Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on WNBC's 'News 4 NY at 5:30'

March 6, 2024

Gilma Avalos: Now at 5:30, Governor Hochul announced a plan this morning to make the subway system safer following a rash of violence, that includes flooding the system with National Guard troops and state police to conduct bag checks. And joining us now is New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Mayor Adams, thank you so much for being with us this afternoon.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you, great to be with you.

Avalos: And Mr. Mayor, what are New Yorkers going to see at their stations? And how would you assure New Yorkers that this won't devolve into racial profiling like the New York Civil Liberties Union is already warning about?

Mayor Adams: Well, there's a combination of things. And we need to be extremely clear. New York City is the safest big city in America. In 2023, we saw a decrease in subway crimes, January was the first month that you saw an uptick. We responded to that by placing 1,000 officers in the system, changed it towards the 12-hour tours, and you saw a 15 percent decrease in the month of February. So, you do have these upticks from time to time.

But to answer the Civil Liberties Union question directly, random check, predetermined number of people walk through, that predetermined number you're going to stop and go through, do a bag check. So, it's not that the police officers are going to be able to decide, it's a random check, unless there's cause to have an increase in suspicion on someone's behavior or actions.

Avalos: And Mayor Adams, we know these bag checks wouldn't flag some of the items that offenders have used as weapons in the past; for example, umbrellas, a metal water bottle like the one that was used to hit a performer over the head. So, how do you address that kind of issue?

Mayor Adams: And you do it by what police are doing now and how we got to the point of seeing this decrease in crimes throughout not only above ground but below ground- responding. Arrests are up, taking action on quality of life issues are clear.

When you look at those like that incident that you just talked about, are you dealing with someone with a mental health issue? We must deal with giving teeth to the Kendra's Law so we can go after, do the involuntary removals. We were committed from the beginning of the administration to remove those who dealt with severe mental health issues and give them the support that they need and not have them on our subway system as we removed all those encampments that were in our system.

Avalos: Now, you have said that repeat offenders are a big problem here. The governor today said that she pushed for a bill that would let judges ban writers convicted of violent transit crime from the system. That's going to take some time, it's an uphill battle. So, what should the city do in the meantime to address that serious issue?

Mayor Adams: Well, exactly, again, what our office is doing. There is a partnership in the criminal justice apparatus. You have the police officers who need to make arrests when necessary; the prosecutors prosecute; and, the judges make the determination if someone should remain on our streets or off our streets.

If that synergy and combination is not operating correctly, you're going to have an imbalance. You cannot say it is acceptable to have 38 people who assaulted transit employees have been arrested over 1,100 times in the city, and that's also with the 542 people that were arrested for shoplifting, have committed over 7,600 arrests in the city.

That just can't continue to happen. No matter how good our Police Department may be, it is not going to be able to solve a problem if we continue to let dangerous people walk our streets.

Avalos: Mayor Adams, are you disappointed that the state isn't footing the multi-million dollar NYPD overtime bill like they have in the past? And are these the kind of state resources that you wanted to see that you were asking for?

Mayor Adams: We're continuing conversations with the governor. The governor has been a partner. I want
to be clear. She responded immediately when we put in place the Subway Safety Plan and dealing with mental health issues. We always need more resources to assist. Dollars will help a lot. That is why we funded, after the uptick in January, we funded those thousand new officers. And you saw the results of that, a 15 percent decrease in crime.

And I want to be clear. We know that there's a combination here. We know that two percent of the crime in our city is happening in the subway. We know we have over 4.1, 4.2 million riders, about six felonies a day. We know the numbers are not matching how people fear.

We must make sure the numbers are right and give rid of those six felonies a day, but also make people feel comfortable and safe in the subway system.

Avalos: Mayor Adams, we thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Take care.

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