Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams Calls in Live to 1010 WINS

December 7, 2022

Susan Richard: All right. 1010 WINS joined live by Mayor Eric Adams. Thank you so much for being here.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Morning.

Richard: All right. So a lot to talk about. Let's start with your plan to involuntarily hospitalize some mentally ill homeless people in the city. I guess the main question here is, how can police officers, even if they have the phone assistance from that hotline you've been talking about, make a decision right there in the field about whether someone is able to adequately care for themselves?

Mayor Adams: Well, let's peel this back because it's very important to me, because I think the way it has been reported in the media is just really distorting exactly what the plan is. We are not involuntarily hospitalizing people just because they have mental health illnesses. There's a very specific group that we gave clarity to — our rank and file first responders and mental health professionals. If you cannot take care of your basic needs and you are a danger to yourself, that is the small group that we are talking about. You will be taken to the hospital where a mental health professional would make the determination on what the next steps. That's a clear pathway and people who are against this is really... It's inhumane to allow the status quo of allowing these people who can't make these mental health decisions on their own. We are not going to do that, and that's what we are clearing up.

Richard: The public advocate has questioned whether the plan puts law enforcement and others at risk of being sued. What do you say about that?

Mayor Adams: I think that it's just the contrary, and I don't know if the public advocate really understands the plan. I'm going to reach out to him because as I'm hearing people articulate the plan, I'm asking them what plan are they talking about? There was a sensationalism that I think, unfortunately through the media that basically sent out this message that we are going to involuntarily admit everyone to the hospital who has a mental health illness. If you are... Don't have your shoes on and you’re not a danger to yourself in cold weather, that is not grounds to place you in a hospital. That's grounds for us to talk to you and see if you need shoes, if you need shelter. But this is a multi-step plan of being humane to New Yorkers who can't take care of their basic needs and a danger to themselves. And this is not jeopardizing any officer or first responder, this is within the rights of the law.

Richard: Well, speaking of the media, the New York Times is out with a report that says, amid your war on rats, you are personally fighting a $300 violation for a rat problem at a Brooklyn property that you rent out. So what's going on with that?

Mayor Adams: Well, it starts with $6,800. And why did I quote that number? That's how much my invoices show that I spent in dealing with the rat problem on the entire block. I spent $6,800 because every New Yorker knows by now, I hate rats and I'm looking to kill and get rid of rats in the city. That's why Commissioner Tisch has leaned into this and I want every New Yorker, you feel you get a fine that you should not have, use the right system to appeal that fine. And that's what I did. I'm a New Yorker, although I'm the mayor, I'm still a New Yorker, and I did the right thing to deal with the rat problem on my block, and I wanted to have my case heard.

Richard: Okay, so here's the question, if you spent nearly seven grand, most people don't have that money to try to fix a rat problem on their whole block, shouldn't your administration be stepping in? It's a big problem there.

Mayor Adams: Yes, it is. It's a big problem throughout the city when you look at it. And the problem was there for far too long. And I educate my residents on the block, they all chip in. We all take all the steps that are possible to try to deal with the rat problem, but we know there's a rat problem in the city. It has been ignored. And when you look at the numbers, some estimates say the number of rats in comparison to New Yorkers, almost three times as many. So if it's 8.8 million New Yorkers, the math is simple. We have a rat problem and we're going to get that rap problem under control. That's going to be in combination with the rat czar we're going to hire and better cleaning our city. We want to be the cleanest city in America.

Richard: All right. So speaking of hiring people, City Comptroller Brad Lander, blaming your budget cuts and also your COVID vaccine problems for what he says are critical staffing shortages in the city. What do you have to say about that?

Mayor Adams: I'm surprised Brad actually stated that. He's indicated that he wants to look at how we run our city services, and he pointed out that I think it's an 8 percent vacancy rate. He actually has a 14 percent vacancy rate in his office. Even with his remote work options and all the options that he said we should do, he has a 14 percent vacancy rate. So I'm always told that get your house in order before you talk about your neighbor's house. We are doing an amazing job of recruiting. We've always stated that we were going to make sure we streamline and make our city more efficient. I ran on this and we're going to continue to provide the services that are needed and continue to find the talent that we need to fill the vacant jobs. But I think Brad, clearly with a 14 percent vacancy rate, he should do a report on his office.

Richard: Okay. So we have like 20 seconds. You were recently at the World Cup in Qatar, aside from not banning beer at stadiums, did you get any good ideas for when the games come here?

Mayor Adams: Yes. I think they did an amazing job. This was one of the first times that all the games were played in one country. That is a real challenge. And since we are only going to have one game here, we want it to be the finals. It gave me an opportunity to speak to those who are in charge of the World Cup, as well as seeing how they handled the public safety aspect. Move people around and have different locations for the fans to be engaged even when the games were not taking place. So it was good to see first on the ground, firsthand approach to hosting something as big as the World Cup.

Richard: All right. Mayor Adams, live on 1010 WINS. Thank you so much.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care.

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