Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation With Al Sharpton”

September 17, 2023

Reverend Al Sharpton: Now I’m proud to be joined by way of New York Mayor Eric Adams and Houston, Texas, Mayor Sylvester Turner. And for the document, Mayor Turner, I’m for your town. I’m in Houston. I preached at Lily Grove Baptist Church this morning, one of the vital ready pastors within the nation, Reverend Terry Anderson, so I’m for your town. But thanks each for becoming a member of me.

On Friday, a news convention hosted by way of a delegation of Democratic lawmakers who have been traveling a New York City lodge that serves as a refuge for lately arrived migrants was once disrupted by way of protesters dissatisfied over the inflow in arrival of asylum in the hunt for migrants.

Over the previous 12 months, greater than 100,000 migrants have arrived in New York City to hunt asylum — consistent with the New York Times — and their arrivals have coincided with the standard housing costs within the town. Mayor Adams, you might have mentioned your self that the migrant factor will break New York City if we do not get our hands round it. How are you going to transport ahead in mitigating this disaster; and, it is a disaster that many people are excited about that isn’t simply at the doorstep.

I do know numerous religion leaders have been speaking about popping out this week to mention there is a ethical factor of coping with the migrants, however it is usually a subject matter of, if it’s a must to minimize assets the place the folks within the communities that may least come up with the money for a minimize, and so they must now not pressure one thing on any mayor that he has to choose from who will get harm, which means that the government. How do you mitigate this, Mayor Adams?

Mayor Eric Adams: And it was once so vital, I’m satisfied you as it should be phrased what was once mentioned. People tried to distort the message that we have been announcing migrants would break the town, and that was once now not what we said. We are declaring this situation has an actual damaging phase to it this is going to have a rippling impact right through our whole town.

I’ve spent the night time in a refuge with migrants and spoke with them. I’ve marched and visited with them and interacted with them. We have equipped one of the easiest care right through this whole nation of migrants and asylum seekers. And we are a town of immigrants, and my strengthen in immigrant communities is robust.

But we can’t forget about the truth, we spent $2 billion already, we are projected to spend $5 billion. That cash goes to return from someplace. We made nice strides in supporting foster care kids, placing cash into housing, placing cash into low source of revenue New Yorkers an in point of fact offering some way for the ones migrants which are right here.

If we do not obtain lend a hand from the government and extra lend a hand from the state govt, then that is going to return from someplace, and it is going to harm low source of revenue New Yorkers. And I’m satisfied the Hispanic Congressional Delegation got here via. They noticed what we have been doing. They walked out and said that you simply guys have in point of fact accomplished a dignified manner of treating the migrants and asylum seekers.

This is flawed for the migrants and asylum seekers to be going via this. It is flawed for long run New Yorkers that rely on this income. I’ve to return in November and to find $5 billion out of our funds. This just isn’t proper to do to this town.

Reverend Sharpton: And that is the fear of lots of the religion leaders [come], many accumulated closing week in New York and lots of the denominational leaders I’ve been chatting with, popping out this week, as a result of there is the ethical factor right here: you can not make a choice products and services for those who want it within the town over what has to occur to migrants if you are looking to be ethical. You cannot have selective morality.

But in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has been operating a top‑profile marketing campaign sending migrants to what he describes as democratic run towns corresponding to New York by way of bus, claiming that they have been overwhelming his state. Out of the greater than 100,000 migrants New York has won within the closing 12 months, about 13,000 have been spent on buses equipped by way of the State of Texas.

The Texas busing program has despatched kind of 35,000 migrants to different states since April of 2020. These statistics display that the migrants introduced loose passage from Texas during the last 12 months, there is only a fraction of those that steadily make their technique to towns like New York.

Mayor Turner, what is your take on Governor Abbot’s — your governor’s — reaction to an inflow of migrants for your state? And it sort of feels like Black mayors — I’m announcing this, now not the 2 of you — are those that experience bared the brunt of this type of busing, and you might have needed to undergo the brunt because the mayor right here in Houston.

Mayor Sylvester Turner: Well, let me simply say and be very candid: the Governor of Texas, Governor Abbott, is flawed. Okay? This isn’t tips on how to remedy the issue. And Reverend Sharpton, you might be proper: many of the towns had been towns the place there were democratic mayors; and of that quantity, maximum of them had been towns the place they have got been African‑American mayors.

