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Speaker 1: You and Me Both is a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: I'm Hillary Clinton, and this is You and Me Both,

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Speaker 1: as we finally seem to be getting a much needed

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Speaker 1: reprieve from the COVID nineteen pandemic. I think we owe

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Speaker 1: it to ourselves to try to find opportunities coming out

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Speaker 1: of this really difficult period and maybe try doing some

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Speaker 1: things differently in our own lives, in our families, our communities,

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Speaker 1: and certainly in government, trying to figure out how better

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Speaker 1: to actually serve and help people. That's why on this

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Speaker 1: week's episode, I'm delighted to be speaking with two brand

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Speaker 1: new mayors there on the front lines, trying to take

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Speaker 1: on this moment of opportunity with vision, determination, and dare

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Speaker 1: I say, uh, some swagger too. Later we'll hear from

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Speaker 1: Mayor Eric Adams, a former police off sir and state

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Speaker 1: senator who's working to improve the quality of life for

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Speaker 1: everyone in New York City. But first I'm talking with

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Speaker 1: Boston Mayor Michelle Wou. Mayor Wu broke a lot of

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Speaker 1: glass ceilings when she was elected as the first woman,

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Speaker 1: the first Asian American, the first mom to be mayor

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Speaker 1: of one of America's greatest and oldest cities Boston. Her

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Speaker 1: path into politics has not been a straight line, something

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Speaker 1: I can relate to. After graduating from Harvard, she returned

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Speaker 1: home to Illinois to help her family care for her mom,

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Speaker 1: who was struggling with undiagnosed late onset schizophrenia. A few

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Speaker 1: years later, Michelle went back to Boston, went to law school,

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Speaker 1: won a seat on the city Council, and started her family.

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Speaker 1: Since taking office as mayor in November, Michelle has pursued

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Speaker 1: bold policies around climate change, public transportation, and a vaccine

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Speaker 1: mandate that surprise got her into hot water with some

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Speaker 1: of her constituents. Hi, Mayor, how are you. Hi'm out

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Speaker 1: of secretary. I'm so excited to see you. I am

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Speaker 1: equally excited to see you. So let's just jump right

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Speaker 1: into it. Welcome to the show, Michelle. So, how have

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Speaker 1: the first months as mayor been for you? It's been

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Speaker 1: quite thrilling to be in this role, to have been

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Speaker 1: thinking about issues for so long on the city Council

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Speaker 1: and organizing and working with community, and now to have

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Speaker 1: a moment where we can just roll up our sleeves

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Speaker 1: and get in there. It's certainly been quite intense as well.

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Speaker 1: As it's felt like guidance from all different levels of

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Speaker 1: government on COVID changes week by week, and we're in

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Speaker 1: a time of such division still and deep emotion and

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Speaker 1: deep misinformation that is spilling over even to the most

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Speaker 1: local and grassroots interactions between our residents. Was there anything

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Speaker 1: that surprised you. I know, you've been on the city council,

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Speaker 1: You've been an activist and an organizer that once you

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Speaker 1: actually were in that office, you went, oh, wow, that's interesting.

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Speaker 1: I really am surprised by that. You know, Boston is

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Speaker 1: such an incredible city. We are surrounded by resources, and

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Speaker 1: oftentimes people think of that in terms of large institutions,

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Speaker 1: whether it's a hospital sector, that universities, life sciences, which

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Speaker 1: helped lead the way out of this pandemic. I would

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Speaker 1: say that in addition to all of that, one of

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Speaker 1: our most potent resources is the activism from our residents.

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Speaker 1: Right this is where town meeting was born, the founding

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Speaker 1: of our democracy. I will put our residents up as

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Speaker 1: more engaged than anywhere. I mean, in one small neighborhood

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Speaker 1: you can find twenty blood neighborhood associations. And what that

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Speaker 1: has meant in this role is that at a time

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Speaker 1: when so much is happening and people are trying to

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Speaker 1: stay connected and trying to still be engaged even though

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Speaker 1: we're physically not in person. The back and forth through

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Speaker 1: the media is very, very important, but it can be

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Speaker 1: very distorting as well, and so more than ever, getting

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Speaker 1: the chance to get directly to people through social media

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Speaker 1: through podcasts is a really important supplement to how people

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Speaker 1: understand and take in information in order to be engaged

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Speaker 1: and be active. I think that's a very smart observation.

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Speaker 1: And you know that point about all of the activity

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Speaker 1: in the midst of a information ecosystem that is more

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Speaker 1: difficult to manage and even break through, I think is

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Speaker 1: especially important. You know, you're not new to politics, but

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Speaker 1: you are someone who had a different path way, a

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Speaker 1: different journey to deciding to run for your first office

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Speaker 1: on city council and then to run for mayor. I

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Speaker 1: know you grew up in Chicago. What did you think

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Speaker 1: you'd be when you grew up back in those days?

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Speaker 1: You know I was. I was talking about this recently

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Speaker 1: with some friends, and to be completely honest, I always

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Speaker 1: expected that I would be a stay at home mom.

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Speaker 1: I'm the oldest of four kids, I come from an

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Speaker 1: immigrant family. My parents culture was very traditional. My mom

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Speaker 1: was so talented, and I think was on track to

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Speaker 1: be a professional singer in Taiwan had she not immigrated

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Speaker 1: to this country with my father, And she gave up

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Speaker 1: a whole career to take care of kids, and and

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Speaker 1: that was the expectation growing up. And so I had

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Speaker 1: the opportunity of a lifetime to come to the Boston

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Speaker 1: area when I got that scholarship to Harvard, But still

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Speaker 1: in some ways was never thinking that far ahead and

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Speaker 1: never saw people who looked like me in positions of

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Speaker 1: power or in politics. Had never met a politician by

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Speaker 1: the time I got to college. One of the moments

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Speaker 1: that I still cringe out a little bit. I remember

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Speaker 1: my very first my first couple of months at Harvard,

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Speaker 1: the Institute of Politics was hosting their welcome session for

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Speaker 1: new members of Congress, and because my home district was

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Speaker 1: one where there was a new member, I was invited

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Speaker 1: to go as one of the students to be sitting

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Speaker 1: in the room. It ended up at that dinner that

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Speaker 1: that congress person didn't end up coming, so I was

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Speaker 1: just sitting by myself the whole time, and found myself

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Speaker 1: next this very nice woman at dinner who when I

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Speaker 1: asked what she did, she said she was a historian,

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Speaker 1: and I said, okay, you know, and I can't even

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Speaker 1: meet a member of Congress I did. All I get

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Speaker 1: to do is talk to the the only other person

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Speaker 1: here who's not in politics. And then the speaking program started,

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Speaker 1: and she was, of course the keynote speaker, Doris Kurrent's Goodwin,

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Speaker 1: who had no idea who she was anything like that.

