Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on NY1’s “Mornings on 1”

August 15, 2025

Pat Kiernan: Mayor Adams wants to put a focus on quality of life. A new proposal from the mayor focuses on drug use in public. He is calling this the Compassionate Interventions Act. This would give medical professionals the ability to hold someone at a hospital if they believe that person is a danger to themselves or others due to a substance abuse problem. If that person doesn't willingly enter treatment, a judge could then mandate that they be given that treatment involuntarily.

The mayor and the president and CEO of New York City Health and Hospitals, Mitchell Katz, are with me this morning to talk more about this. Good morning. Thank you both for having some time for us.

Mayor Eric Adams: Good morning. Great to be on with you.

Kiernan: Mayor Adams, tell me first of all what's behind this thinking. There has been much controversy over the idea of involuntary treatment. Why do you think that's necessary now in New York City?

Mayor Adams: Oh well, you know, when you go back to actually 2022 when I talked about involuntary removals around those with severe mental health illness, if they can't take care of themselves or they're in danger to themselves and others, there was a lot of controversy. And then many of our lawmakers and others, they came around and sided with the public.

People should not be on the street that can't take care of themselves. And this has now been extended to those who are under the influence of some form of substance abuse. They need help. And if you're under that influence, you don't know you need help often. And we believe the same methodologies behind involuntary removal for severe mental health illness should be for drug use as well.

Kiernan: Dr. Katz, one thing we've heard is that these problems can't be handled by one agency alone. There's got to be cooperation between the NYPD and mental health professionals and social workers and doctors and nurses at hospitals. How does this all fit together?

Dr. Mitchell Katz, CEO and President, NYC Health and Hospitals: Well we all recognize how difficult addiction is and how hard it is to treat. And that's why I so appreciate the mayor doing this initiative. Because right now what often happens if somebody is found in the subway, they are not sure who they are, they're not sure what's going on, they are acting like someone with a severe mental illness. And we bring them to the hospital and then the substance is clear. We now release them because the law doesn't allow us to say the compassionate thing to do is to actually treat them.

And so now we're going to have the tools to be able to say we're not just releasing you because you need help and the drugs are dictating your life in a way that is really ruining it.

Kiernan: We wanted to get the perspective of people who deal with this every day. Ann-Marie Foster is the CEO of Phoenix House and she talked with us about some skepticism here about the idea of involuntary hospitalization. I want to play that clip for you.

[Video plays.]

Kiernan: Mayor Adams, I'll put that question to you. Forcing people into hospitalization is how she described that. Is this going to work?

Mayor Adams: We know that we heard those same criticisms when we decide the involuntary removal of those with severe mental health illness. Yet, when you do an examination of over a thousand people, we were able to get permanent housing. They're now in permanent housing. These are the individuals who are the hardest to reach, who have lived on the streets for many years and we now have them in permanent housing.

So we know there's skepticism, but I'll tell you what New Yorkers don't want. They don't want someone injecting themselves with drugs on their porches. They don't want someone in the subway system that's under the influence of some form of substance abuse. That's what New Yorkers are asking a relief from.

And I believe it is going to work. We heard the skepticism before. It has been successful what we're doing and we need to try something new and not what we have witnessed years after years after years.

Katz: And the mayor has been very clear. He supports voluntary treatment. The issue is what do you do when somebody is not interested in engaging with voluntary treatment? Phoenix House is a wonderful program, but this is not a choice between voluntary and involuntary. This is a choice between involuntary or no treatment. And that's what New Yorkers are seeing on their street stoops.

Kiernan: Mayor Adams, I want to put this into the context of your current re-election campaign. I think one thing that New Yorkers responded to four years ago when you were first elected to office was that theme of law and order you brought, your experience as a former NYPD officer. Is this strategy consistent with that? Are New Yorkers asking you to clean up the streets?

Mayor Adams: When I do my town halls, when I do my older adult centers, when I speak to New Yorkers in houses of worship, I hear it over and over again. The visible presence of those who are under the influence of some form of substance abuse or those who are dealing with severe mental health illness, New Yorkers do not want to see that over and over again.

When we closed our psychiatric beds, when we closed down other facilities that handle these issues, we did not have the handoff. And that's why we're doing everything from clubhouses to Bridge to Homes. You are seeing the holistic approach. We are not ignoring anyone.

I think Dr. Katz is saying it best. Of those who are easy to reach, those who accept the assistance, that's fine. But what do you do with those either dealing with substance abuse or severe mental health illness who are refusing to get any assistance because they're under some form of issue that won't allow them to know it's the right thing to do?

Kiernan: I got a couple other campaign questions for you. We saw you at the Manhattan Institute yesterday. A right-leaning group, not a typical stop for somebody who came to power as a Democrat. What's your thinking in connecting with them?

Mayor Adams: Well, I think after elections are over, when you become the chief executive of the city, you do not say you're going to govern right-leaning or left-leaning. You govern the people of the city. And when New Yorkers are looking for services, we don't ask for what is their political status. We provide those services.

And I go to all groups and sit down and communicate with them. I think that's my trademark. I'm willing to sit down with anyone and explain what our policies are. Some people will agree, some will disagree, but I must execute a plan to move our city forward. And we have been successful in doing that. Jobs are up, crime is down, and we're building housing for New Yorkers.

Kiernan: But would you agree there's an opportunity on the right right now that Zohran Mamdani has a lot of those left-leaning votes locked up? And if there's a path for you, it involves some Republicans and many Independents?

Mayor Adams: Well, I think when you look at 2021, when I campaigned, I was able to build those coalitions. That's how I won. I became the mayor because I built coalitions with all groups. I believe, just as I did as a police officer, when that call to service was made as a cop and as a captain, I didn't ask for your political status.

And so, I think there's always a coalition of people in this city that they care about quality of life issues, and they want to have a place where they can raise their children and families. They don't want to release people from Rikers Island and empty out jails. They don't want to say that police officers should not respond to domestic violence incidents, which is one of the most dangerous incidents an officer can respond to. And they don't want to legalize prostitution, because they know what sex trafficking is about, and they know how important it is.

You know, there's still people in this city that believe family matters, and they don't want to disband families. And those are the people I'm talking to.

Kiernan: Mayor Adams with us this morning, along with the CEO of Health and Hospitals, Mitchell Katz. Thank you both for spending some time with us.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care. Thank you.

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