- yesterday
NYC Mayor Eric Adams launches his reelection bid as an independent against likely NYC Mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00New York, Eric Adams!
00:30New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New
01:00I want to, I want to first say thank you.
01:16You fucking criminal.
01:18You fucking criminal.
01:20You fucking criminal.
01:22You fucking criminal.
01:38Listen.
01:40Listen.
01:42Notice.
01:44Notice.
01:46Notice how we utilize the letter F.
01:50We utilize the letter F for faith.
01:56I will call us using the letter F for profanity.
02:00So we need to stay focused.
02:02Focus.
02:03Focus.
02:04No distractions.
02:05And grind.
02:06Focus.
02:07No distractions.
02:08And grind.
02:10Focus.
02:11No distractions.
02:13And grind.
02:14Focus.
02:15No distractions.
02:16And grind.
02:17We're straight ahead.
02:19Straight ahead.
02:20Straight ahead.
02:21Straight ahead.
02:22Listen.
02:23All.
02:24My.
02:25Life.
02:26People have been having moments of trying to distract me.
02:31They tried to distract me when I couldn't read.
02:35They called me a dumb student.
02:37They tried to distract me when I went with clothing with holes in the shoes and cardboard
02:43and the soul.
02:44They called me poor.
02:45They tried to distract me when I got arrested as a little boy and beat by police officers.
02:48They called me a criminal.
02:49They tried to distract me when I wanted to study and move up through the ranks in the police
02:50department and fight for reform.
02:51They said it wasn't possible.
02:52They tried to distract me when I became a state senator.
02:53They tried to distract me when I became a black borough president.
02:54They tried to distract me when I became a black borough president.
03:08They tried to distract me when I became the mayor.
03:11And no matter what distraction they threw at me, God has made the pathway.
03:16So you can call me all the names you want.
03:23But I'm going to answer to only one.
03:26Mayor Adams.
03:27Mayor.
03:28Mayor.
03:29Mayor.
03:31Mayor.
03:32Mayor.
03:33Mayor.
03:34Mayor.
03:35Mayor.
03:36Mayor.
03:37Mayor.
03:38Mayor.
03:39Mayor.
03:40Mayor.
03:41Mayor.
03:42Mayor.
03:43Mayor.
03:44Mayor.
03:45Mayor.
03:46Mayor.
03:47Mayor.
03:48Mayor.
03:49Mayor.
03:50Mayor.
03:51Mayor.
03:52Mayor.
03:53Mayor.
03:54Mayor.
03:55Mayor.
03:56Mayor.
03:57Mayor.
03:58Mayor.
03:59Mayor.
04:00Mayor.
04:01Mayor.
04:02Mayor.
04:03Mayor.
04:04Mayor.
04:05Mayor.
04:06Mayor.
04:07Mayor.
04:08Mayor.
04:09Mayor.
04:10Mayor.
04:11Mayor.
04:12Mayor.
04:13Mayor.
04:14Mayor.
04:15Mayor.
04:16be here to say to the people of the city of New York, I am seeking re-election to be
04:22the man of the city of New York.
04:27One more year, one more year, one more year, one more year.
04:38So let me take you back because many people have selective amnesia.
04:48So I want to take you back.
04:50January 1st, 2022, when I became mayor, there was this thing called COVID all over our city.
04:58You could walk down avenues and business districts and you see those businesses were closed
05:04and people were unsure. We were all wearing masks. People were debating should our children be in school or not.
05:11But as a leader that was unwavering, understanding the most safe place for our children were in school buildings,
05:18I stood strong and firm against the naysayers.
05:21They said we're going to open our schools and we'll protect our children and we'll continue to educate them
05:26so they won't continue to have the learning gap that COVID put on them and the socialization that they need.
05:32We saw leadership and focus. Crime was moving at a higher rate.
05:38Businesses were fleeing this city. There was a level of uncertainty.
05:42Black and brown unemployment was high. Black unemployment was four times the rates of white unemployment.
05:49We saw a lot of uncertainty. Guns were proliferating our city.
05:54We were burying young people at disproportionate numbers. We didn't have the housing that we needed.
06:02All of these issues were facing us and we was inheriting that. January 1st, 2022, I was sitting in this building with my leadership
06:11and said we must forge ahead a pattern and a pathway that people needed to once again believe in the city again.
06:19And I saw that before. I didn't just start doing this. I saw it when Mayor Bloomberg came into office when our city of trade was collapsed and our poverty was matching that collapse.
06:33And he turned around the city with real leadership and focus. And I knew I had to have that same leadership and determination and focus.
06:43And that's why we're here today asking for not one more year, not two more years, not one more year, not 1 more year, 1 more year, 1 more year, 1 more year, 1 more year, 1 more year.
06:58Listen folks, didn't go up with much.
07:14Born in Brownsville, my mother cleaned houses, invoked in a daycare center where she took leftovers home to feed us.
07:25My siblings and I, we're little, and we shared all we had.