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Speaker 1: And so it's been a wild journey for me unexpectedly

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Speaker 1: into government, into public service, and for the chance to

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Speaker 1: try to shape our communities from someone who understands what

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Speaker 1: it's like from the outside the other thing you understand.

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Speaker 1: And I do want to mention this, as you describe

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Speaker 1: on your campaign website, your mom began struggling with mental

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Speaker 1: illness as you were finishing college, and you became her caregiver.

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Speaker 1: And through your family's struggle, you really saw how hard

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Speaker 1: it was to you know, keep it together, to find care.

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Speaker 1: And so could you talk a little bit about that.

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Speaker 1: There's truly no way I would be where I am

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Speaker 1: now in a position in government had it not been

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Speaker 1: for my family's journey and for my mom's experience with

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Speaker 1: mental illness and hospital systems and the many, many barriers

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Speaker 1: that it felt like our family was always facing in

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Speaker 1: the moments of greatest need. What I've realized is that

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Speaker 1: not only is this such a common experience to be

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Speaker 1: living in a family where there is such sometimes terror

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Speaker 1: and stress and shame about what is going on, but

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Speaker 1: it's just as common to then feel like you can't

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Speaker 1: reach out for help. Coming from an immigrant family with

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Speaker 1: language barriers, it just felt like the systems, the very

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Speaker 1: places where we were supposed to be able to go

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Speaker 1: to get help. Right that moment when I was finally

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Speaker 1: able to trick my mom into getting health care because

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Speaker 1: she was so insistent on not acknowledging it, not speaking

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Speaker 1: about it, and the impacts on on her not eating,

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Speaker 1: not sleeping, the intense delusions and paranoia, and and just

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Speaker 1: a strong, strong refusal even to admit something was wrong,

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Speaker 1: much less seek treatment. When we finally got to that

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Speaker 1: point in a hospital setting, in the emergency room, it

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Speaker 1: turned out to be the most humanizing experience of all,

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Speaker 1: And so in some ways that still drives me and

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Speaker 1: what I do every day of realizing how much it

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Speaker 1: matters when government works, but especially when government doesn't work

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Speaker 1: for people, and the ways in which all the programming grew,

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Speaker 1: create all the funding we put to this, all the

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Speaker 1: systems were building. If it's not actually meeting people where

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Speaker 1: they are in those moments, then we aren't delivering the

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Speaker 1: impact that we could. Oh, I am so grateful for

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Speaker 1: you sharing your insights and your experience, and you know, honestly, Michelle,

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Speaker 1: we are still woefully failing at mental health and the

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Speaker 1: full gamut of mental health. I appreciated so much former

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Speaker 1: Mayor Walsh of Boston being open about his struggle with

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Speaker 1: alcoholism and addiction, and so I think it's important for

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Speaker 1: leaders to speak out because there still is aigma. There

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Speaker 1: still is shame. So anything that you do, I think

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Speaker 1: adds to the conversation helps to diminish the stigma. And

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Speaker 1: then you're now in a position where maybe with all

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Speaker 1: the resources that are in Boston for health care of

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Speaker 1: all kinds, there could be some you know, improvements made.

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Speaker 1: And I really appreciate that. It does feel like from

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Speaker 1: everything that we see throughout this pandemic, that mental health

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Speaker 1: will continue to be the epidemic that even after COVID

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Speaker 1: nineteen recedes knock on Wood, we see it in the

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Speaker 1: crisis calls coming into the Boston Police just the intensity

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Speaker 1: of mental illness ratchet it up. We hear it from

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Speaker 1: our school nurses who are reporting that more than ever,

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Speaker 1: our young people and students need the supports. We hear

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Speaker 1: it from our providers working with seniors who have faced

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Speaker 1: such grief and isolation. And it's quantifiable the impact of stigma.

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Speaker 1: One researcher was telling me that if you measure life

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Speaker 1: expectancy across nearly every type of gap that exists, things

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Speaker 1: have gotten better and they've narrowed over the last two decades.

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Speaker 1: Of course, there are still stark disparities by race, by

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Speaker 1: income that we need to continue to narrow. The one

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Speaker 1: place where the gap has been consistent and has not

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Speaker 1: narrowed over the last twenty years is there's a difference

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Speaker 1: in life expectancy between individuals living with schizophrenia and without.

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Speaker 1: And that's what your mother was diagnosed with, wasn't she.

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Speaker 1: I want to talk about how challenging it is to

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Speaker 1: be a leader right now, a mayor in particular, because

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Speaker 1: we are still coping with a global pandemic. You know,

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Speaker 1: it's easy to understand why people are living with this

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Speaker 1: long tail of COVID because small businesses were closed, schools

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Speaker 1: were closed. Now we're coming out of it, we see

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Speaker 1: an increase in violent crime in many parts of the country.

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Speaker 1: We see an increase in mental health reports. So what

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Speaker 1: is Austin facing right now? I know you you've been

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Speaker 1: facing the challenge of trying to you know, mandate vaccinations,

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Speaker 1: which have been upheld in many parts of the country,

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Speaker 1: but you're still in a legal battle over that. Talk

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Speaker 1: a little bit about what it's like to be governing

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Speaker 1: as we hope we're moving out of COVID, but we're

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Speaker 1: really living with the consequences of that. In fact, I

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Speaker 1: would say all of the challenges that we are facing

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Speaker 1: now that are urgent and so stressful on our family's

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Speaker 1: shoulders in Boston are the same challenges that communities had

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Speaker 1: been advocating to solve for decades and generations before COVID

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Speaker 1: nineteen and so the most intense needs are around housing

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Speaker 1: stability in a city where housing prices continue to go up.

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Speaker 1: There was a brief dip during the pandemic, but we

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Speaker 1: are right back up where we were before, and we've

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Speaker 1: seen now the impact of housing as safety, health opportunity

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Speaker 1: in the midst of a very stressful time. Housing has

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Speaker 1: been life or death for so many and we're working

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Speaker 1: intensely to invest in the intersection of our crises around homelessness,

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Speaker 1: the opiate epidemic, and mental health as well. Our school

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Speaker 1: buildings are historic in in good and bad senses of that.

