New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the creation of a new Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism.
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00:00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
00:00:03So many friends and luminaries here, friends from UJA, ADL, clergy, Devorah, always great
00:00:11to see you.
00:00:14This is a momentous occasion, and I could not be more proud of our mayor and our administration
00:00:22for taking this important step at this critical time.
00:00:26So it is my great honor to introduce our mayor, Eric Adams.
00:00:36Thanks so much, First Deputy Mayor.
00:00:40When you look to the left of me and right of me, you're seeing people who I've known for
00:00:46many years in general, but specifically I think about Devorah, who I've known since
00:00:55the death of her son, Ari, on the Brooklyn Bridge, right across the bridge with—at the time
00:01:03of the Grand Revy, whose grave site I visit often.
00:01:08And while I'm there, I move a few feet away and stop at Ari's site and put a stone on
00:01:15top.
00:01:17And this long fight to end hate in our city, hate in our city, and we zero in when something
00:01:27just really jumps off the charts and the graphs that we analyze how severe a problem is.
00:01:35Jewish Americans play a major role in this country, like so many other ethnic groups.
00:01:41And here in New York, we have the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
00:01:47Ten percent of our population—ten percent of the population are Jewish New Yorkers, yet
00:01:56over 51 percent of the hate crimes are Jewish New Yorkers.
00:02:03We would not tolerate that for any group.
00:02:07We would not tolerate that.
00:02:09And we can't move as business as usual when you have a population in your city that is
00:02:15overwhelmingly being targeted merely because of their religious or way of life.
00:02:26And I was extremely proud years ago when we saw what happened with the Floyd case.
00:02:38And people of color and good-willed Americans stood up.
00:02:46And in turn, BLM was born, and there was an immediate response.
00:02:53And proud throughout my time, not only as an elected, but law enforcement, to stand side
00:03:01by side to march and walk and speak with people of the AAPI community when there was hate and
00:03:08attacks and assaults, particularly during the COVID-19.
00:03:12And proud to stand with LGBTQ plus communities as we fought for important issues like marriage
00:03:20and gender, the long record of saying, in this city, hate has no place and you cannot allow
00:03:27specific groups to be targeted and go on as business as usual.
00:03:33That is why, today, we are opening an office of ending anti-Semitism in this city.
00:03:42And I'm proud of, first deputy mayor, when we sat down and talked about what can we do,
00:03:49how do we both have a symbolic gesture, but most importantly, a substantive gesture.
00:03:58That's the role of mayor.
00:04:00There must be substance behind what we are accomplishing and what we are doing.
00:04:07And this office is extremely important.
00:04:12When you look at the first quarter of 2025, hate crime numbers among anti-Semitism rose to
00:04:2162 percent of those who are dealing with any form of hate in this city.
00:04:29In 2024, the ADL reported a record number of anti-Semitic incidents across the country,
00:04:36including the highest number in New York State.
00:04:42The numbers are clear, and the moment calls on clarity.
00:04:47And it calls on strong, decisive leadership.
00:04:51And when you look at this office, the mayor's office to combat anti-Semitism that we're announcing
00:04:59today in establishing this office to have a head-on approach and make sure that we send a very clear
00:05:09message that in this city, anti-Semitism cannot live and, most importantly, it cannot grow.
00:05:15It cannot grow in our college campuses.
00:05:18It cannot grow in our schools.
00:05:20It cannot grow in our work environment.
00:05:24And this office, dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, is for New Yorkers and is dealing with all
00:05:31forms of anti-Semitism.
00:05:33This is the first office of its kind established in a major city in America.
00:05:38And let's be honest with ourselves, it's not a Jewish issue.
00:05:42It is all of our issue, as in any hate on a group is an issue that we all should address.
00:05:50It's an attack on the very idea of New York City and what we stand for, and the place where people
00:05:55can live side by side in harmony, regardless of race, religion, or personal beliefs.
00:06:02And I want to be clear, this administration will not remain silent
00:06:06while our Jewish brothers and sisters are targeted with hate.
00:06:10They will not have to hesitate to enter the subway system should they take off their yarmulke.
00:06:15They should not worry about wearing a star of David.
00:06:18They should not be worried that someone is lurking at a synagogue, hoping to harm them in any way.
00:06:25They should not have to worry about entering the campus of their schools,
00:06:29where their children are educated, and worry about being harassed or harmed.
00:06:34That's not the New York that I want to be the mayor over, and that's not the New York that we want to live in.
00:06:40The Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism will establish an interagency task force
00:06:45to coordinate across city agencies, contractors, and funding recipients.
00:06:50It will monitor court cases and outcomes of all levels of the justice system,
00:06:56having liaisons with New York City Law Department on appropriate cases to bring or join.
00:07:01The Office will have the authority to ensure city-funded entities do not promote antisemitism.
00:07:11It will be led by Moshe Davis, as an inaugural director who currently serves as senior liaison
00:07:20for Jewish affairs in our community affairs unit, his dedicated, tireless effort of building bridges
00:07:27of all groups in general, but specifically weeding out antisemitism makes him the right man for the
00:07:34right time to do the right job, to put us on the right course. He has a—he's a tireless advocate on
00:07:40behalf of Jewish New Yorkers, and this is the moment where he can lead this effort. And I'm proud to be the mayor of
00:07:48960,000 Jewish residents who call New York City home, and as I've stated over and over again, the largest
00:07:56Jewish population outside of Israel. And not only that, we are a city where the greatest number of Holocaust
00:08:05survivors live live in New York City. In 2020-23, when I visited Yach Vashem, you saw the devastation,
00:08:15the impact, and how families will always hold that pain that came from it. And when I went to Krakow
00:08:24in Poland and visited the camps and saw the mounds of shoes and hairs and different household items,
00:08:33that was a signal of how countless number of people will impact generation after generation.
00:08:41And the pain was no different when I stood outside of Goree Island in Africa, watching the road of the
00:08:49slave ships that ripped apart families and took them to die either on the crossing or on plantations.
00:08:57Pain is pain. And when you ignore the pains of others, you're ignoring your pain. And so,
00:09:04we're here today to make this announcement, to be clear in who we stand for as a city. Today's
00:09:13announcement builds on the work we have done to keep New Yorkers safe and support our Jewish
00:09:18brothers and sisters. And since coming into office, we've directed the NYPD to take actions against
00:09:24all forms of hate crimes and violence that threatens New Yorkers. We have established the first Breaking
00:09:30Bread Building Bond initiative to bring people to the room and sit down and cross-pollinate ideas
00:09:37and culture and understanding. We established the city's first Jewish Advisory Council to ensure
00:09:43our brothers and sisters' voices are heard and have a seat at the table.