07:32I wasn't born into power and privilege, I was born into struggle.
07:37Always knew what struggle was.
07:40If you're going to be a man of people who are going through a lot, you must be a human being that has gone through a lot.
07:48That's right.
07:51We experienced a lot of pain as a child.
07:54I rose through the ranks and became a captain.
07:58I worked every day to protect the city, the city that I love.
08:03Later served in the state senate, but then as Brooklyn world president.
08:07I didn't chase fame, I chased solutions.
08:11Whether it was fighting food insecurity or improving housing or lifting up working families, something that I continue to do.
08:19When I became mayor, it was clear to me that what we were facing and how we had to turn it around.
08:24And one of the most important partnerships that I developed were the partnerships I developed with our faith-based leaders.
08:31They knew something that I knew.
08:35Prayer rose.
08:36Prayer rose.
08:37Yeah.
08:38Many will look down on it and don't see the connection between prayer and government.
08:42I'm afraid of a mayor that don't appreciate prayer and the power of our faith-based leaders.
08:47And so when we look at all the things we were facing, ask yourself, what have we achieved?
08:54Let's talk about what we've done over the last few years.
08:58We brought down crime.
09:00The last six months have been the lowest number of shootings and homicides in the history of the city.
09:06And what does that mean for those of you who are here?
09:10Think about it for a moment.
09:12Who are the victims of shooting?
09:16Who are the victims of those who are shooting?
09:19So when we took 20,000 guns off our streets, we took it out of the hands of black and brown people.
09:26And we prevented the loss of lives of black and brown people.
09:30This impacts you.
09:31It impacts those of you who are here right now.
09:35We made smarter choices in the police department and more accountable.
09:40Gun arrests are wrecked high.
09:42The removals of guns are wrecked high.
09:44And what do we do with our economy?
09:46500,000 new jobs to this administration.
09:49More jobs in New York and the city's history, folks.
09:54Technical tourism is back.
09:57Broadway has the best 12 months in recorded history.
10:01Construction is growing.
10:03And yes, Times Square is alive again.
10:06And what about our housing comeback?
10:08We've approved and launched more affordable housing in a single year in the history of the city of New York.
10:15We're going to break that record again.
10:17We're turning unused buildings into homes and streamlining for many to rezone areas of growth.
10:25And you cannot have this conversation without talking about mental health.
10:28We made the decision to take people from living up the street because there was nothing dignified by having a family's intent and people living on the street.
10:39We knew that we had to be moved from the plight of our city and give people the opportunity they deserve.
10:45And so when I'm here today, I say to you, we expanded treatment, not just about for long term, for short term, but for long term.
10:56Mental illness has been treated like a police problem for far too long.
11:00We changed that dynamic on the streets and in our subway system.
11:05We have done more for education than any man in our city.
11:10130,000 pre-K.
11:13Over 100,000 summer youth jobs.
11:15110,000 can rise up.
11:18Put our children on the pathway to careers and employment.
11:21Dyslexia screening so 30% of our population won't sit in jail because they believe they're dumb instead of knowing that they learn differently.
11:29We have changed the trajectory of our children from what they eat to how they think, teaching them meditation, breathing exercises, mindfulness, so they can deal with the stress against a young person.
11:41Soothe social media so they can stop indoctrinating and hurting our children.
11:48So I want to be clear as I make this re-election.
11:52What I'm fighting for, I think coming to office with a personal agenda.
11:57I came with a personal mission to fight for worker-class New Yorkers, people who work up at 5 a.m.
12:06and do double and triple jobs like my mother did.
12:10I fight for the restaurant workers in the Bronx, for the teachers in Queens, for the Wadava owner in Brooklyn.
12:17That's why we gave them a panic button so they can stop being arrested and stop being assaulted and robbed.
12:25I fight for a NYCHA grandmother in Harlem watching over her grandchildren.
12:30That's why we made sure we had in NYCHA high-speed broadband so their children can have remote learning and they can have telemedicine.
12:41I fight for everyday New Yorkers who just want their city to darn work for them.
12:47And that's what we're doing.
12:49And I fight for a small property owner.
12:54That's right.
12:55Stand on it.
12:56Stand on it.
12:56Stand on it.
12:57You have individuals who are running for mayor who are saying no rent.
13:04Come on.
13:05Those small property owners were losing their home and many of them were black and brown.
13:10Their entire wealth was tied up into their small property owners.
13:15And we hurt them.
13:17And now we are saying everything is going up around them.
13:20Heating costs, Con Edison, insurance.
13:25And we're not willing to give them a small 1% increase in their rent so they can keep up.
13:31If we lose them, we lose the middle class in our city.
13:35And I fight for them.
13:38So I'm not interested in Twitter politics.
13:44I'm interested in getting the trash picked up.
13:47I'm not interested in slogans.
13:50I'm interested in solutions.
13:52I don't work for special interests.
13:54I work for the people.