So, if you are speaking about New York, he is sending them there. If you are speaking about Chicago, he is been sending them there. If you are speaking about now LA with Karen Bass, he is sending them there. And then Mayor Hancock was once the Mayor of Denver, and he was once sending them there as smartly. So, the coverage is basically unsuitable.
If you need to handle the migrant drawback ‑‑ and we want to deal with it ‑‑ then he wishes to take a seat down, talk about it with governors, with mayors in an excessively respectful model. And I feel what you’ll to find, all of us acknowledge that the issue must be mounted, and there must be complete immigration reform. But the best way he is opting for to do it’s that he is the usage of those other folks as pawns on a chess desk to achieve political prefer on the other folks’s expense, and that is the reason simply flawed.
Reverend Sharpton: Let me transfer gears, as I’m commemorated to have either one of you. Shootings in New York City dropped by way of about 25 p.c throughout the first part of this 12 months in comparison to the similar duration closing 12 months, appearing a downward development after a spike in violent crime all through the Covid pandemic.
Mayor Adams, you might have made reversing the fashion of gun violence a central function for your management, as you promised whilst you have been operating. Are you inspired by way of those numbers, as a result of many people that puzzled over the top police pressure additionally wish to see gun violence down. We do not wish to be shot by way of anyone, we don’t need violence by way of anyone. Are you inspired by way of those numbers?
Mayor Adams: Yes, and it is one thing that, you already know, you and I’ve each made transparent right through our whole careers. There’s no condolence or comfort prize for those who knock on the door and inform the mum, your son was once shot with any person in blue denims and now not in a blue police uniform, they nonetheless really feel the ache.
And this is a part of the whole go back of our town. Not best have we noticed homicides lower, gun violence lower and 5 out of 7 main felonies lower within the town, however you are additionally seeing colourful restoration. People are again on the subway device. We’re capping at 3.6, 3.8 million riders.
You are seeing 99 p.c of the roles have recovered, tourism is again. We’re projecting to 65 million vacationers within the town. The vibrancy has returned. Covid has in point of fact gave us all a devastating blow, however sensible fiscal control of the town noticed bond raters give us a AA bond score on account of how we are managing the fiscal disaster of this time. And so we’re in point of fact happy since the prerequisite to prosperity is public protection and justice, and we will have each, you do not have to business them off.
Reverend Sharpton: Now, in Texas, firearm fatalities have reached the best possible degree in recent times because the Nineties consistent with knowledge from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as gun regulations within the state have change into an increasing number of at ease.
Mayor Turner, as Texas republicans argue that loosening laws on firearms is constitutional and vital to offer protection to the rights of Texas electorate, I heard at Lily Grove Church these days persons are excited about this. How do you deal with the gun violence epidemic as a democratic chief of the state’s greatest town?
Mayor Turner: Well, when you are preventing in opposition to a state who has in point of fact promoted the usage of weapons and the proliferation of weapons on our streets, all water flows downhill. Quite frankly, there are manner too many extra weapons on our streets, and the state has made it more straightforward for the ones guys to be there.
Having mentioned that, violent crime within the town of Houston — violent and peaceful crime within the town of Houston — is down. When I take a look at the numbers — and I take a look at them each unmarried day — for those who take a look at the place we’re these days on homicides comparability to 2021, we now have 70 fewer homicides than we did in 2021. If you take a look at 2022, there is about 60 fewer homicides.
So, violent crime is down, even peaceful crime is down, and largely it is because we have now hired an excessively holistic technique. Like Mayor Adams, we take a look at it from a extra holistic perspective. Well, sure, we’re offering extra strengthen to legislation enforcement; sure, we are using extra era.
But we are additionally focusing in on our reentry program, housing and task alternatives. We’re additionally focusing on extra early life engagement, focusing on the inhabitants between 16 to 24. Instead of telling early life and others “no, we are giving them one thing to mention sure to.
And group engagement, running with our group leaders, organizations, bringing them in, inviting them to the desk; after which, focusing on disaster intervention.
All of the ones issues are the place we’re hanging a substantial amount of emphasis; and from a holistic perspective, in spite of what is going down on the state, what we’re doing in the neighborhood is proving to paintings.
Reverend Sharpton: I’ve to mention this, as a result of obviously, there is nonetheless many people which are involved and do not really feel secure. But it sort of feels attention-grabbing to me given the knowledge in New York, given what you are doing in Houston, Mayor Turner, it sort of feels to me that Black mayors get all roughly media protection when crime is spiking, after which when there is some statistics in New York and in Houston the place the homicides and gun violence is taking place, it sort of feels like numerous our media do not duvet that, Mayor Adams, or a minimum of, do not give credit, they begin coping with different problems.
And we are nowhere out of the woods, however we are obviously, the knowledge speaks that some issues are transferring in the precise course. And once more, as one now not best who hosts a display however I’m president of National Action Network — as you already know, you have been there at first — I’m involved concerning the reasoning in the back of the double same old on Black mayors on the subject of how we take care of crime. Mayor Adams.
Mayor Adams: No, so true. And I may now not have said it higher. And even how we’re managing those towns. We’re speaking about 4 of the most important towns in America: Houston, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. When you do an research of what we now have accomplished on this town since January 1st, 2022, our financial restoration, the comeback, how we have now invested in younger other folks, 100,000 summer time early life jobs, and the way we did complete‑12 months training: 110,000 of our younger other folks have faculty all 12 months spherical.
And what we are doing of upstream mindset. We’re now not pulling younger other folks and households out of the river downstream, we are focusing upstream, the entirety from dyslexia screening to bettering on training. There’s an actual holistic means that those mayors are doing and my colleagues are doing in Atlanta, in Washington, St. Louis and different spaces.
And so whilst you take a look at it, you might suppose New York City’s out of keep an eye on, it is the wild, wild west, and it is simply the other. You’re seeing a colourful comeback of the town, and the indications are appearing that we’ve got effectively controlled throughout the Covid disaster.
We are managing even throughout the asylum seekers: 110,000 people confirmed up at our doorstep, 10,000 a month we’re receiving, and now not one kid or circle of relatives slept on the streets of the City of New York. We’ve controlled this disaster, however at the moment we’d like the lend a hand, the lend a hand that we deserve as a town.
No town must be going via any of those crises by myself. We must be getting the strengthen. That contains the El Paso, Brownsville, Houston. No town must be wearing the load of this stuff by myself.
Reverend Sharpton: All proper. I’m going to have to depart it there. Thank you each, Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor Sylvestor Turner. I do know what you are doing right here, Reverend Anderson roughly beat me over the top with it many of the morning.
Mayor Adams, Mayor Sylvester Turner, thanks each for being with us.

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