00:09:47All our communities must feel at home. They must feel safe and feel free to practice their faith
00:09:53in New York City. And each of us may not share the same faith, but we share the same fate.
00:10:02We are in this together. We're all New Yorkers, and we're going to continue to protect our communities.
00:10:08So, I want to thank all our partners who are here. Many of you I've known for many years,
00:10:13we've stood side by side to make this a better and safer city. And I want to let you know,
00:10:20as the mayor of this city, I'm here to stand side by side with you and all of the residents,
00:10:25all of the culture. I don't think there has been a mayor that has shown the level of receptivity,
00:10:33from flag-raising to opening Gracie Mansion to having roundtables with all groups.
00:10:39I know what hate can do, as a 22-year veteran of the police department responding to what hate has done.
00:10:48And I know how imperative it is that we address the increase that we're seeing in this city of almost a
00:10:56global and national anti-Semitic energy that's in this city. It must stop, and it starts with our city.
00:11:04I want to turn it over to the incoming director, Moshe.
00:11:07Thank you, Mr. Mayor. When I joined this administration, I came to celebrate Jewish life in New York City
00:11:26and make sure that our community's voices are heard from the halls of government. Yet, since October 7th,
00:11:32I never imagined that part of uplifting Jewish life compels me to expand that vision.
00:11:42I never thought that I would have to be stamping out fires of Jew hatred in our schools and in our streets.
00:11:49And we needed more tools. By establishing the mayor's office to combat anti-Semitism,
00:11:55our administration is taking immediate and concrete steps
00:11:58to address anti-Semitism at every level of city life. Under the leadership of Mayor Adams, our modern-day
00:12:07mockabee, this office will be a sledgehammer. Deliberate, coordinated, and unapologetic.
00:12:15Later this week, the Jewish community will be celebrating the legacy of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai,
00:12:20and he teaches a very relevant parable. The parable goes that there are a few people sitting on a boat.
00:12:30One of them takes out a drill and starts to drill beneath his seat. The others look at him and say,
00:12:36what are you doing? He says, this is my seat. And they turn to him and say, yes, but when the water
00:12:42comes up, it's going to drown all of us. As New Yorkers, we cannot let the loud voices of Jew hatred
00:12:50drill a hole in our city. We're all in the same boat. This isn't a Jewish issue. This is a New York
00:12:56issue. For my great-grandmother who immigrated here, for my grandmother and mother who grew up here,
00:13:02and for my own kids over here I'm raising in New York City, this has always been a place we can live
00:13:08as proud Jews. A place where I can walk in the street with a yarmulke on my head. It's our job
00:13:14to keep it that way. Thank you, my wonderful wife Shauna, for being the greatest support.
00:13:20Thank you, Mayor Adams, for entrusting me with this role. Thank you.
00:13:28Why don't we open up a few questions on this.
00:13:32Mr. Mayor, how are you doing? Good. How are you? I'm good.
00:13:34Um, so, former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes in 2019,
00:13:40and that was specifically targeted to end, uh, to combat incidents of anti-Semitism.
00:13:46Can you talk about what happened to that office? Does it still exist? Is this replacing it? Is
00:13:50there overlap? Can you sort of give us an overview of that?
00:13:54The first deputy mayor will dig into the weeds of it, but we still have that office,
00:14:00and that office is providing an important role. Some of the Breaking Bread Building Bonds
00:14:06initiatives, almost a thousand dinners we have held. Uh, it still has a focus of dealing with all
00:14:14of our groups that are experiencing hate crimes, but the numbers are clear. You can't be 10 percent
00:14:20of the population and have 51 percent of the incidents. That is an imbalance, and we have to zero in on that.
00:14:29Uh, yes, to be clear, that office still exists, and it does important work about hate crimes,
00:14:41hate crimes against any group. But understand what has happened here in our city, in our country,
00:14:49and in our world. Here in our city, with the largest Jewish population of any city in the world,
00:14:59we had last year over 50 percent of all hate crimes committed against Jews. In the first quarter of this
00:15:08year, we had 62 percent of all hate crimes committed against Jews. But it is so much more than just
00:15:17crimes. Look what happened on our college campuses. Columbia, Brooklyn College, just last week. We are
00:15:25a city that embraces. We are a city that takes on challenges. We are a city that will not tolerate
00:15:35anti-Semitism. The time is now for such an office. Just today, in the last 24 hours, the release of the
00:15:46last American Jewish hostage on October 7th. And as the mayor said, we have more Holocaust survivors
00:15:55in living in our city today than any city in the world. We will never forget. We will never tolerate
00:16:04anti-Semitism in any way, shape, or form. It's not just about crimes. It's about culture. And in our city,
00:16:13we embrace and we reject anti-Semitism.
00:16:20Hi, Mr. Mayor. How are you?
00:16:22A two-fold question. Yes, sir.
00:16:25Brad Lander, the Comptroller, who is running the mayoral election, said that this is a cynical move
00:16:32that is designed to match with your independent ballot line and says Jews are not for Eric Adams or
00:16:39anybody else. I wanted to ask for your response. And second, how different is this from this council,
00:16:47the Jewish Advisory Council, the NYPD Task Force on anti-Semitism, the New York City Mayor's Office for
00:16:54Prevention of Aid Crimes? Well, I think the political move is when Brad Lander refuses to invest
00:17:03pension funds into Israel because he is going to those that have anti-Jewish philosophies. That's the
00:17:12political move. The silliness of his political observation when, in reality, I did not wake up
00:17:20today and state that I want to fight against hate. The men and women you see to the left and right of me,
00:17:27they would tell you the long history from the days of a police officer to state senator to borough
00:17:33president to the mayor. I was not a candidate when I watched a bullet take the life of Ari
00:17:42I stood up then and I would stand up now and I would stand up with no matter what position I have.
00:17:48And that's the consistency. They would tell you, I'm not a new friend. I'm an old friend.
00:17:56What was the second part? How does this differ from any other action that the city has already
00:18:02taken as a New York City Mayor's Office prevention of hate crimes as a task force? Yes. And I think that
00:18:08the first deputy mayor was clear. This is not about just crimes. It's about every aspect that feeds
00:18:17the—as you heard me use the analogy all the time, feed the river of. There are many rivers that feed
00:18:22the sea of anti-Semitism. One of those rivers we know is dealing with the crimes. Police department
00:18:29is doing that. We have a unit in the police department to deal with hate crime. But the
00:18:34rivers of information that we saw put out in some of our school system was playing out on our college
00:18:40campuses, with organizations that are receiving taxpayers' dollars that are promoting anti-Semitism.
