City of New York, NY

05/02/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/02/2024 10:12

Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on PIX 11 Morning News

May 2, 2024

Dan Mannarino: Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here, and let's begin with what we are really seeing play out in real time. Police now on college university campuses in New York City through commencement, some to the end of May, beginning of June. When you look at that, does it drain resources or take resources from other areas of the city that are in need of the NYPD at this current time as you head into that summer surge of crime?
Mayor Eric Adams: This is what we're good at doing. We all know that so many things happen in the city at one time. The police department had to monitor over 1,000 protests since the October 7th, and we're going to continue to do so. We're going to continue to respond, and as a professional department, they will continue to rise to the occasion.
Hazel Sanchez: Yes, and what happened at Fordham was unique in the fact that compared to Columbia, it doesn't have its own union per se, or a quad where they can have these encampments. It's right smack in the middle of somewhat of a residential area.
A lot of folks are concerned that these protests are going to spill out into neighborhoods where there are families with, children, schools. What can you say to those folks who are feeling very uneasy right now?
Mayor Adams: I understand that my home in Brooklyn is a residential area and has been a subject of protests, and I have to speak with my neighbors about that because no one wants their quality of life disrupted, their children and families to be disrupted to that magnitude.
I can assure them, the Police Department, we're clear on our plans on execution as we saw at Columbia University, and making sure we have a safe corridor for people who live in communities and are able to move about in a safe way.
Mannarino: Mr. Mayor, I want to talk about what we saw play out at Columbia, right. We saw quite the response from the NYPD with that Bearcat dressing riot gear going in. Nobody wants to see that on a college campus, but you and the NYPD have repeatedly sounded the alarm quoting outside agitators as the ones for radicalizing children, radicalizing some of these peaceful protesters who were just trying to exercise the right for their First Amendment.
How many of those arrested were outside agitators? If you're not going to say the number, why, when you've been sounding the alarm for so long about outside agitators?
Mayor Adams: A couple of things. Radicalization is something that I have really studied and looked into across the globe and the methodologies that are used, and not only the role of individuals, but social media, the isolation, the loneliness that children sometimes experience can lead to that radicalization.
What I don't want us to continue to do that I'm hearing over and over again, was it 50 percent, was it 40 percent, was it X number percent? Let's be clear, if one professor in a school using this as a hypothetical is instructing 50, 100 college students to do something inappropriate, that's a bad thing. When we caught up on what's the percentage and not the fact that we have substantiated that they were outside agitators, professors, professionals, who we have documentation that they were instructing to students and using different tactics and participating. That is too many.
They were not supposed to be on the college campus. They were not supposed to be participating in this illegal action. I'm not going to continue to go down the road of what percentage are we talking about? One is too many.
Mannarino: I understand one is too many, right. When you're talking about outside agitators that have been arrested and then could be back on the street and going into these other groups, shouldn't the public be aware of how many outside agitators there are and that were arrested on a campus that could have moved somewhere else?
Mayor Adams: We did a series of arrests, several hundred arrests. We turned those names over to the institutions, particularly Columbia University. They're doing an analysis to determine who's a student and who's not a student. We're going to continue to cooperate with them.
Mannarino: Can't the NYPD do that?
Mayor Adams: We don't want to release student names. That is up to the institutions to do that.
Sanchez: I think a lot of folks are wondering if you've identified these groups and identified these outside agitators, why we can't get ahead of it, or can you? Can you get ahead of this?
Mayor Adams: That's what we're doing. That's why we have an intelligence division. They have a role to do. We don't need the public to go out and play police. The police should be the police.
We are going to continue to monitor. That's how we found out that they were outside agitators, because we were doing our job. We have one of the best intelligence units under Commissioner Weiner. We're going to continue to keep the public safe.
Mannarino: Yes, I want to move on from that. The only reason I'm asking about the numbers is because the NYPD themselves said they would release the information on Wednesday afternoon about those agitators and then didn't. Now you're putting it on the colleges to do so.
Mayor Adams: No, we're not putting it on the colleges. We're respecting students. I don't think it would be fair. No parent would want their child's name mentioned. That's the role of the schools, not the role of the police department to do so.
We made the arrest. It's going to go through the proper process. Some received summonses. Those who were in the school committed crimes such as burglary and destruction of property, criminal mischief.
We are going to continue to use our intelligence to do exactly what we did at Columbia University. Handle the threat, make sure minimum amount of force, and ensure there's no injuries to the police, staff, and those students.
Sanchez: I think we have to talk about the fear factor and in that case, the larger conversation about antisemitism, right? How is that being addressed?
Mayor Adams: In so many ways. It's not a one dimensional approach. Many people often believe we can police our way out of it. No, we cannot. We need to start educating our children as we rolled out an announcement of how we're going to lean into this in our public school system.
What I've been doing for several years, our breaking bread, building bonds, a thousand dinners of different groups sitting at the table and talking to each other. Because the hate that we're seeing is not only antisemitism, which is leading in the hate that we're seeing, but we're also seeing Islamophobia. We're seeing anti-Sikhism, AAPI community. It's about our city coming together and leading the country on how we show we can live as one in this great city.
Mannarino: Mr. Mayor, I've talked to you a number of times and I've known you a long time about your history of protests, right? What do you say to those who were peacefully protesting, right, and are now seeing this militarization come onto their campus? Because in that group, there were students who were exercising their right to the First Amendment.
As you look at some of the response and the tactics that were used, do you think that would change the way some students might want to peacefully protest and not do it in fear of being injured by the NYPD or what may be terms of response?
Mayor Adams: No, I don't. This is democracy here in this country. Really, the cornerstone of our democracy is the right to protest the right. Something I participated in, not only as a student, but I actually participated in as a police officer. When I took off my uniform, I would join protests on many different issues, from closing of hospitals to inappropriate police action. I know the richness of protest.
I don't think the presence of officers wearing equipment that could prevent them from being injured, such as the bottles and other items that were thrown in the street and some of the items that was thrown off the roof of the Hamilton building, I think they showed the right, appropriate action.
No one wants to see police on college campuses, but we also don't want to see the destruction of buildings and we don't want those children hurt. If you break the law, we're going to take appropriate action and we're going to do it with the minimal amount of force.
I know that no one wants to see that type of use of police equipment. I have to keep the students safe, Dan, and I have to keep the city safe.
Mannarino: Understood.
Mayor Adams:I'm going to use the right understanding of a former law enforcement officer and now as the chief executive to make sure the city continues to be the safest big city in America.
Mannarino: I know, Mr. Mayor, we're out of time here, but I do want to ask you one off-topic question outside of the protest world.
There was this announcement you made this week about Black unemployment, which has decreased under your watch. When you look at the numbers, right, I'm just curious, and I know we're out of time, what you credit that to?
Mayor Adams: A combination, real team effort, precision, approach to it, our hiring halls and communicating to people where they are and allowing them to know the opportunities in this city.
Sanchez: All right, Mayor Adams, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us this morning. Appreciate it.
Mayor Adams: Take care.

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