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Speaker 1: We have some of the first schools anywhere in the country,

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Speaker 1: and two thirds of our school buildings were built before

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Speaker 1: World War Two, and so they are in dire need

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Speaker 1: of updated ventilation and h VAC systems. And we're investing

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Speaker 1: in the healing of our school communities as well as

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Speaker 1: the physical footprint for healthy, inspiring buildings. And we see

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Speaker 1: all across the city the chance to seize on this

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Speaker 1: moment as an opportunity federal funding that will have a

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Speaker 1: generational impact and knock on wood, h uh more to

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Speaker 1: come if we can get there at the local level.

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Speaker 1: Would very much appreciate that and the chance for people

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Speaker 1: to truly be aligned across all levels of government for

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Speaker 1: investing in our recovery. I think that's a key word.

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Speaker 1: It's investing because there are so many changes that we

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Speaker 1: should be making now, motivated by the pandemic and aided

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Speaker 1: by federal funding, and if you can crack the affordable

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Speaker 1: housing dilemma, you will be doing not just a great

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Speaker 1: service for the residents of Boston, but the entire country.

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Speaker 1: It's gotten absurd. Rents are going up even faster than

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Speaker 1: monthly mortgage. Where are people supposed to live. It's so

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Speaker 1: frustrating to me because so much of it ends up

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Speaker 1: in the local zoning battles. I really hope that you've

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Speaker 1: got some ideas and plans, because we can't go on

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Speaker 1: like this. Well, there are a couple buckets that we're

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Speaker 1: working on in Boston. One is to directly create and

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Speaker 1: build more affordable housing. Know it's hard, but we have

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Speaker 1: the opportunity right now to marry great local jobs with

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Speaker 1: climate resiliency and all the health benefits that come from

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Speaker 1: energy efficient homes and the increase in housing supply that

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Speaker 1: we need. We are looking to speed through our zoning

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Speaker 1: process affordable housing developments. We're looking to keep people stabilized

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Speaker 1: in their homes. Some of these protections during the pandemic

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Speaker 1: have been absolutely necessary. But the other side of the

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Speaker 1: coin from housing is transportation right. Transportation access is what

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Speaker 1: will fundamentally open up the chance for families to get

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Speaker 1: to their jobs to school. We just announced three free

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Speaker 1: bus routes which will be life changing, and we've seen

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Speaker 1: some of the impacts locally. And imagine if we could

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Speaker 1: really make the infrastructure investments to make it a twenty

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Speaker 1: minute train ride between ends of our commonwealth, that would

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Speaker 1: unlock so much housing an opportunity all across the state. Well,

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Speaker 1: I will be watching with great interest because this has

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Speaker 1: to happen, and it's going to take leaders with vision

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Speaker 1: and determination like you. We're taking a quick break, stay

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Speaker 1: with us. I want to just circle back for a

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Speaker 1: minute about COVID and the vaccine, because in January you

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Speaker 1: implemented a vaccine mandate for public employees that got a

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Speaker 1: lot of support from many circles, not just public health experts,

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Speaker 1: but frankly a lot of us who are vaccinated who

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Speaker 1: want to see this come to an end. So you

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Speaker 1: faced a lot of pushback and you had to make

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Speaker 1: that tough decision. And you look back over the last

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Speaker 1: two years, elected officials have been in the arena trying

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Speaker 1: to make these hard decisions, and they have been really

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Speaker 1: the target for so much hate and victory. Al and

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Speaker 1: I know you have as well. How have you found

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Speaker 1: the strength to just keep going not get diverted in

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Speaker 1: the face of all of that incoming attack. It's a

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Speaker 1: very difficult moment in our history, and I see that

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Speaker 1: almost every day outside my house, and we're faced with

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Speaker 1: seven am protests, banging and yelling, and it's seeded in

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Speaker 1: vast waves of misinformation and conspiracy theories. You know, I

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Speaker 1: sleep well at night. I am good for you, lucky

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Speaker 1: that Boston is home to such expertise. And the way

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Speaker 1: that I like to lead and make decisions is to

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Speaker 1: ensure that the people who are closest to the issue,

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Speaker 1: with the greatest expertise on this are informing the decision

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Speaker 1: making and so we are solid and how we've been

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Speaker 1: leading on public health and how we've been taking action.

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Speaker 1: Of course, vaccines are the different to how we will

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Speaker 1: end this pandemic. Now you can attribute all sorts of

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Speaker 1: Facebook algorithms or Fox News and now having been on

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Speaker 1: as a target of of some of those same right

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Speaker 1: wing sources. It's sad, but because at the end of

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Speaker 1: the day, this is not about vaccines to a lot

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Speaker 1: of these people, This is about a changing country and

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Speaker 1: power structures that see women advancing in leadership and women

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Speaker 1: of color, and we are here to stay, and we're

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Speaker 1: governing to make sure that our kids are kids kids,

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Speaker 1: the ways in which our futures are intertwined, that we

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Speaker 1: are grabbing hold of that brightest future. And so I'm

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Speaker 1: I'm excited for what's ahead and how how we vote. However,

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Speaker 1: you to suspend your time early in the morning at

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Speaker 1: someone's house or not, this is in our collective best interests.

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Speaker 1: We will continue taking steps that way. Oh I love

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Speaker 1: hearing that, because that's exactly the right approach. But you

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Speaker 1: also faced, sadly, tragically, some of this criticism because you

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Speaker 1: are a woman of color, because you are Asian American.

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Speaker 1: We've seen across our country a terrible rise in hate

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Speaker 1: crimes targeting Asian Americans. You know, the the Center for

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Speaker 1: the Study of Hate and Extremism found that they increased

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Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty nine percent last year. And I

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Speaker 1: know as an Asian American leader, you have not been

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Speaker 1: immune to this trend. How do you think about this

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Speaker 1: and what more could we be doing at every level

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Speaker 1: of society, not just government, to protect Asian Americans, to

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Speaker 1: protect communities. How are you handling this in Boston? It

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Speaker 1: is heartbreaking and infuriating to continue to see incidents of

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Speaker 1: violence and even recently in New York, of loss of

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Speaker 1: life if related to a grieving Asian American community that's

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Speaker 1: still very much dealing with the impacts of the former

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Speaker 1: federal administrations obsession with demonizing and using racist rhetoric against

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Speaker 1: Asian Americans. I think it's always difficult when you are

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Speaker 1: breaking down a barrier, no matter what field you're in,

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Speaker 1: no matter what background you're coming from, because it takes

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Speaker 1: a bit for people to adjust. And I remember that

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Speaker 1: serving on the City Council when I was elected in

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Speaker 1: that year, we doubled the number of women serving on

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Speaker 1: the Boston City Council from one to two when I