00:18:47We need to look at what cases we should be joining that are civil cases. So we're looking at every
00:18:53aspect to bring back the number of 51 percent of a city that has only 10 percent of a population
00:19:01is having an overwhelming amount of hate in the city. Not only crimes, but civil as well as that.
00:19:07We're looking at it.
00:19:08Hi. How are you?
00:19:10Thank you. Thank you for all of you. Thank you for putting this together. Thank you,
00:19:13and congratulations. My question is, how will this office—what will change coming out of this office?
00:19:20You mentioned the police involvement. That's more of a reactive response. Is this going to have an
00:19:28educational component? Like, what will come out of this office that's different than the existing
00:19:34infrastructure that we have? And I hear that oftentimes, particularly when I attend
00:19:40organizations and groups. There are those who have asked us to stop all the protests,
00:19:45the 3,000 protests we've had in the city. We can't. That's against our Constitution. We can stop people
00:19:52from using violence. The police department has done an amazing job. When those who take the right to
00:20:00protest and turn it into a right to harm, we've done that over and over again. This is a country where
00:20:06free speech exists. We may not like the speech that's said, but this is the country we're in. But
00:20:14government cannot be the supporter and feeder of hate. That is why we've done the breaking bread,
00:20:21building bonds under Assistant Commissioner Lamona, that have been organizing these meetings,
00:20:32putting together proactively, proactively looking at areas in our school system. We just saw a newsletter
00:20:40go out the other day that was despicable what they were promoting. And so, we have to proactively
00:20:47monitor what is leaving our agencies. We cannot be the feeder of hate. And then we put the right person
00:20:55in charge to use his creativity on bringing in other groups and other organizations on how we can be
00:21:03extremely proactive to stop some of the hate that we're seeing. But it's not only going to be government.
00:21:09These partners that are up here, Rabbi Potasnik and I, have stood side by side when other groups
00:21:15have been attacked. We have been one of the loudest voices around Islamophobia, around anti-Sikhism,
00:21:23and other groups. And so, it's not about government is going to solve the problem. We must become the
00:21:29conduit to ensure we bring others together to eradicate anti-Semitism. It's not going to be done
00:21:36just under this administration. It's going to be done by the partnerships.
00:21:40I guess just more practical questions. Will this office be housed within the mayor's office to
00:21:47prevent hate crimes? And also, you know, if 63%, unfortunately, of hate crimes in the last,
00:21:52in the first quarter of the year were anti-Semitic, will this take away some of the work from that
00:21:56office? And then additionally, will Rabbi Davis have a staff? I guess just, it wasn't in the press
00:22:00release, so I'm just curious, the office structure, and I guess then bouncing off of Skye's question,
00:22:05will you work with the DOE in particular on educational education?
00:22:10Just to answer your question, Kate, this office will be, it's the mayor's office to combat anti-Semitism.
00:22:17It will be housed in the mayor's office, run as an executive director by a trusted aide and reporting
00:22:23directly to me. And you will see concrete action in the coming weeks. You will see executive order,
00:22:31legislation. You will see education. You will see monitoring. You will see us considering,
00:22:38working with the law department, whether there are litigations where we, as a city,
00:22:44should be bringing litigation or joining litigation to support those litigating against anti-Semitism.
00:22:52So, stay tuned, because we are an administration that gets things done. And we will be very proactive
00:23:01in this regard. And the staff will be built out according to the needs under the executive director
00:23:07and the first deputy mayor. We are entirely committed to this cause. There's no—there's no foot off the
00:23:13pedal anywhere else. Hate crimes? Go after hate crimes. Work with NYPD. Encourage prosecutors to bring those
00:23:21cases, because those acts are vile and disgusting and criminal. But we will be giving even more
00:23:30resources to focusing on the larger problem of anti-Semitism in our city. And you will see
00:23:36that manifested in all of the ways that I have just described. So, does this kind of broaden
00:23:41the administration's view of the hate crime, which I know obviously was a council bill in 2019 that
00:23:46mandated the current office to prevent hate crimes. Are you also looking, like you mentioned,
00:23:50the newsletter that went out with the DOE. I know last week it was a story about the
00:23:54cancelization of the summer stage. You alluded to it when you said taxpayer money. Are you broadening
00:23:58what you view as a hate crime or anti-Semitic hate crime to include things that some people might
00:24:03say is a free speech issue? No, it's not what we view. It is what these numbers are showing. Just on
00:24:13the hate crimes numbers are clear. 10 percent of the population, 51 percent of the hate crimes. I mean,
00:24:20I don't know—I'm surprised we even have in this conversation those numbers are clear. And if those
00:24:28numbers were any group, I don't care what the group was, we will respond. We're not going to sit back and
00:24:35watch 10 percent of the population. We see 51 percent of the problem. And so, I would be standing here
00:24:43if it was any group. And it's not my definition. I didn't give those definitions. I didn't do those
00:24:49analysis—those—the analysis. That's the information that we sat down. We looked at these numbers.
00:24:54And when the first deputy mayor and I sat down, we said, there's no way we could continue
00:25:00to allow this trajectory of hate that we're seeing across the globe. This is a global problem
00:25:07that we're facing. And New York is saying we're the largest Jewish population outside the country of
00:25:14Israel. There must be a strong response here. And that's what we're doing. Let's get to the rest of
00:25:18the off-topics. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Hold on, folks. Hold on, folks. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.
00:25:26Hold on one moment. No one here is going anywhere. My staff is here. They can finish this. Now,
00:25:31if you want me to talk about this for an hour, I'll do that. But don't ask me any other questions. So,
00:25:36you tell me, by show of hands, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to stand here and just talk
00:25:41about this for an hour? I'll do that. But I know you guys have—you guys have a lot of other things
00:25:46you want to ask me. So, we're going to do that. Thank you all for coming out.
00:25:49I'll come to you if you want to say that. No, for the record. Mr. Mayor mentioned Poland.
00:25:56Make sure for the record that it's noted that it was concentration camp. German occupied Poland.
00:26:01German occupied Poland. And it's not in the world.
00:26:08It's not in the world.
00:26:10It's not in the world.
00:26:12It's all the same time.
00:26:14It's all the same time.
00:26:16It's all the same time.
00:26:18There was some time I could take it at the house, but she was very—
00:26:22It's all the same time.
00:26:36You just want to—
00:28:10I just wonder what specific things you can do.
00:28:16Take a look at the history of the Jewish people.
