Transcript: Mayor Adams Calls in for Live Interview on SiriusXM Urban View Channel 126's 'Keepin’ It Real With Rev. Al Sharpton'

March 19, 2024

Reverend Al Sharpton: Let me say this to you around the country, a lot of time you that are in New York on WLIB, a lot of times, we do not get the substantive things that our mayors, particularly Black mayors, around the country are doing and the largest city in the world…

I just came back from London, everybody's tone is set by New York, and we have a mayor in New York that they try to come with other stuff, but it breaks through the positive stuff he's doing. And I've got him on the live line, as many of you know, around the country, he was one of the founding members of the National Action Network.

And he did something that I thought people need to know nationwide and your mayors ought to duplicate. And I want to talk to him about it. On our live line is the mayor of the City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams. How are you doing, Mr. Mayor?

Mayor Eric Adams: Hey, Rev., how are you? And you know, it's good being on Keepin' it Real, because we know we need to keep it real, particularly during these periods of times in this long journey of the days of being one of the founding members of the National Action Network.

And this is the byproduct of all those days of struggles in fighting that now, you know, to be the mayor of the largest city in America and probably one of the most important cities on the globe is a NAN member. And so we need to really take credit for that.

Sharpton: I really appreciate that and all the time and you. Let me go to something of real substance. You announced last week you're boosting pay for 80,000 human services workers with a $741 million cost of living adjustment.

Now, this investment reflects the city's recognition of the invaluable contributions made by workers who predominantly are women, 66 percent are women, women of color, 46 percent, and they deal with critical issues like housing, food access, health services. Explain to us what this means and how significant this will be on the ground to the people that need this cost of living adjustment?

Mayor Adams: It is very important and it falls in alignment with the overall approach that we have moved into this administration from the days of campaigning and really on the days of being on the ground and seeing the impact of those major, you know, workers, human service workers that provide real human services to people.

I saw it during Covid. They were out there every day, everything from delivering meals to those who were shut in to child care. You run a list of all the things that happen that prevented people from slipping through the gap and it's the human service workers.

And so our commitment, when we did an analysis, they were not being paid the wages they need so they can keep up themselves. I mean, imagine going out and providing services for people and then you're going home and not being able to provide the basic services for your family.

And that was, with one sister that talked at the press conference that acknowledged what we are doing by lifting the pay of these human service workers. As you indicated, 46 percent are women of color and you know, the industry, 66 percent are women.

So, we're going at the heart of the issue. This adds to what we've done with NYCHA, free broadband for NYCHA residents. It adds to decreasing the cost of childcare from $55 a week to less than $5 a week. This is our overall plan of going to everyday people.

Sharpton: Now, what specific challenges do you account in securing the $741 million to allocate this?

Mayor Adams: It is about focusing our priorities. We have to find those dollars because, as you know, we had to spend an unexpected $4 billion with the migrants and the asylum seekers, as you know, when I heard the show come on, a sister was talking about that.

When you think about those $4 billion, who deals with services but those, city services with those who are in need? That's the impact on them. And so there was a real challenge of finding that money, but really leaning into we knew this was the right thing to do and that's what we did.

Sharpton: Now, with this significant investment in wage enhancement for human services workers, how do you envision this initiative impacting the overall wellbeing of the city, city residents and that people can duplicate in their cities as you set the template being the largest city in the country?

Mayor Adams: Broken people find it difficult to provide services to broken people. People are dealing with some real pain, particularly after Covid. We see the number of suicidal ideations around children. We see the number of homelessness that spike, we see people deal with real mental health issues.

And so we must fortify the workforce that's delivering services to those who are going through crises right now. We cannot ignore the fact that Covid did something to us, and if those who are providing services are not taken care of appropriately, it's going to have a trickle down impact and a trickle down effect.

I met with this body of people when I was campaigning and I gave them a promise that when I was elected I was going to fix this problem of them not being adequately compensated for the work they're doing. And promise made, promise kept.

Sharpton: And I think people around the country and those in New York know this. You came in office right as we were recovering from Covid. And being the largest city it is with the most diverse, I mean, with the five boroughs representing whole different populations, you had a yeoman's job to try to pull together from those on the ground, those that were homeless, all the way to those that were billionaires. And you know, I think sometimes you are unfairly attacked and you always would smile looking at me and say, Rev., it's part of the process. And you just kept going.

And I think that a lot of people forget just three years ago, we were locked in the house, we couldn't go out, and homeless people were put in motels and hotels. You inherited all of that as does some of your colleagues like Karen Bass, like Brandon Johnson, in big cities. I mean, you couldn't wave a magic wand and bring us back.

Mayor Adams: No, no. Well said. And I could not say that better. I inherited the city when we were still in Covid. We were unsure if children should go to school or not. We took a strong position on that. We were having a 40 percent increase in crime. No one wanted to be on our subway system. Jobs were not coming to the city.

Now, two years and two months later, it's a real reflection on what mayors of color are doing across the entire country. We have the highest private sector job in the history of the city - the history of the city - decrease in shootings, homicides, five of the major crime categories are down.

All the bond raters have looked at the city and increased our bond rating because of how we're managing the crises. We're placing money back in the pockets of everyday New Yorkers. Tourism is back, 62 million tourists, the fourth highest in the city's history.

And so you are seeing a city in recovery with just two years and two months, and all the encampments that we had on our streets are gone. People living in our subway system, you're seeing a well-managed city from a NAN founder.

And what you're seeing other mayors across the country is looking at us and saying, you did this with 184,000 migrants and asylum seekers that came to this city and they are unable to work yet no one is sleeping on our streets because of how we managed this crisis.

Sharpton: No doubt about it. Well, the mayor of New York, Eric Adams and we're going to be together tomorrow. We're working it out, our teams, to stand with Haitian Americans, one of the largest, I think the largest, contingent of Haitians in America is in the City of New York.

And we've got to stand up against the gang violence there and call on the federal government to help cut off the guns coming in from Florida. So, the mayor and I are going to stand with Haitian leaders at some time tomorrow. He's always on the case, and I wanted you all to hear him around the country. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: Thank you, Rev. Take care.

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