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Speaker 1: joined Diana Pressley. And since then, when we doubled again

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Speaker 1: and again, and now we're at a majority women serving

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Speaker 1: on the council, majority people of color. It's a completely

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Speaker 1: different ecosystem. It takes all of us standing together and

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Speaker 1: calling out instances of racism and hatred and anti Semitis

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Speaker 1: them that are all on the rise right now in

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Speaker 1: our in our country. And so I give so much

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Speaker 1: love to my sisters in service, especially in Massachusetts, to

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Speaker 1: Asian American women leaders all across the country. You lead

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Speaker 1: New New York City, and Stephanie Chang in Michigan, Helen

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Speaker 1: Gim in Philadelphia, and many locally here in Massachusetts. These

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Speaker 1: are my heroes there that support network, and UM it

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Speaker 1: takes all of us changing the definition of leadership, but

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Speaker 1: also insisting powerfully that we are fighting for our collective

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Speaker 1: future and it doesn't have to be pitting communities against

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Speaker 1: each other. This is about ensuring that the next generation

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Speaker 1: and the generation after that have a chance to live

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Speaker 1: in a society that represents the beauty and the strength

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Speaker 1: of our entire community. That's exactly what I think as well.

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Speaker 1: And I'm going to ask you specifically. You've got two

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Speaker 1: little boys, how do you talk to them about, you know,

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Speaker 1: those people protesting you in front of your house, any

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Speaker 1: rude and and nasty comments they hear being yelled at you.

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Speaker 1: How do you help them deal with specific instances of racism,

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Speaker 1: of discrimination, of misogyny. My boys are four and seven,

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Speaker 1: and it's been such a test of parented raising kids

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Speaker 1: in this time, and some days there's deep anxiety that

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Speaker 1: I feel about that. It's such a jarring experience to

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Speaker 1: be working my hardest to raise boys who hopefully will

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Speaker 1: turn into caring, kind, strong young men, concerned about the

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Speaker 1: world and ready to help their community. And then to

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Speaker 1: have to explain to them what they're hearing when they

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Speaker 1: wake up every day outside our home and and how

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Speaker 1: you know, some people I don't think the same way,

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Speaker 1: or or are upset about the world and where it is,

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Speaker 1: and it's okay to disagree, and we want to try

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Speaker 1: to do it in a way that's respectful, not like this.

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Speaker 1: And so it's been very hard, um, but there are

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Speaker 1: moments in some ways that I'm grateful for the age

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Speaker 1: that they are now, because they are full of joy

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Speaker 1: and everything's an adventure. I'll just share that. A couple

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Speaker 1: of weeks ago, when holiday cards were still coming in,

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Speaker 1: my older son was helping us sort the mail. And

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Speaker 1: he's seven now, he's starting to learn how to read

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Speaker 1: bigger words. And he was going through the pile and

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Speaker 1: he said, Mama, the protesters sent us some mail. And

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Speaker 1: I said, oh, no, what does it say on there?

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Speaker 1: I sort of rushed over and then he gave a

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Speaker 1: big sigh and he said, oh, never mind. He said

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Speaker 1: it says to the honorable Michelle, who I thought it

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Speaker 1: said to the horrible, Michelle, but he was truly disappointed

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Speaker 1: because he was so excited that we were going to

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Speaker 1: get this male interaction. So you know, in some ways,

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Speaker 1: at the end of the day, kids are kids, and

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Speaker 1: they have fun in any situation. Love you know. We

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Speaker 1: Bill and I uh When Chelsea was six and he

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Speaker 1: was running for governor again, and Orville fab Us, the

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Speaker 1: old segregationist former governor, was running against him. We wanted

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Speaker 1: to prepare her and what she would be hearing out

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Speaker 1: on the campaign drugs. We would take her with us,

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Speaker 1: and she was also old enough like your son to

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Speaker 1: recognize words in the newspaper and all. So we're telling

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Speaker 1: her that this man was going to say terrible things

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Speaker 1: and she was like, well, like what. And it was

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Speaker 1: such a good exercise for us to go through. But

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Speaker 1: it was also so touching to see your child go,

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Speaker 1: wait a minute, well, what's happening? Who are these people? Um?

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Speaker 1: I'm wondering as we wrap up, and I think about Boston,

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Speaker 1: a city that I love, having gone to school at

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Speaker 1: Wellesley and having spent a lot of time in Boston.

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Speaker 1: For people who haven't been to Boston, who don't know

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Speaker 1: it and love it like you and I have been

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Speaker 1: lucky enough. If you were explaining Boston, you were at

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Speaker 1: a like a meeting of mayors somewhere else in the world,

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Speaker 1: how would you describe, you know, the wonderful advantages and

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Speaker 1: the challenges that Boston presents. Well, when I'm at meetings

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Speaker 1: of mayors, I try not to bring up our sports

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Speaker 1: teams and the many, many championships that we have. Uh

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Speaker 1: But in some ways, the intensity that Bostonians feel the

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Speaker 1: loyalty to our sports teams is really the loyalty that

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Speaker 1: the city feels to its politics, to its neighborhoods, to

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Speaker 1: its communities, to the sense of history here. And we

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Speaker 1: are so proud of the many ways in which we

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Speaker 1: have made history, whether it's the birth of our democracy,

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Speaker 1: or first public school in the country, first public library,

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Speaker 1: first public park, first subway tunnel, anywhere in the country.

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Speaker 1: And my goal in this moment in our city is

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Speaker 1: to ensure that we e that legacy, not as sticking

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Speaker 1: to the ways that things have always been, and that

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Speaker 1: we then must cling to the past, but recognizing our

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Speaker 1: legacy of taking the lead, of innovating, of standing up

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Speaker 1: and fighting for what's right, fighting for the common good,

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Speaker 1: and investing as we've been saying in the ways that

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Speaker 1: we are connected. So this is an incredible city because

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Speaker 1: we are full of resources, we are full of energy,

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Speaker 1: we're full of activism, and we're ready. We're ready to

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Speaker 1: take that next step together and set a course that

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Speaker 1: I hope other cities will join across the country as well.

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Speaker 1: I love hearing that, Michelle. I'm so proud of you

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Speaker 1: being in this position, and I'm so excited to see

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Speaker 1: how you lead with that vision and determination into the future.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining me on this podcast,

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Speaker 1: and I hope I get to see you in person

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Speaker 1: when we all start traveling again. We can go hiking

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Speaker 1: in Franklin Park when your next in town. Let's do it.