00:28:18There have been waves of anti-Semitism since the beginning of time, and the hatred people
00:28:23feel towards Jews has surfaced time and again, century after century.
00:28:28So what do you think you can accomplish with this office that's going to change the innate
00:28:34hatred that people feel for people who are Jewish?
00:28:37No, that's a great question.
00:28:38You know, there was an old commercial back when I was a child.
00:28:41A man would walk out of the hospital with his baby, newborn baby, and he said, what can one
00:28:45man do?
00:28:46What can one man do, my friend?
00:28:47And those type of commercials reminded us that we have an obligation and responsibility.
00:28:54So I'm not going to eradicate hate in this city of any group.
00:28:58But I tried my best as the mayor to lift up groups and to be there for them as they were
00:29:06going through any form of hate.
00:29:08And I've been mocked about that.
00:29:10People mock me for doing the flag raising.
00:29:12They don't go down there and see how much pride a group will have when I acknowledge
00:29:16them as the mayor.
00:29:17A mock for people opening up Gracie Mansion to host these events.
00:29:22And so as one person, I can use the platform as being the mayor of the most important city
00:29:28on the globe to raise this conversation.
00:29:31And then, as the first deputy mayor stated, to do substantive things.
00:29:35This is not just some symbolic office that we're opening.
00:29:39We're going to do day-to-day symbolic things.
00:29:42And the director we appointed is extremely aggressive around that.
00:29:47And we're going to do the best we can.
00:29:50One thing we're not going to do is remain silent.
00:29:54That's what I'm not going to do.
00:29:56You had a second question?
00:29:57I have a second question.
00:29:58Yes, yes.
00:29:59I want to talk to you about the meeting we have with President Trump last Friday.
00:30:02You said in the various posts that you were concerned about infrastructure and the wind farm,
00:30:11the president said you went there to say thank you to him.
00:30:14I wonder which version is the truth.
00:30:16Well, you could have a multifaceted conversation.
00:30:19That was the first time I sat down with the president face-to-face after his election.
00:30:31The president was the only presidential candidate that acknowledged what was being done to me that was wrong.
00:30:40He stood up.
00:30:44President Biden talked about the weaponization of the Justice Department for his family.
00:30:51President Trump talked about what was being done to me.
00:30:55I didn't know him.
00:30:57I did not meet him on the trail.
00:31:01And we both lived in the city, both grew up in Queens, but we had no interaction.
00:31:08There was no reason other than he acknowledged that what happened to me was wrong.
00:31:14Now, I find it odd that people don't see that—why wouldn't I say thank you?
00:31:20That while I was going through the most devastating experience I had as a human being, this person that I didn't know said it's wrong what they're doing to the mayor of the city of New York.
00:31:36And the first thing I did when I walked in his office is say thank you, because the other candidates should have said the same thing.
00:31:45I did nothing wrong.
00:31:47I was targeted for humiliation.
00:31:52And think about this for a moment, Marsha.
00:31:56They—I went to the marathon.
00:32:00I was there to hold the tape.
00:32:03They were plotting at the marathon where the globe was watching who crossed the end.
00:32:10They were plotting to take my phones there.
00:32:15They knew where I lived.
00:32:20They knew where my office was.
00:32:23They could have coordinated with my attorneys.
00:32:26They were hoping to take my phones on the international scale.
00:32:34We want—we are going to humiliate you.
00:32:38I mean, that doesn't bother you guys?
00:32:40That doesn't bother you that I'm the mayor of the city of New York?
00:32:46And the entire globe, for the most part, was watching a marathon, and they were plotting, let's get him there.
00:32:56Let's see how we can embarrass him and humiliate this city.
00:33:00Hey, Mr. Mayor, how are you?
00:33:02What's going on?
00:33:04So, asking about this new office.
00:33:06So, could you point to any organizations or groups currently that city funds flow that promote anti-Semitism?
00:33:14Or are you looking at funding to maybe city universities that have anti-Israel protests?
00:33:20And I guess the second part of that is why—I guess, why now?
00:33:23I mean, we've reported extensively over your administration that anti-Semitism has been able to rise even before October 7th.
00:33:30And then, separately, if you can just respond to—I know you might—you probably haven't had time to read it.
00:33:36It came down the pike when we were walking in here.
00:33:38But a judge—a federal judge has ordered a federal receivership of Rikers Island and other city jails.
00:33:43Do you have your response to that?
00:33:44I know you've been adding that you—your administration can fix it, but they've ruled that your new—your DOC has not fixed the issues that they hold you to conduct over.
00:33:52First of all, you're seeing the evolution of what I have been doing to address hate.
00:33:59You're seeing the evolution.
00:34:02Started from my days in the police department.
00:34:05Went on in the state senate.
00:34:06Went on in the bar hall.
00:34:10So, to me, in fact, I continue to evolve and create—come with newer and better ways to address hate.
00:34:20We can't say why now, because I've been doing this for my entire career.
00:34:24I've been—almost 30 years of fighting against hate in this city.
00:34:27I see it as a real problem.
00:34:30And when you see, in your pursuit of fighting hate, that there's a group that far outseeds—far moves far further than the others, you have to respond.
00:34:43So, this is not new, you know?
00:34:46I stood up against hate of all groups from almost the last 30 years.
00:34:52So, this is an evolution.
00:34:53And this evolution may need another evolution.
00:34:56We're going to continue to evolve as we move forward.
00:34:59And that's what I've dedicated my life to.
00:35:03And those of you who've followed me or been around me know this is what I have done throughout my entire life.
00:35:11Your second question?
00:35:13Well, the first part about this, can you point at a city agency—or city funds—
00:35:17No, I—that's—then that's the job of the director.
00:35:20He's going to have to zero in.
00:35:21I was not happy what I saw last week with that newsletter.
00:35:24That was the second newsletter that went out like that.
00:35:27That was the second one.
00:35:28So, we have to put safeguards in place to monitor ourselves internally in our agencies to make sure that this doesn't happen.
00:35:37And so, when you look at the—I'm just really surprised if any group would have experienced in the first three months of 2025 to have 62 percent of the hate crimes reports.
00:35:52I wouldn't sit back and sign it and ignore that.
00:35:56And the second question was Rikers being ordered into federal receivership.
00:36:01Yeah.
00:36:01The—we talked about Rikers over and over again.
00:36:04Listen, under this—first, I think we need to acknowledge that Rikers—the problems on Rikers are decades in the making.
00:36:13They didn't start January 1st, 2025.
00:36:15Decades.
00:36:16You could go back and look at some of the newsreels when I was with 100 blacks in law enforcement who care, that I was—I was not a Rikers—I was not a correction officer, but I stood with Rikers officers to talk about the conditions on Rikers Island.