13:57I'm proud of the incredible team that we have built.
14:00First Deputy Mayor Mastro has brought a new dynamic into the city.
14:05My Chief of Staff, Camille Joseph Bollock, has handled crises out of crises in an admirable way.
14:12Jessica Tish and her vision in the New York City Police Department has started with my first commissioner
14:17that I appointed and is continuing to today.
14:21And the over 300,000 city workers that I gave a fair contract to
14:25so they won't be afraid to give it a pay for the food that they need to place on their table.
14:31We build a government that works with urgency, compassion, and accountability.
14:36Guess what?
14:38The phones haven't stopped reading.
14:39People have been calling to say, we want to help, Eric.
14:43We want you to continue to do what you do.
14:45How can we join Team Adams?
14:48The excitement has filled the air.
14:50You're going to see a movement that you've never witnessed before.
14:53And I told all of you in the beginning,
14:56this was going to be the most interesting political campaign in the history of the city.
15:01It didn't stop on June 24th.
15:04It started on June 24th.
15:07And it will keep going into November 4th.
15:12What a record.
15:13A record that stands upon the noise.
15:18Now I know politics.
15:20Politics, you know, is loud.
15:22All you got to do is hear that noise in the park.
15:24We know that.
15:26Social media is loud.
15:29But let's look at the facts.
15:30There are some critics who spend more time attacking than achieving.
15:37Let me be clear.
15:40They have a record of tweets.
15:43I have a record on the streets.
15:48Record of results.
15:51They talk about problems.
15:53I fix them.
15:55That's the difference.
15:57You don't leave this city from a soapbox.
15:59You leave it from the ground up.
16:03With action, not rhetoric.
16:05And one thing we do.
16:08We deliver.
16:09And we never quit.
16:11Don't quit.
16:12Don't quit.
16:12The mayor of all faith.
16:14Don't quit.
16:15Never wavered when it came back to protecting our houses and worship and the people who worship inside.
16:19When hate appears in our community, it doesn't matter if it's our Sikh members, our Jewish members, our Christian members, when we desecupate our statues.
16:30I'm there, front and center, leading from the front.
16:34This city's greatest spin is what's behind us.
16:38It's diversity.
16:39Everything from a yarmulke to a kubi to a hijab to a turban to a headstone.
16:44It's all part of our diversity and the culture that's representative of what we stand for as a city.
16:51No one does it like New York.
16:53No one.
16:55So let me make clear of this.
16:58Why am I running for re-election?
16:59Because we've got more to do.
17:03That's right.
17:03That's right.
17:04We've got more to do.
17:06Can you imagine our movement forward with what this city is going to look like?
17:13We laid the foundation for hours time to build the future.
17:17In my second term, I'm going to continue to bring down crime.
17:21Launching citywide mental health initiatives, advanced workforce development and vocational education.
17:26Expand housing faster than ever before to add on our race success.
17:32Deliver cleanest streets and better city services.
17:35Make the city the greenest city in America and bring New York's economy into new era and inclusive growth.
17:42So here's my closing message to you, New York.
17:46Believe in us.
17:48I believe in our grit, our soul, our resiliency.
17:52And I believe that our best days are still ahead.
17:55Let's build a city where every kid can dream and every senior can feel safe and every birthday person can thrive.
18:03Let's not go backwards.
18:05Let's move forward.
18:07Together.
18:09So four more years mean a lot.
18:11It gives me the time to finish the job.
18:13And this election is a real choice.
18:16This election is a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a suit filled with a spoon.
18:25A choice between dirty fingernails and manicure bags.
18:29A choice between someone who delivered with lower crime, the most jobs in history and the most blue housing built in decades and an assembly member who did not pass a bill.
18:42It's a choice.
18:44Choice.
18:45It's a choice between real progress and empty promises.
18:49The future for broken people, not a fantasy state.
18:55It's an election of choice between those who believe in this city and those who don't.
19:00Let me tell you something.
19:02This is a city not of socialism.
19:05I've been to socialist countries.
19:08This is a city where you can come as a dishwasher and you can own a chain of restaurants.
19:12This is a city where you can be a cab driver and then become adopted.
19:18This is a city where you can go from homelessness to building houses.
19:22This is a city where you can be a young person who's dyslexic, a young person who's rejected, and eventually can be elected to be the mayor of the city of New York.
19:33This is the type of city we're in.
19:35This is not a city where you use idealism to state you're giving everything to everyone for free.
19:40There's no dignity in someone giving you everything for free.
19:44There's dignity in giving you a job so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve.
19:51So this is not a city of handouts.
19:53This is a city of hands up.
19:55We're going to lift up the city of New York.
19:57And so I'm asking you, New York City, to continue to stand with me as we lead this city in the right direction.
20:04I'm ready to be your mayor again for another four years.
20:08We're moving time.
20:28Okay, let's go.
20:31Love you.
20:35Go for it.
Recommended
2:37