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Speaker 1: I'm signing up for that. Thank you so much. It's

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Speaker 1: been a pleasure to keep up with Michelle. You can

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Speaker 1: follow her on Twitter at mayor woo. That's w you now.

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Speaker 1: It takes a certain amount of hootspa to run for

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Speaker 1: mayor of any major city, and I think that's especially

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Speaker 1: the case in New York. But if anyone's got what

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Speaker 1: it takes, it's Eric Adams. He was raised in Brooklyn

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Speaker 1: and Queens by a single mom struggling to support her

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Speaker 1: six children, and he joined a gang by the time

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Speaker 1: he was fourteen. When he was fifteen, he and his

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00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:51,720
Speaker 1: brother were caught stealing a TV and during his arrest,

435
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:56,040
Speaker 1: Eric was badly beaten by two white police officers until

436
00:27:56,080 --> 00:28:01,720
Speaker 1: a third officer, who was black, intervened at that painful incident.

437
00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,240
Speaker 1: In his memory and with some mentoring and support from

438
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:08,639
Speaker 1: older men in the community, Eric would go on to

439
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:13,399
Speaker 1: become a New York City Police officer himself, serving with

440
00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:18,879
Speaker 1: the NYPD for over twenty years. In his second career

441
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,800
Speaker 1: as an elected official, Eric served as a state senator

442
00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:27,400
Speaker 1: and as borough president of Brooklyn before winning the nomination

443
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:30,760
Speaker 1: for Mayor of New York in a crowded primary and

444
00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:34,399
Speaker 1: then going on to win the general election last November,

445
00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,680
Speaker 1: and was sworn in as mayor a New Year's Eve

446
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:43,320
Speaker 1: in Times Square holding a photograph of his late mother.

447
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 1: I loved that Eric's got a big heart and a

448
00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:52,720
Speaker 1: big personality, and he's no stranger to controversy. Since taking office,

449
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,840
Speaker 1: he's made news with everything from his appointments to a

450
00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:01,520
Speaker 1: silly kerfuffle over describing him self as vegan even though

451
00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:05,480
Speaker 1: he eats fish. We'll talk about that most recently, though,

452
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:09,600
Speaker 1: he's earned admiration, but also as goes with the job

453
00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,840
Speaker 1: criticism for pushing folks to get back to work in

454
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,760
Speaker 1: person and for easing some of the COVID safety restrictions

455
00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,520
Speaker 1: we've lived with for nearly two years. It's time, he says,

456
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:25,560
Speaker 1: for New York to get back it's swagger. I've known

457
00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,320
Speaker 1: Eric since I served as Senator for New York, so

458
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:32,000
Speaker 1: I can attest to his own personal swagger, and I

459
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 1: was really excited to speak with him for the podcast. Well,

460
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,120
Speaker 1: I know how busy you are, and I just want

461
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,160
Speaker 1: to dive right in. It is so great to have

462
00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,640
Speaker 1: the new mayor of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams,

463
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:50,920
Speaker 1: on the podcast today. And boy, Mayor, you're really in

464
00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:54,720
Speaker 1: the middle of it. You have become mayor of our biggest,

465
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,600
Speaker 1: greatest city at such a challenging time for the country

466
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:02,240
Speaker 1: in the world. And yet I know with great challenges

467
00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,240
Speaker 1: come even greater opportunities. UM. I wanted to give you

468
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,160
Speaker 1: a chance to talk about your vision for the city

469
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:13,440
Speaker 1: as we emerge from this pandemic. What are your biggest priorities? UM,

470
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,320
Speaker 1: How you feel about approaching the role to get the

471
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,800
Speaker 1: most out of everybody in the city. A great question.

472
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 1: You know, people think I'm kidding when I say it,

473
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:28,400
Speaker 1: but I don't feel anything personally was different from the

474
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:32,160
Speaker 1: day I got elected to now. Uh, this is the

475
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:36,480
Speaker 1: life I've lived for thirty five years and responding to crisis,

476
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,320
Speaker 1: responding to people in need, being a former police officers,

477
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:43,560
Speaker 1: state senator, and bart president. UH, and then coming from

478
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,000
Speaker 1: you know, some dog moments when I was arrested and

479
00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:48,600
Speaker 1: beat by police officers. But I went into the department

480
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,840
Speaker 1: UH to serve for justice and safety. And so this

481
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:56,720
Speaker 1: is a natural transition for me. But along the way, UH,

482
00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,560
Speaker 1: you know, Ms Clinton, you would be surprised that along

483
00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:05,640
Speaker 1: the way Bill Lynch told me. Yeah, he told me

484
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,680
Speaker 1: what I needed to do to be mayor one day.

485
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,280
Speaker 1: I kept a journal throughout the last twentysomething years, and

486
00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 1: I made my observations as a cop in the state senator,

487
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:19,840
Speaker 1: involved president, and I've walked away with one thing that

488
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,680
Speaker 1: is at the heart of my administration, and it comes

489
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,440
Speaker 1: from the quote of Archbishop desmon To two that we

490
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:31,280
Speaker 1: just lost. Paraphrasing him, we spend a lifetime pulling people

491
00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,800
Speaker 1: out of the river. No one goes upstream and prevent

492
00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:37,400
Speaker 1: them from falling in in the first place. So if

493
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:41,200
Speaker 1: you were to sum up my administration, all I can

494
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,040
Speaker 1: say is that it's an upstream administration where we're going

495
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,080
Speaker 1: to stop people from falling in the river. We're gonna

496
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,240
Speaker 1: catch those who are on their way downstream and pull

497
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,000
Speaker 1: them out, and then we're going to have a safe

498
00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,600
Speaker 1: landing place for people who are already in. And government

499
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,520
Speaker 1: can do a better job of not only upping people

500
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:02,960
Speaker 1: from falling in, but dawn it, we're pushing them in

501
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:07,440
Speaker 1: every day whole with dysfunctional ways we're running cities. I

502
00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:12,360
Speaker 1: really appreciate your talking about that because it's an investment approach.

503
00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:16,400
Speaker 1: It's a you know, preemption approach. Try to prevent the problems,

504
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,040
Speaker 1: try to invest in what will help people, you know,

505
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:22,840
Speaker 1: make the most out of their own lives. And your

506
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:27,440
Speaker 1: background I think uniquely suits you for this time. You

507
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,960
Speaker 1: are a lifelong New Yorker, grew up in Brooklyn, the

508
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,880
Speaker 1: Queens Um and as you just said, as a young

509
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:38,480
Speaker 1: black kid, you know, you had your challenges and yet

510
00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:42,720
Speaker 1: you had to believe in yourself. Talk about the neighborhood

511
00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,480
Speaker 1: you grew up it, because those are stories that could

512
00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:49,280
Speaker 1: still be told about kids, right now aren't they so true?

