New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivers annual State of the City address
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams laid out a vision for working class New Yorkers in his third State of the City address, pushing efforts to make the city safer, cleaner and more affordable.
While he addressed the city's migrant crisis, Adams stopped short of outlining any kind of plan to tackle the ongoing surge.
The city's future took center stage Wednesday afternoon, with potential new policies like a "Department of Sustainable Delivery" to manage delivery workers, and greater accountability when NYPD officers receive citizen complaints.
Adams spent a good portion of his speech talking about what his administration has accomplished over the last two years, but he encountered backlash from people who say he has done more harm then good.
Watch Mayor Adams' address
A crowd of protestors gathered outside Hostos Community College, disavowing the mayor's vision for the city before he even laid it out.
"You are not CUNY's mayor, Mayor Adams. You are not welcome at Hostos today," Hostos Community College Professor Craig Bernardini said.
Meanwhile, inside the Hostos auditorium, Adams outlined his administration's achievements over the past two years.
"Thanks to the hard work of this administration and millions of dedicated New Yorkers, the state of our city is strong - far stronger than it was two years ago," Adams said.
The mayor said his administration has:
- Taken 14,000 illegal guns off streets
- Driven homicide rates down by double digits
- Welcomed 62 million tourists back to the city
But Adams admits much more needs to be done.
"We've surged police officers through streets and subways, and we're making progress on retail theft and more, but we need New Yorkers to feel safe too. New Yorkers shouldn't have to worry about crime, disorder, and their quality of life," Adams said.
He focused on the city's need for more affordable housing, with what he called a "moonshot goal" of building 500,000 new housing units over the next decade.
"It's time for a powerful new housing agenda, one that acknowledges the need to build more housing is more important than maintaining the way things have been done," Adams said. "We need Albany to clear the way for housing we need. Let us build."
Adams praised the city's public schools, specifically the new initiative to increase reading scores, but said students' mental health and social media use needs to be addressed.
We can not stand by and let big tech monetize our children's privacy and jeopardize their mental health. That's why, today, Dr. Vasan, Ashwin Vasan, is issuing a health commissioner advisory officially designating social media as a public health crisis hazard in New York City," Adams said.
While the mayor seemed to be riding high, reaction to his speech was mixed. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said the mayor should have spent more time addressing the migrant crisis.
"We want to dig into some of the things that were said and see the accuracy of them," Williams said.
Adams also announced the city would be forming a tenant protection cabinet to help people stay in their homes, and implementing stricter rules for trash pickup to fight the ongoing rat problem.
One glaring omission was Adams failing to address the bills vetoed, including the How Many Stops Act, to increase police transparency. However, while making introductions, he told City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who has vowed to override his veto, "I love you, and there's nothing you can do about it."