00:36:32That's how long I've been talking about what was happening on Rikers Island.
00:36:36It was a law enforcement entity that was being ignored historically, treated unfairly.
00:36:41The inmates are predominantly black and brown.
00:36:44The correction officers are predominantly black and brown.
00:36:47I think almost 44 percent are women.
00:36:49They were always treated unfairly.
00:36:52And then we passed this law that stated Rikers must close in 2027.
00:36:58You know what that law also did?
00:36:59It stated you can't make any capital improvements on Rikers Island.
00:37:03We can't spend money on Rikers Island to improve the conditions because it takes capital funding, and capital funding must go through a certain number of years.
00:37:14Then when you add to that, there was no real stability on Rikers Island.
00:37:19We finally got stability.
00:37:21You witnessed, when I took office, a large number of sick-outs were taking place.
00:37:26No one was coming in.
00:37:27That decreased.
00:37:28Slashing decreased.
00:37:30Stabbers decreased.
00:37:31Use of force decreased.
00:37:33Assaults on staff decreased.
00:37:35All of these things have decreased.
00:37:36Just in the two years—it was almost two years and nine, eight, nine months, we have witnessed the turning around of Rikers.
00:37:48We already have a special monitor.
00:37:51We have this oversight, that oversight, that oversight.
00:37:54How much oversight are you going to do before you realize that there are some systemic problems that we have turned around?
00:38:02So, if the federal judge made a determination that they want to do something else and they don't like what we're doing, it's the federal judge.
00:38:11We're going to follow the rules.
00:38:14What I'm hoping, that with this announcement, that the federal judge would look at some of these laws, the laws that state that we can't handcuff dangerous inmates when we're transporting them.
00:38:27She has yet to respond on that, by the way.
00:38:29That's been on her desk for some time.
00:38:31I'm hoping she look at the funding plan that we have, free us up, that we should be able to spend capital dollars to improve the facility.
00:38:38So, if this person that she's appointing—I don't know if she used the term—she used the term independent remediation manager at Rikers.
00:38:48I don't know the definition of that.
00:38:51Well, then if she's doing that, then she should say that.
00:38:55So, we're just going to follow the rules to improve the conditions of Rikers.
00:39:01I've been on Rikers Island more than any man in the history of this city, speaking to correction officers and inmates.
00:39:07And we've done more to stop the river that feeds Rikers Island.
00:39:12We've done that.
00:39:13And so, it's up to the—that's outside my span of control.
00:39:16I'm going to follow whatever rules she puts in place, because she has the authority to do so.
00:39:24How are you?
00:39:26Very good, thank you.
00:39:27Good.
00:39:27After October 7th, the horrific series of crimes, in Gaza, tens of thousands of civilians have died, and there's a major humanitarian crisis there, which is a lot of neutral.
00:39:38Continuing.
00:39:40Is it possible to have a moral stance against what the Israeli military is doing in Gaza and not be considered anti-Semitic?
00:39:50Do you complain to, or is it possible—because there's many Jewish people that oppose what the Israeli military is doing?
00:39:56Free speech is free speech, and this has always been a country of free speech.
00:40:00And so, one is not anti-Semitic, because they raise their observation of what is playing out in the Middle East.
00:40:10And so, we want to be very clear on that.
00:40:12You have a right to have free speech, and you have a right to have your opinion.
00:40:16You have the right to do so.
00:40:19But we want to make sure that free speech does not cross the line into hate speech.
00:40:25I have a follow-up.
00:40:26So, on Friday, Mayor Roz Baraka of Newark, in an attempt to get a CO inspection and fire inspection, was arrested and seized by ICE agents on a public street and was shielded by three members of Congress who tried to prevent him being taken in custody.
00:40:43I've seen the videotape.
00:40:44Do you have any reaction to that?
00:40:46Roz, I reached out to Roz.
00:40:47We communicated.
00:40:48Roz is a friend and a colleague.
00:40:50I've known him for many years, and, in fact, I knew his dad, who went by the same name.
00:40:57And, you know, I'm very sensitive.
00:41:00While people are going through any criminal proceedings, allow their counsel to handle it, we communicated.
00:41:08And I'm not going to go into our private conversations, but I wish him well, and, as I stated, he's a friend.
00:41:13Mr. Mayor, in regard to the Friday meeting with President Trump.
00:41:19Yes.
00:41:19You know, he came out of the meeting saying that you talked about almost nothing.
00:41:23Okay.
00:41:24And, you know, I just wanted to get your reaction to that.
00:41:26It seemed like kind of belittling the meeting in general.
00:41:29And then, also, separately, the documents that were released in your federal case, there were, like, numerous instances where the agents investigating you and the prosecutors talked about efforts that you may have made to try to conceal things.
00:41:45You know, you said you had a phone, or you didn't have a phone on you, and it turned out you didn't, according to GPS data.
00:41:52Wanted to get any reaction to that, as well.
00:41:54First, the president communicates the way he communicates and how he wants to communicate.
00:42:01I don't speak for the president.
00:42:02I can only speak for myself.
00:42:04When I came out of the meeting, I shared what I talked about.
00:42:07And so, if you have a question on what the president's thoughts are, that's the president.
00:42:14He said, Eric, Eric, thank me.
00:42:18Eric, thank me.
00:42:19And I just shared with Marsha, yes.
00:42:22Yes.
00:42:23I thanked him.
00:42:23I wish I could have thanked President Biden when he was talking about the weaponization of the Justice Department against his family.
00:42:29I would have hoped he would have said, and they weaponized it against Eric also.
00:42:33But he didn't.
00:42:33So, I couldn't thank him.
00:42:36When you—
00:42:37It's all good.
00:42:41And I'm clear that he answered that when he spoke.
00:42:45When you talk about the document, one of the biggest things they said about my—the passwords, and I remember others asked,
00:42:59Hey, folks, I'm dyslexic.
00:43:00I forget numbers.
00:43:02That's a byproduct of it.
00:43:04I always give my numbers to my staffers.
00:43:07That's what I always do.
00:43:08And if someone stated that I had a phone on me, based on the GPS data, they're liars.
00:43:15They're liars.
00:43:17And the GPS data clearly pings and show you what phones are.
00:43:22They had the evidence.
00:43:23I did not have the phone.
00:43:25And if they said that, they're liars.
00:43:27The goal was to humiliate me, to embarrass me, to display me.
00:43:34That was their goal.
00:43:36And when you look at the information, I don't see why no one is factoring in they wanted to take my phones at the goddamn marathon, folks.