513
00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:52,760
Speaker 1: And you know what I saw on the campaign trail.

514
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,800
Speaker 1: I was two months in and I realized that everyone

515
00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 1: wanted to be heard, and I knew who I had

516
00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:04,960
Speaker 1: to be felt. I wanted New Yorker Is to fill

517
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:09,320
Speaker 1: the authenticity of my run. And I taught up the

518
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:13,160
Speaker 1: playbook and I said, all I'm going to do is

519
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,760
Speaker 1: to give my story. I gave the story of growing

520
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:20,480
Speaker 1: up in in public school, believing I couldn't learn, only

521
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:22,560
Speaker 1: to get to college to realize I had a learning

522
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,640
Speaker 1: disability and went from being a D student to being

523
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:28,080
Speaker 1: on the dean's list when I got help. I talked

524
00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:31,280
Speaker 1: the story of carrying a garbage bag full of clothing

525
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:34,040
Speaker 1: to school every day because my mom thought we were

526
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:36,480
Speaker 1: going to be thrown out and she did not want

527
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,320
Speaker 1: us to be embarrassed. And she said, you need a

528
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,800
Speaker 1: change of underclothes and showed so socks. She has six children,

529
00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,040
Speaker 1: and you know, I tell everyone she loved all of us,

530
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,000
Speaker 1: but she just adored me. I was just a favorite child.

531
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:54,520
Speaker 1: But but it was it was tough. And you know

532
00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 1: what was interesting as I now I'm doing, you know,

533
00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:02,600
Speaker 1: a real review. We betrayed mom, you know, like we

534
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,440
Speaker 1: betrayed so many mothers all over the globe. When mother

535
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:09,800
Speaker 1: needed help to give food to eat, we were giving

536
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:12,719
Speaker 1: her food that was feeding the chronic diseases, you know,

537
00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:18,120
Speaker 1: processed cheese and can meet and fatty substances. You know.

538
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,600
Speaker 1: When mother needed help with childcare, we betrayed her and

539
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,280
Speaker 1: then given the childcare. That's why I'm pushing for universal childcare.

540
00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,839
Speaker 1: Is crucihoet and even my sister who had to raise

541
00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,840
Speaker 1: all of us, my oldest sister, my mom was working

542
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:35,680
Speaker 1: those two jobs. My sister had to abandon her childhood

543
00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:38,360
Speaker 1: and not do what the young girls do, but she

544
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,200
Speaker 1: had to take care all of us. So that abandonment

545
00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:45,279
Speaker 1: is generational, and we need to stop the abandonment and

546
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:50,480
Speaker 1: be there for everyday New Yorkers. That is incredibly important,

547
00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:53,520
Speaker 1: you know, because you know from my perspective, having been

548
00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,040
Speaker 1: a child advocate, work for the Children's Defense Fund, all

549
00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:59,120
Speaker 1: the work that I've done over so many years, if

550
00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:03,759
Speaker 1: we would own we show some more empathy, compassion and

551
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:10,600
Speaker 1: kindness and help people before they got evicted, before they

552
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,480
Speaker 1: were at their wits end because they couldn't figure out

553
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:16,040
Speaker 1: how to do the job and take care of their kids.

554
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,600
Speaker 1: I mean, this is really not complicated. Mayor we just

555
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:24,320
Speaker 1: refused to do it. You know, I know that even

556
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:28,239
Speaker 1: though as as a young kid, you got into, you know,

557
00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:32,200
Speaker 1: a situation where two white police officers literally beat you up.

558
00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:34,720
Speaker 1: I've read that it was the intervention of a black

559
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:37,960
Speaker 1: officer that stopped the beating, but also kind of inspired

560
00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:41,680
Speaker 1: you can you can you describe how you ended up

561
00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:45,040
Speaker 1: being a New York City police officer for I think

562
00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:48,040
Speaker 1: what twenty two years? Yes, twenty two years. And I

563
00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:51,160
Speaker 1: enjoyed every moment of you know, fighting on behalf of

564
00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:55,600
Speaker 1: safety because I said all the time public safety and justice.

565
00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:59,800
Speaker 1: They are the prerequisite to prosperity. You can't have just

566
00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:03,280
Speaker 1: this without safety, and you can't have safety without justice.

567
00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:06,520
Speaker 1: And you know, when I think about mom, uh you

568
00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,960
Speaker 1: know was her third grade education. She was filled with

569
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,960
Speaker 1: so much wisdom. And I remember the day after I

570
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:15,080
Speaker 1: was arrested and I went home and she said, baby,

571
00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:19,360
Speaker 1: you're going to find yourself in dog places. You decided

572
00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:23,160
Speaker 1: that dog place is a burial or a planting. And

573
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:26,120
Speaker 1: you know, any pain that you received, you have to

574
00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:29,000
Speaker 1: turn it into purpose. And I always remember that over

575
00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:32,400
Speaker 1: and over again. I was fifteen at the time, and

576
00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:36,120
Speaker 1: you know, leaving the precenting months after, I was just

577
00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:39,720
Speaker 1: so angry, and I remember going to the social worker

578
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,239
Speaker 1: that the centers to and the social worker told my

579
00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,120
Speaker 1: brother to come back for a follow up visit and

580
00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:48,840
Speaker 1: she said to me, Eric, don't bother coming back. You

581
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:52,200
Speaker 1: have too much anger. You're going to find yourself constantly

582
00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,839
Speaker 1: in trouble and there's no reason to waste time. Keep

583
00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:57,839
Speaker 1: talking to you. And I left her office that day,

584
00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:01,200
Speaker 1: walking down the block and felters though this was my destiny,

585
00:37:01,239 --> 00:37:03,680
Speaker 1: this is what I was going to be, but it

586
00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:07,080
Speaker 1: stand out of the pain of the loss of someone

587
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,719
Speaker 1: a young man named Cliffic Glover. He was shot by

588
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,319
Speaker 1: a police officer. I was able to meet a man

589
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:18,520
Speaker 1: named Reverend Herbert Daughtry, who you know I do. And

590
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:24,879
Speaker 1: Reverend Daughtry met with me and twelve other young men. Um.

591
00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:28,680
Speaker 1: This was after Cliffic Glover shooting and another businessman that

592
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:32,040
Speaker 1: was died from a choke holl from police. And he

593
00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:35,640
Speaker 1: came to us and said, listen, we're fighting from outside.

