Transcript: Mayor Adams Calls In For Live Interview On 107.5 WBLS-FM’s “Caribbean Fever Radio”

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Dahved Levy, anchor, Caribbean Fever, 107.5 WBLS. We’ve got New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, on the line. How are you doing, sir? How are you holding up, sir?
Mayor Adams: Things don’t change. Anyone who has watched my life’s journey and trajectory knows that challenging times don’t last forever, but people who can face challenges do. And so, I’m moving straight ahead. I’ve got to navigate the city out of these challenges we have, and I’m ready for the moment.

Levy: Wow. Sir, a state rental assistance program has distributed nearly $95 million in funding to help nearly 15,000 New York City Housing Authority households pay off their overdue rent. What is the maximum amount of overdue rent you can get paid? How do you qualify, and how do you determine who needs what or the most?
Mayor Adams: Well, first of all, it’s a huge victory for us. I was the first administration that included NYCHA in my overall housing plan when others left NYCHA out. But I knew that you can’t talk about housing without talking about NYCHA and the substantial number of people who are part of NYCHA. During the difficult times of Covid, they, too, fell back on their rent.
Hats off to Governor Hochul and the state lawmakers. They heard our call. They made the funding available through the New York State Emergency Rental Assistance Program, also called ERAP. So NYCHA has worked with the state government to develop a process that will help housing residents apply for it and receive up to 12 months of financial relief.
And so based on what your rent amount is, that is how the numbers are going to be calculated. So, any household who is now receiving this funding has already applied for assistance, [inaudible] we release money right away. But applications are currently being processed and assistance is starting to be reflected in the counts on an ongoing basis. So, anyone who needs information can reach out to their NYCHA tenant office, and they will get the process on how to move it forward.
Everyone who lives in NYCHA knows how to get in contact with their management office that’s there on the site.

Levy: Sir, speaking about that, it seems like the majority of migrants felt it was safer to leave Floyd Bennett Field, these migrants that came in. I see that they set up Floyd Bennett Field very well, but a lot of people decided that look, it was not for them, that they had to go far to get their kids out of school, transportation was not right, the heating system was not right. And they moved on.
How… Sir, we see they have put a lot of energy, a lot of thought, a lot of hard workdays, and nights; we see you all over the place talking about immigrants and what you can do and that you don’t have the wherewithal monetarily to take care of them. So, when you saw that these migrants were now heading back from Floyd Bennett Field that so much was put into, what were your thoughts, and what do you think you can do to stabilize the migrants coming into New York?
Mayor Adams: A couple of things, Dahved. One, this is not a conversation about immigrants. The city has always been welcoming to immigrants. This is something we believe. We are a city that is built on immigrants coming from South, and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, from Africa. You know, this is a city about immigrants.
So, this is not the conversation that we’re having, we’re talking about migrants and asylum seekers that are legally brought into the country through the borders, some came in illegally. But the reality is this is an entirely different conversation.
And what we did is that we were required to provide housing, and we’re doing so. We need help from the federal government. Over 140,000 have arrived in our city. We don’t have the authority to say someone can’t come to the city. We don’t have the authority to deport.
And we wanted to make sure we give them the level of dignity that they deserve. And without help from the federal government and from our state partners, it is unfair to New York City taxpayers, it is unfair to them, and it’s unfair to the migrant and asylum seekers. They want to work. Let’s allow them to work.
And so, when they went to Floyd Bennett Field, this was just for new arrivals. It was not for people who were here already; their children were enrolled in school. This was just new arrivals, and once you got here, we built it out so children and families could be in that setting. And so anyone that states that, okay, we went there, my child was already in school, that is not what our goals were.
Our goals were just for people just coming to the city because last week, we got close to 2,900. We’re getting anywhere from 2,500 to 4,000 a week, and we had run out of room.
And, of course, what’s attached to this is more than what we can afford in the City of New York.