00:43:48But they didn't.
00:43:49Right.
00:43:50And I don't know why.
00:43:51At the marathon.
00:43:53They could have come to my house.
00:43:54And so, if they said I had it, I'm telling you, they're lying.
00:44:01Hello, Mr. Mayor.
00:44:02How are you?
00:44:03Mr. Mayor, two FDNY unions endorsed Andrew Cuomo.
00:44:07I wanted to ask you—
00:44:08Two, two.
00:44:09FDNY unions endorsed Andrew Cuomo.
00:44:13And I wanted to ask you, does this matter to you that you're not getting those endorsements?
00:44:18Are you reflecting on why you're not getting them?
00:44:20Is there any endorsement that you would, or you're working on, or you would say it's important for you to get before the election?
00:44:27I'm not in the primary.
00:44:29And the endorsements—if you go back and do an analysis of the election where Andrew Yang was beating me by double digits, there were a whole lot of unions that were not with me.
00:44:39The endorsement I need are everyday working-class people.
00:44:43That's the endorsement that I need.
00:44:45And we're looking forward to continuing what we do around campaigning.
00:44:51Kelly.
00:44:52Hi, Mr. Mayor.
00:44:53I wanted to go back to something—
00:44:53What's up, Kelly?
00:44:54I'm good.
00:44:55I wanted to go back to something you just recently said about the law that orders you to close Rikers by 2027 was part of the problem.
00:45:03Are you then blaming that law on the city council for why Rikers went into receivership today?
00:45:10And then I also wanted to ask you, yesterday, you railed against Cuomo not being able to get campaign finance dollars for his campaign because he can't manage his campaign that well.
00:45:19But you, yourself, your campaign hasn't been able to get funding from the campaign finance board because of also some issues with attorney and documentation.
00:45:28You mentioned if he can't manage that, he can't manage the city.
00:45:31So then if you can't manage this campaign the right way, does that mean that you're not capable of getting a second term in office?
00:45:37Two terms you guys use a lot that I notice.
00:45:40Rant and rail.
00:45:43You know, why when I express myself, I'm railing and I'm ranting?
00:45:47Why can't I just express myself?
00:45:48Do I need to reserve myself?
00:45:50Do I need to speak the way others speak?
00:45:52Do I need to act the way others?
00:45:54He rant and he railed.
00:45:56No, I'm expressing myself.
00:45:57I'm a passionate speaker.
00:45:59I came out, I was raised in a Baptist church.
00:46:01That's how we communicate.
00:46:03Rant and rail.
00:46:04That's like when somebody's Italian speak with their hands or someone speaking another way.
00:46:09You all of a sudden want to accuse them of something.
00:46:12People have ways of communicating.
00:46:14So I don't rant and I don't rail.
00:46:17I express myself.
00:46:19So if you want to say Eric expressed himself over something, I'm good with that.
00:46:24But if you're going to tell me I'm ranting and I'm railing just because I'm expressing myself, I'm a passionate person.
00:46:30Like other groups are passionate.
00:46:32And so what I was expressing, he went around stating how great of a manager he is and how he can manage everything and what a great job he did.
00:46:44He ignored what happened in nursing homes.
00:46:46He ignored the fact he used ChatGPT to come up with a housing plan that said Eric Plan is the plan to use.
00:46:52He sent out people donated and they didn't put down their basic information on the donates.
00:47:00The CFB stated that he coordinated with the independent PAC.
00:47:04You know, he's the one that's saying he's the greatest manager.
00:47:07He's running from his record.
00:47:09I'm running on my record.
00:47:10I said that over and over again.
00:47:11And then on the question about, you mentioned the law that closes Rikers by 2027.
00:47:16You kind of, it seemed like you blamed that for not being able to improve conditions.
00:47:20Right.
00:47:21And you use the term of receivership.
00:47:25Is that what the judge said?
00:47:27A remediation manager.
00:47:28But in a sense, it is going to somebody else is going to be overseeing.
00:47:32Okay, so why don't you say the remediation manager?
00:47:36Why are you putting words in the judge's mouth?
00:47:38The judge know what a receivership is, and the judge knows how to say the word receivership.
00:47:43The judge didn't say that.
00:47:44The judge gave you the terminology that she wanted to use.
00:47:47Now, if she comes back in court and say, hey, this is a receivership, then I can respect that.
00:47:51But that's not what the judge said.
00:47:52I just want to be clear on that, because you're going to report out that Rikers is in a receivership
00:47:58when that's not what the judge said.
00:48:00She knows the term receivership, because she used that term while in court that if she's going
00:48:05to determination.
00:48:06So, she could have easily said that, if that's what she did.
00:48:08But that's not what she said.
00:48:09And so, what I said about the 2027 law is that many people don't know, because of the 2027
00:48:18law that was passed, we cannot put money into capital improvements on Rikers.
00:48:26That's what I'm trying to share with you.
00:48:27So, when you look at the women's locker room, it's disgusting.
00:48:32When you look at some of the major improvements you need with the doors and the facilities,
00:48:37we can't do that.
00:48:39And so, does that mean that because of that 2027 law that the historical and generational
00:48:44problems Rikers was having is based on that?
00:48:49No, I didn't say that.
00:48:49I'm saying that there are some improvements that we would like to make that we can't
00:48:55make because of the 2027 law.
00:48:58It hasn't gotten in the way of bringing down inmates slashing, guard slashings, the sick
00:49:04issue.
00:49:05That has not gotten in our way.
00:49:06I'm talking about just the physical structure of the jail.
00:49:09We cannot make those capital improvements because of the 2027 law.
00:49:18And I want you to be clear on that so it's not interpreted that I said something differently.
00:49:22She didn't use the word receiver.
00:49:23Okay.
00:49:24Ethan, you got a question.
00:49:25I'm just noting that she's the word receiver.
00:49:28Yes.
00:49:29Sir.
00:49:30What's up, NJ?
00:49:30Yes, sir.
00:49:31Back to the White House meeting Friday, if you would.
00:49:35Yes.
00:49:35Your social media seemed to raise some expectations about that meeting.
00:49:39You're on the plane.
00:49:40You're in the SUV.
00:49:41You're outside the White House.
00:49:43You're going to deliver for the people of New York.
00:49:45And then the president says you spoke about next to nothing.
00:49:50And what I'm wondering is, shouldn't you have gotten something tangible out of that meeting?
00:50:00How many times Governor Hoka went up there?
00:50:03Did she get anything tangible out of it?
00:50:09No.
00:50:09You go to meetings to give your thoughts and how you want to resolve stuff.
00:50:19And it takes time.