594
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:39,960
Speaker 1: We want you guys to go inside and be advocates

595
00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:44,400
Speaker 1: for the justice and safety. And I decided reluctantly to

596
00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:48,440
Speaker 1: join the police department and started an organization called one

597
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,799
Speaker 1: of your Blacks and law Enforcement who Cared and we

598
00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:54,280
Speaker 1: fought from within well, and thank goodness you did, because

599
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:59,280
Speaker 1: you now are bringing that inside outside perspective to dealing

600
00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:03,200
Speaker 1: with like safety in a way that does promote both

601
00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:06,520
Speaker 1: justice and safety and one of the biggest issues facing you.

602
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:10,600
Speaker 1: And thank you for making it so clear that gun

603
00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:16,160
Speaker 1: violence is a scourge. It's surging. People have guns that

604
00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:20,600
Speaker 1: should never be near guns, and we are not doing enough.

605
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,520
Speaker 1: And I know you met with President Biden. You've done

606
00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:27,799
Speaker 1: so much and after the terrible killings of police officers

607
00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:32,319
Speaker 1: in the city, you've been so strong and outspoken. But

608
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:35,480
Speaker 1: I'm afraid Mayor that you know this Supreme Court and

609
00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:38,640
Speaker 1: the other political party, they're heading in the wrong direction.

610
00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:41,080
Speaker 1: What are we gonna do about guns and the gun

611
00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:46,799
Speaker 1: violence that stalks too many neighborhoods. And you're right, it's

612
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:48,840
Speaker 1: a real fear. And I know this is this is

613
00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:51,440
Speaker 1: natural for you, you know, being Winn of the co

614
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,520
Speaker 1: founders back in your time of ARKANSAURS advocates for children

615
00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:59,520
Speaker 1: and families and for creation of children's health insurance programs.

616
00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:03,200
Speaker 1: So believe you know we gotta plant the seeds early,

617
00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:05,920
Speaker 1: and we gotta get it right, and we are moving

618
00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:09,759
Speaker 1: in the wrong direction. There's a case in front of

619
00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:13,239
Speaker 1: the Supreme Court about the right to carry that is

620
00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:16,880
Speaker 1: extremely dangerous for New York City to have, you know,

621
00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:19,560
Speaker 1: open carry in our city as Dens is New York,

622
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:23,520
Speaker 1: in other places like Chicago, it's a real crisis. And

623
00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:27,799
Speaker 1: then we're looking at the mass production of guns. It's

624
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:31,200
Speaker 1: not only impact in New York, it's impacting our whole

625
00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:36,799
Speaker 1: regions South American Caribbean diaspora. We are actually feeding the

626
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:41,680
Speaker 1: gun and the crime crisis in the entire hemisphere. Not

627
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:47,919
Speaker 1: just extremely dangerous, well, it just outrages me because these

628
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:53,000
Speaker 1: gun manufacturers, I don't think they have any conscience. I mean, thankfully,

629
00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:56,640
Speaker 1: the parents of the poor little kids killed at Sandy Hook,

630
00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:01,680
Speaker 1: finally upheld one of the manufacturers, Remington, accountable, by pointing

631
00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:06,839
Speaker 1: out that they were advertising assault weapons to young men

632
00:40:07,239 --> 00:40:10,040
Speaker 1: and it didn't matter whether those young men were stable,

633
00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,120
Speaker 1: had a criminal record, or anything else about them. All

634
00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:17,160
Speaker 1: the manufacturer wanted is to sell more guns. And you know, Keita,

635
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:22,840
Speaker 1: increasing public safety and ensuring justice is building trust between

636
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:27,400
Speaker 1: communities of color and police officers. While at the same

637
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:32,280
Speaker 1: time supporting our police department. So you're in a unique

638
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,520
Speaker 1: position to be able to walk that balance. Beam Mayor,

639
00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:39,080
Speaker 1: and I want to congratulate you on appointing the very

640
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:43,080
Speaker 1: first female commissioner in the long history of New York's

641
00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:46,879
Speaker 1: Police Department, Commissioner Sewell. And I read that you had

642
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:52,000
Speaker 1: picked her because of her emotional intelligence, and that was

643
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:55,680
Speaker 1: a good pick. But how do we get that calculation right?

644
00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:58,799
Speaker 1: We have to have you know, public safety, and we

645
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:03,120
Speaker 1: have to have a a good, well trained police department

646
00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:05,960
Speaker 1: that has you know, morale about helping. How do we

647
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:09,600
Speaker 1: do that, Well, we start with, as you indicated, the

648
00:41:09,719 --> 00:41:14,680
Speaker 1: right leadership and we don't have to trade off safety

649
00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:19,240
Speaker 1: and justice. That must become the cornerstone of our public

650
00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:23,000
Speaker 1: safety mindset. And then we have to do something that

651
00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:27,040
Speaker 1: I like to call intervention and prevention. If you find

652
00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:31,480
Speaker 1: many people from our party, they are comfortable with talking

653
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:36,560
Speaker 1: about prevention. The long term things we need dealing with dyslexia,

654
00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:40,600
Speaker 1: so we don't have thirty of our prison population being dyslexic. Uh,

655
00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:45,080
Speaker 1: you know, education, housing, healthcare. Those are the middle and

656
00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:49,640
Speaker 1: long term things. But even the best prevention plan, let's

657
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,560
Speaker 1: say it takes a year, two years, it's something even longer.

658
00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:55,200
Speaker 1: What are we going to do right now? What are

659
00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:57,960
Speaker 1: we going to do this weekend? And we do that

660
00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:03,200
Speaker 1: by giving police office is the moral support and the

661
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:06,520
Speaker 1: support to have the resources of defining the proper police

662
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:10,200
Speaker 1: practices they have. And that's what I'm doing. I am

663
00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:13,960
Speaker 1: not going to allow the numerical minority that are the

664
00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:18,560
Speaker 1: allowedest to dictate how we're going to keep my city

665
00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:21,960
Speaker 1: safe now and what we're going to do in the

666
00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:25,279
Speaker 1: long term. So it's that's the combination. I tell people

667
00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:28,280
Speaker 1: all the time, it is not what happens in tweets,

668
00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:33,280
Speaker 1: is what happens on our streets. And then preach, preach

669
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:36,959
Speaker 1: mayor that is music to my ears. I mean, let's

670
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,839
Speaker 1: get real here. You know, sadly, you know, I know,

671
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,759
Speaker 1: I've lived long enough to know, you know, there are

672
00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,359
Speaker 1: some people who are doing harm right now, and they

673
00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:50,759
Speaker 1: are harming innocent people. They're doing bad stuff right now,

674
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,440
Speaker 1: and to go just in one or the other direction,

675
00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:59,160
Speaker 1: it's just shortsighted and it doesn't work. So thank you

676
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:03,640
Speaker 1: for helping to educate uh, not only the city, but

677
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:08,160
Speaker 1: literally the country about how you can't separate safety and justice.

