able to operate under flooding conditions. And so it's going to take a variation of ways to commute above surface. If you can use the trains, do so if it's not flooding.

Gibson: And, Mr. Mayor, the latest alert from NYPD News is that there are some problems right now with the A, D, E, B, F, and C lines dealing with this right now. Of course, they had the power outage problem. They're trying to get home. You realize a lot of New Yorkers trying to get home, they're going to be fairly frustrated with the situation.

Mayor Adams: Yes, you know, this extreme weather, particularly heat, oftentimes we talk about the deadly impact that heat has on sickness and ailment[s], but we also must understand what it does to our infrastructure. It drains a lot when air conditioning and power is being used. It drains often, and it drains our electricity supply. 

And so, this is a moment where we're asking people to use as [the] least amount of electricity as possible, so we won't over-strain the system. And when you add the rain and winds with this, it creates one of those scenarios that we just got to ride it through and get past it.

LeBeau: And, mayor, I know you mentioned for people to try and avoid the subway system during these powerful storms and try and use transportation above ground, has there been any changes to the bus system to maybe help kind of expedite that and get people moving?

Mayor Adams: Our extreme weather coordinator, Camille Joseph Varlack, is coordinating and communicating with the MTA, requesting any assistance they need on our part. They normally make these adjustments, but at this time they stated there's no assistance they need from City Hall. But we're here to help them and coordinate with them whatever is needed.

Gibson: Mr. Mayor, we saw the situation there in Bayside, Queens, that dramatic video of the flooding. We believe they got about three inches of rain in the course of an hour. Just unbelievable images there. Have you heard of, has your office been alerted of many water rescues taking place so far this afternoon?

Mayor Adams: No, not as of yet. But we are seeing roads flood, and some vehicles are stuck. And high water units, and the FDNY, they have been deployed, and we have sent them to Queens. So right now, we have the FDNY high water units, they're out there. 

These NYPD and FDNY, they're extremely well trained to deal with these rescues because we realize that there are parts of the city that are low grade, and you do have flooding. And we have deployed a team to Queens.

LeBeau: All right. Mayor Adams, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your time.

Mayor Adams: Okay. Take care.

###