00:50:20How many times have I went to Albany to get the involuntary removal?
00:50:24I walked out of Albany year after year getting nothing.
00:50:27How many times have I went to Albany around that issue, involuntary removal?
00:50:31How many times have I went to Albany to speak with the leaders about reform in our criminal justice forum?
00:50:36I would leave there with nothing, have to go back again, go back again.
00:50:40This is how this process is, folks.
00:50:41And so, my conversation was to deal with the Empire Wind issue, the chip plant I would like to see up in the Bronx, and advocating for New Yorkers.
00:50:52And do you get it in your first meeting sometimes?
00:50:54No, you don't.
00:50:55You have to sometimes do phone calls.
00:50:57You have to sometimes meet at events and shake hands and chat.
00:51:01This is how this is done.
00:51:02And I'm sure if you were to talk to Governor Hochul, I'm sure if you would talk to the leaders up in Albany, how many times I went up there and walked out and said,
00:51:10no, Eric, we're not going to do this, and then I'll come back again and eventually just say, yes, we can.
00:51:15What I must do is try, and I'm going to continue to try, and that's what I have done on behalf of New Yorkers.
00:51:21I have an education question for you.
00:51:32Yes.
00:51:33So, on behalf of the Bedside community in District 16.
00:51:36Yes.
00:51:37People are still really pissed that Superintendent Brendan Mims was fired.
00:51:41They feel like it was unjust and it lacked transparency.
00:51:44From what I understand, you already had a community call of sorts.
00:51:48Yes.
00:51:49They don't feel like that really answered too many questions.
00:51:53So, my question for you is, are you aware of any just reason as to why he was fired?
00:51:59It just seems like he had a very exemplary record in the community.
00:52:02And secondly, would you consider maybe you and Chancellor Ramos maybe coming down to the community,
00:52:09holding a town hall to address why this C-37 process was skipped?
00:52:14I think it might go a long way into helping the community go hard.
00:52:18Yes.
00:52:19And I met with community leaders.
00:52:21I think we met for a little over an hour.
00:52:25And we shared.
00:52:26We engaged.
00:52:27They shared their—they shared their thoughts.
00:52:30And I think you should have a conversation with the chancellor on why he was eventually terminated,
00:52:37because that was not the decision that—termination was not what was on the plan.
00:52:44He made some decisions that led to that.
00:52:47And the chancellor can share it with you.
00:52:50And they'll put their part—let me—hold on, let me finish.
00:52:52And I'll go back and let you interact, but I just want to finish my train of thought.
00:52:57And there were some personnel issues that I shared with the group that council told me we could not go into.
00:53:06And I did not—I'm not going to go against the advice of the council.
00:53:10But we gave them and we told them we're going to have it.
00:53:13You could pick someone—you can pick the group, can pick someone as an interim.
00:53:19Then you do the C-30 process to do the permanent.
00:53:23But you can pick someone as an interim.
00:53:25We're not going to dictate to you who the interim is going to be.
00:53:28We want to hear from you.
00:53:29Give us an interim person.
00:53:31And then we're going to do the normal process to have the permanent.
00:53:34That was the agreement that I left with on the phone.
00:53:37And I was very clear.
00:53:38I didn't mislead them.
00:53:39I said, he cannot come back.
00:53:41There are some issues that are not going to allow him to come back, and I can't go into personnel issues.
00:53:48If I would have done that, unfairly going into that, while something was under review, someone would have leaked it to the press that Eric gave personnel issues information on someone.
00:53:59And I was not going to do that.
00:54:01Go ahead.
00:54:02Hold on, hold on.
00:54:03I'm going to respond.
00:54:04The DOE said this morning that he was an at-will hire.
00:54:07I don't know that that's a sufficient answer, but that's what they gave me.
00:54:12Yes.
00:54:13Again, he was—termination, when I met with the group, termination was not on the menu.
00:54:20He made some determinations that made termination to be placed on the menu, and that was a menu item that was chosen.
00:54:30Do you have the town halls?
00:54:32I do town halls all over the city.
00:54:35We'll do one in Bed-Stuy.
00:54:36I'll make sure we do one in Bed-Stuy.
00:54:37But there are many issues going on in Bed-Stuy outside of just what is happening with him.
00:54:43I gave over an hour sitting down with those who came to me to go over this topic.
00:54:50I took an hour out of my day and say, let me sit down, let me hear from you, and let me
00:54:55tell you how we got where we ended up on this issue.
00:55:01Hi, Mr. Mayor.
00:55:02How are you?
00:55:03I wanted to go back to that issue of anti-Semitism and what exactly anti-Semitism means.
00:55:12You know, Brad Lander gave a major speech, what he described as a major speech on anti-Semitism
00:55:18last week, and he says that it's factually inaccurate to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
00:55:27I'm interested in what you think on this issue.
00:55:31If you're an anti-Zionist, does that mean you're an anti-Semitism?
00:55:34Well, it depends on you.
00:55:36If you're talking about the eradication of Israel, who lives in Israel?
00:55:40What about the definition of Zionism as the right for Israel to be a Jewish state?
00:55:51Again, if someone is arguing that they believe that—and I'm giving my opinion, you know,
00:55:58if someone is arguing that they don't believe that Israel should be a Jewish state, they
00:56:03have a right to their belief.
00:56:05But if you're saying eradicate Israel, destroy Israel, I mean, who lives in Israel?
00:56:14You know, I don't know who said it.
00:56:18It could have been my mother.
00:56:19But if it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it's quack like a duck, call it
00:56:23a duck.
00:56:24There are Arab citizens.
00:56:25Okay.
00:56:26There are Arab citizens in Israel.
00:56:28They're also Christian citizens.
00:56:30And, in fact, Hamas killed Americans, Christians, Arabs, women, children.
00:56:36Hamas is a terrorist organization.
00:56:38And I was never unclear.
00:56:40We need to be clear on that.
00:56:41I was never unclear.
00:56:42I wasn't philosophical.
00:56:44I wasn't theoretical.
00:56:45I was clear.
00:56:46Hamas had to be destroyed, and every hostage should come home.
00:56:50I was very clear on that and never wavered on that.
00:56:53And Brad needs to say that also.
00:56:55Hamas needs to be destroyed.
00:56:57Hamas kills people in Palestine.
00:57:00It's a terrorist organization.
00:57:02And so, if you are on college campuses saying, I am Hamas, then you're saying you're
00:57:09against LGBTQ+, I met a group that said they're gays for Hamas.
00:57:14I was, what?
00:57:16I mean, some of this stuff has to start making sense, folks.
