Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live On 1010 Wins’ “The PM Rush”

December 13, 2023

Larry Mullins: And that brings us to His Honor, Mayor Eric Adams, who has offered to come on with us live to address this and other matters that are on his plate. Good evening and happy holidays, sir. 
 
Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you very much. Great speaking with you. 
 
Mullins: Yes, sir. Brother Mayor, you have been running with so much on the front burner here in the city, and we appreciate you taking a minute to give us some time. I know your time is limited, you got that Menorah lighting I think I saw on your schedule in Battery Park later this hour, so let's get right on into it. 
 
First of all, you heard the Buildings Department giving the okay for folks to move back into the wing of that building that didn't collapse. Your thoughts on that, sir; and particularly, for people who say, no thanks, we're not moving back into that place. 
 
Mayor Adams: Well, if the Building Department gave an indication that people can move back in, it's because they did their due diligence. And really, we need to take our hats off to the first responders. They responded in less than two minutes to that collapse: the Fire Department, the DOB, New York City Police Department and NYCEM. They were able to remove all of the collapsed items and determined that no one was beneath any of the debris, and just thank God no one was hurt. And now they're going to do a thorough investigation to find out exactly what happened. 
 
Mullins: Yes. Human nature, now let's put on that hat. Mayor, you know me and you know I'm probably going to ask. Would you, Mayor Adams, move back in with part of the building hanging on by a thread? 
 
Mayor Adams: Yes, I was up there, and I saw exactly what happened on the corner of the building. It's a double sided building, from what I was able to observe, and the side that was not impact appears to be sturdy. Now, I have a lot of confidence in the Department of Buildings that if they were there and did a review and stated that it was okay to move back in, people could feel assured that it is okay. 
 
Mullins: Okay. They’re going to demolish the compromised part of that building. How do you do that without compromising the rest of it? Again, I guess like you say, they know what they're doing. 
 
Mayor Adams: Yes. One thing you can be sure of, that part of the… My college courses I failed, so I won't be able to tell you how these engineers figure it out, they're better than I am. 
 
Mullins: Okay. On to other matters now. The budget, and already you're hearing from some city agencies saying this is off the table. We can't cut critical services with one person throwing it in your face, a comment to the effect if you don't educate, you will incarcerate. Can we assume that was ahead of the migrant crisis that's in front of you now? 
 
Mayor Adams: And you know, I firmly believe that not only if you don't educate, you'll incarcerate, but also the prerequisite to our prosperity is public safety. And we have reached the level of challenges that I have not seen since the sixties during the time of the great economic challenges we were facing. 
 
And many New Yorkers are angry and I'm angry. We knew the budget we passed. We knew that we successfully brought our city back. Crime is down, jobs are at an all time high, and we were really thriving as a city. And we got this national problem that the federal government refused to take on its responsibility of making sure that it's properly funded. This should not be coming on the backs of taxpayers. And so, I understand the anger that's coming from New Yorkers and my agency heads. 
 
Mullins: Yes. On that note, is Governor Hochul being able to reach out and help with any of this regarding the budget? A tax increase, are we looking at that? Or maybe layoffs in the cards? 
 
Mayor Adams: I met with the governor this morning and she shares my frustration and my advocacy to have the federal government do its job. I know people think about, you know, should you do layoffs. That only aggravates the problem because if someone is laid off, they're going to need those services from our city. 
 
And so, the goal is to find the efficiencies in our agency. We have asked agencies several times to do so, and they've done that. And our goal is to not have some of the draconian cuts that will hurt the vital services. But I stated over and over again, it's going to be extremely painful for New Yorkers and it's unfair to New Yorkers. 
 
Mullins: Okay. On another note, the antisemitism that we're seeing in this town and in other places. Are we making any headway to put a stop to that? 
 
Mayor Adams: Yes, unfortunately after October 7th we witnessed an increase in hate crimes and antisemitism as well as Islamophobia and some of my Sikh brothers and sisters. There's a clear message we're saying, there's no room for hate and there's no place for hate in our city. This is one of the most diverse cities on the globe, and that's why tonight I'm going to be joining those in the drone display that's talking about ending hate in our city. 
 
It's time for us to come together, and there's some very serious things we can do. Number one, we need to reexamine what's playing out on our college campuses. We need to really start using this as a teaching moment to bring groups together. 
 
And as we're doing in our Breaking Bread, Building Bonds, everyday New Yorkers should be extremely aggressive and creative on how do we sit down and communicate with each other, because this hate has been engulfed on the social media and it's crossing not only the globe but our entire country. 
 
Mullins: And finally, on a lighter note, the holidays are upon us. Let's talk about New Year's resolutions. Did you keep this year's, mayor, and what you're resolving to do this year… Next year? 
 
Mayor Adams: Yes. Yes, I did. It's almost hard to believe that we are 12 days away from Christmas. It was my desire to spend some self care time more, and I did that and to try to get as much reading in as possible, and I was able to do that. 
 
And so, resolutions are important to start the new year, and I wish everyone identify a resolution that's going to help them get through the challenging times that we are facing. And I wish everyone a Happy Holiday and a wonderful New Year. 
 
Mullins: So, you know me, and you know I gotta take a shot at you. You still eating those bean sprouts, brother? 
 
Mayor Adams: Yes, I do. 
 
Mullins: And figuring out another way to cook 'em to make 'em tasty when you have people over. 
 
Mayor Adams: Yes, I salute them. 
 
Mullins: Always a pleasure, sir, and you know you're always welcome here. Happy Holidays to you. 
 

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