Levy: Sir, you have been the senator, the Brooklyn Borough President, cofounder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement, and now New York City’s mayor. The FBI agents seized your cellphone as part of a federal investigation into campaign fundraising. Sir, what were you thinking when that happened to you? What was going through your mind?
Mayor Adams: Well, as always, you know I’m a former law enforcement person as you just mentioned, and I follow the rules. I follow the law. And if someone is conducting an inquiry and they want records from me, and they want my devices such as cellphones, I’m going to follow it, and I’m going to comply. And that is how I have always been, and I’m going to continue to do so.
I want the same thing that the Southern District wants to get to the bottom of this conversation and inquiry. We were told, based on what everyone else seems to know, that there seems to be some inquiry that we expedited a permit for the Turkish consulate. I did my job, as everyone would do that’s in government.
Someone makes an inquiry that they’re having challenges with an agency, (and) …can you look into it. That was the extent of what I did. I said I could not look into it, I didn’t receive any benefits from doing so or anything in that manner. And so, the investigators are going to do their review, and I believe strongly that they’re going to walk away with seeing that we complied with the rules and regulations.

Levy: Sir, I don’t want to take up all your time. But you know, it’s amazing that you would still come on the show after all these things that are going on around you, that you will still want to come on the show and talk the talk and walk the walk.
(Speaking to radio audience) Caribbean Fever 107.5 WBLS, we’ve got Mayor Eric Adams on the line.
Question from a listener: Mayor, we’ve got a situation in Gaza; we’ve got the situation with the Palestinians, with the Israelis. You are the mayor of New York. These both of these persons are part of your constituency. When you run into them, what do they say to you? What do you say to them?
Mayor Adams: And I thank you for that, and I want to touch on something you said, you know, even before I answer that question. You know, this is who I am . I’ve always been this way as long as folks have known me from my days of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement, state senator, borough president, and now I’m the mayor.
I’ve always been upfront. There’s no question that’s too tough for me. There’s nothing that I’m afraid to answer. There’s no audience that I won’t get in front of because I’m authentic about doing this work. This is what I’ve always done, and I’m going to continue to do it.
And even in this difficult conversation as we’re dealing with what happened in Israel and what’s playing out in Palestine now, you know, I made it clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization. That was a despicable act that they carried out, killing a large number of people, taking hostages, killing children in front of their parents or killing parents in front of their children, or putting babies in an oven, a child in an oven.
These acts are barbaric in nature, and they must be disbanded, and they must be destroyed. Terrorism in Israel that took place is no different than terrorism we saw (on) September 11th when we lost a lot of our friends and loved ones.
But I respect the right to raise your voice. It doesn’t matter if you’re pro-Israel or pro-Palestine; one has a right to raise their voice in peace. But there’s no place for hate in our city of any group, and if you’re going to call for the destruction of people, that is not the type of life we have here.
You should have a right to stand up for what you believe in, but you should not do it with violence, and you should not use — I believe — the terminology of calling for the eradication and destruction of a group. No one knows that better than African Americans. We know what it is to be targeted and to be demonized and to be put in a position where people called for our eradication.

Levy: Sir, thank you very much for linking with us this evening. You usually link with us every last Sunday of the month; we appreciate it very much.
Before you go, though, sir, you know, many accusations are being hurled against men, and one was hurled against you. How do you respond to that?
Mayor Adams: And that’s so important; I’m glad you raised that. I’m glad we didn’t get off before raising that. An allegation was made that over 30 years ago I did something inappropriate. The person who made the allegation, I don’t know if I ever met the person, I don’t recall knowing who this person is at all.
It did not happen. It never happened. I have a history of standing up for women, fighting on behalf of women’s rights and protecting people. That is who I am. And people who know me know that I do not harm innocent people.
And so, the process will take its course, but I can state clearly and emphatically it never happened. That is not who I am as a person. And I was just as surprised as the rest of the city. The number of calls I received from New Yorkers, and I want to thank them, were saying, Eric, we know who you are. We know what you stand for.
But that did not happen. Again, I don’t know if I ever met this person, and I’m not quite understanding where it came from.
Levy: Sir, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.