00:57:20There are a lot of things that I've seen that you have.
00:57:33Wait, who am I going to?
00:57:35Morgan.
00:57:36I saw people with signs in many protests saying gays for Hamas.
00:57:41Go ahead.
00:57:42Go to the next question.
00:57:46Hi, Mr. Mayor.
00:57:47What's up, Morgan?
00:57:48How are you?
00:57:49Good, thank you.
00:57:50So, I just want to get your take.
00:57:52So, advocates right now, on the closing of Rikers, advocates right now are saying, you
00:57:57know, that this is an overdue acknowledgement that city leadership has proven unable to protect
00:58:02the safety and constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals.
00:58:05Do you agree with that?
00:58:06And do you think this is reflective upon city leadership?
00:58:10And just in terms, I know this just happened, but just in terms of next steps, I mean, what
00:58:14does this look like to have a federal receivership on Rikers?
00:58:18Does this mean you guys have to make another office space?
00:58:21Just kind of wondering.
00:58:22Okay, so let me say this.
00:58:24Who is city leadership?
00:58:27Is the city council city leadership?
00:58:30Is the control of the city leadership?
00:58:33Is Napan Jumaane city leadership?
00:58:35Like, who is city leadership?
00:58:37That's what we need to really understand.
00:58:40People think city leadership when something is not what they want is the mayor, but they
00:58:46think it's city leadership when it's time to make decisions.
00:58:49It's the entire city.
00:58:51So, if someone is saying that city leadership is not leading up, I agree.
00:58:55It was a terrible decision under the city council to put the restrictions on police officers
00:59:00for handcuffing those who are there transported, because that's how you keep down violence.
00:59:06It was a terrible decision to pass a law that said we can't now use capital dollars
00:59:11to do improvements inside Rikers.
00:59:14That was a terrible decision.
00:59:16And the city leadership is not then start in January 1st, 2022.
00:59:20City leadership has been decades.
00:59:22I've just shared with many of you, I have been fighting to improve the lives of inmates
00:59:27as a police officer and the lives of correction officers as a police officer.
00:59:33And so, we have decades of city leadership that they have ignored Rikers Island.
00:59:40And yet, in the three years that we've been in office, slashings have reduced.
00:59:45Stabbings have reduced.
00:59:47Use of force have reduced.
00:59:49Assault on staff have reduced.
00:59:51Staff calling out sick.
00:59:53That has reduced.
00:59:55So, you're seeing incrementally our ability to improve the conditions.
01:00:02You know, as one of the city leaders, because there's one city leader that's here that has
01:00:10done things on Rikers.
01:00:11Others have just talked about what we should have been doing, but they have not done.
01:00:15And many of them haven't even visited Rikers outside of doing a photo op, you know.
01:00:22So, I agree.
01:00:24Decades that city leaders, they have denied the conditions on Rikers Island.
01:00:30And so, what logistics are you guys doing?
01:00:34I'm sorry?
01:00:35What kind of logistics are there, like in terms of having now a receivership?
01:00:41Yeah, I keep using the term receivership.
01:00:44Unless my staff didn't brief me correctly.
01:00:46Do you have receivership in there?
01:00:48I'm sorry?
01:00:49The judge does have receivership in the ruling.
01:00:51The judge has?
01:00:53The word receiver in the ruling.
01:00:56Okay, I didn't see that.
01:00:58She gave a definition of what this person is going to be.
01:01:02If the federal judge determines we have to have a receivership, we're going to respect
01:01:09that, just as the judge made the determination that we were going to have a special monitor.
01:01:15So, we have a special monitor that we have been cooperating with.
01:01:21With that special monitor, if they didn't believe things were right on the special monitor,
01:01:26which we had to get approvals for, I'm not quite sure what the next step is going to be.
01:01:31But whatever the federal judge tells us we must do, we are going to do.
01:01:37You know, we need to acknowledge the historical problems on Rikers.
01:01:42This is administration where you have seen improvements on Rikers Island.
01:01:47And no one is arguing that the correction—the commissioner of DOC has not been moving us
01:01:54in the right direction.
01:01:55You know, if we have a problem of decades, and in three years I made improvement with the
01:02:03obstacles that I'm getting from the other city leaders, we should be allowed to continue
01:02:08the work that we're doing.
01:02:10We have made a great deal of inroads on Rikers Island.
01:02:13We want to continue to do so.
01:02:15But if the federal judge decides that someone else, we're going to pay millions of dollars,
01:02:20of taxpayers' dollars to go through, I don't have control of that.
01:02:23I'm going to follow whatever the federal judge states we must do.
01:02:29Hi, Mayor.
01:02:30How are you?
01:02:31Good.
01:02:32How are you doing?
01:02:33I'm good.
01:02:34I have two questions for you.
01:02:35Yes.
01:02:36You talked to Trump yesterday—well, you talked to Trump last week.
01:02:39And then you said yesterday that the Empire Wind Farm you discussed.
01:02:44Do you have a specific timeline for it?
01:02:46Because the developers recently stated that if it doesn't come, start reworking again
01:02:51in a few first months of summer, they might have to abandon the project as a whole.
01:02:56So I wanted to know if you have a timeline for that.
01:02:58And then my second question, multiple colleges, Brooklyn College and Columbia University had
01:03:03student protests, and you've stated before that you don't appreciate and you don't tolerate
01:03:08anti-Semitism.
01:03:09Can you give us a definitive answer if you believe being pro-Palestine is the same as
01:03:14being anti-Semitic?
01:03:15First, let me answer that no.
01:03:17You know, you could be pro-something without being anti-something.
01:03:21And this is a country of free speech.
01:03:24People make many comments.
01:03:26And you don't have to like the comments that people make.
01:03:29But that's what makes this country great.
01:03:31You know, I've been in countries where you make comments and you can find yourself treated
01:03:36in a harsh way.
01:03:37So, no.
01:03:38Being pro-something, being pro-Palestine doesn't make you anti-something.
01:03:44People have their opinions.
01:03:45And I don't agree with opinions, but I respect the fact that we all have different opinions.
01:03:53The wind farm, the Equinor project is important to us.
01:03:59And we're going to do everything we can to advocate for it.
01:04:02But the ultimate decision and agreement is going to come down to the federal authorities.
01:04:07But we're going to fight like heck to show why this is an important project.
01:04:12A thousand jobs, 500,000 homes would be impacted.
01:04:16Billions of dollars are being invested.
01:04:18And it's part of our Port of the Future analysis that we're doing.
01:04:23And so, we're hoping we can get it over the finish line.
01:04:26And we're going to push to try to do it the best we can.