678
00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:15,200
Speaker 1: They have to go hand in hand. We'll be back

679
00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:26,840
Speaker 1: right after this quick break. Look, we know public safety

680
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:29,440
Speaker 1: and justice are tied up in a lot of other issues.

681
00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:33,479
Speaker 1: You've got, you know, record amount of homelessness. You've got

682
00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:37,000
Speaker 1: people unable to afford their housing. You have a lot

683
00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:40,040
Speaker 1: of families like your family, with your mom working one

684
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,680
Speaker 1: two jobs, your sister taken care of you, doing the

685
00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:46,360
Speaker 1: best she can and not getting paid enough to be

686
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:50,439
Speaker 1: able to afford the rent. So how do we deal

687
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:54,480
Speaker 1: with this housing issue, this homelessness issue? And I know

688
00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:58,239
Speaker 1: you're trying to address and I also thank you for saying, look,

689
00:43:58,239 --> 00:44:00,160
Speaker 1: people are not going to be sleeping on our subway.

690
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:02,000
Speaker 1: You know, we've got to come up with a better

691
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:04,959
Speaker 1: approach than now, without a doubt. And again it goes

692
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,279
Speaker 1: back to you know, as I say, I think you

693
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:09,919
Speaker 1: and your husband understood clearly that you have to meet

694
00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:11,960
Speaker 1: people where they are and take them where they ought

695
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:13,680
Speaker 1: to be. That's what it was about when you were

696
00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,720
Speaker 1: a U. S. Senator, and that is what we want

697
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:21,440
Speaker 1: to carve our administration about. And you know at the

698
00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:27,000
Speaker 1: heart of my administration, every staffer, my deputy mayors, when

699
00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:31,960
Speaker 1: you listen to their stories, it shows that they are

700
00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:34,760
Speaker 1: individuals who have gone through a lot. And I believe

701
00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:37,239
Speaker 1: if you're going to help people who are going through

702
00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:40,120
Speaker 1: a lot, you should be someone that has gone through

703
00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:45,279
Speaker 1: a lot. And my top team, they are representatives of

704
00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,160
Speaker 1: the people that they are providing services for. So we

705
00:44:48,239 --> 00:44:51,480
Speaker 1: have to go after what creates the crisis. Do you

706
00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:55,240
Speaker 1: know in New York City, sixty of black and brown

707
00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:59,400
Speaker 1: children never reach proficiency And if you don't educate, you're

708
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:03,200
Speaker 1: going to and us right when we have young people

709
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:07,239
Speaker 1: enforced the care aging out of one clearly understanding that

710
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:10,719
Speaker 1: only twentysomething percent will graduate from high school, three will

711
00:45:10,719 --> 00:45:14,560
Speaker 1: graduate from college, and they were more likely to be unemployed, homeless,

712
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:17,560
Speaker 1: mental health illness. Yet we do nothing every year with

713
00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:20,920
Speaker 1: those sixty seven young people that age out. That's why

714
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:24,360
Speaker 1: I'm putting money into the force to care system, you know,

715
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:27,320
Speaker 1: with fair futures, to give them the wrap around support

716
00:45:27,360 --> 00:45:30,640
Speaker 1: and life coaches into the We have to go at

717
00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:33,400
Speaker 1: the heart of the problem so that we don't continue

718
00:45:33,440 --> 00:45:36,920
Speaker 1: to be pulling people out of the river downstream because

719
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:40,959
Speaker 1: of the problem we've ignored, and you know there are solutions.

720
00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:45,920
Speaker 1: I was thrilled when you tapped my longtime friend David

721
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:50,000
Speaker 1: Banks for the Department of Education because I got to

722
00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:53,319
Speaker 1: know David back when I was a senator, and he

723
00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:56,120
Speaker 1: had this crazy idea that we could educate black and

724
00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:59,439
Speaker 1: brown boys guess what and and and you know, give

725
00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:03,680
Speaker 1: them all future. And I believed in him, and he

726
00:46:03,800 --> 00:46:07,560
Speaker 1: started the Eagle Academy. We have seen the results, and

727
00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:10,279
Speaker 1: now I know he's going to try to do the

728
00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:13,840
Speaker 1: same for all students in the New York City public schools.

729
00:46:14,200 --> 00:46:17,040
Speaker 1: It's really more of an indictment of us that kids

730
00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:21,919
Speaker 1: never reach proficiency because there's enough information about what good

731
00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:25,600
Speaker 1: teaching methods are, what kind of good wrap around services.

732
00:46:25,640 --> 00:46:28,759
Speaker 1: There should be uh time on task all of that

733
00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:31,160
Speaker 1: so that we know what to do. We just have

734
00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:34,160
Speaker 1: to exercise the will and put the resources behind it.

735
00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:37,920
Speaker 1: And it's about that holy listing. Something as simple as

736
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:41,480
Speaker 1: if we need washing machines in our schools, then we

737
00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:45,600
Speaker 1: should have them. I mean, you children miss school just

738
00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:48,880
Speaker 1: because they don't have washing machines. And then how some

739
00:46:49,040 --> 00:46:52,480
Speaker 1: of youth employment. We're going to give a hundred thousand

740
00:46:52,719 --> 00:46:55,880
Speaker 1: young people some of youth employments. But it's not just

741
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:59,279
Speaker 1: going to the park and learning how to sweep leaves. No,

742
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:02,920
Speaker 1: we're gonna build in financial literacy, We're gonna build in

743
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,879
Speaker 1: how to dress, dress for success, um, how to work

744
00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:09,719
Speaker 1: in a corporate environment. Technology. So we're going to use

745
00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:13,200
Speaker 1: the hundred thousand jobs to give those children the life

746
00:47:13,200 --> 00:47:16,759
Speaker 1: skills they need so that they can be ready when

747
00:47:16,800 --> 00:47:21,200
Speaker 1: they leave school. Many of these children, their parents never

748
00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:25,120
Speaker 1: received the foundation. And you know, we were as a family.

749
00:47:25,800 --> 00:47:27,600
Speaker 1: You know, the whole block was poor, so we didn't

750
00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:32,080
Speaker 1: realize we were poor. But but mother had the foundation.

751
00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:35,800
Speaker 1: She showed me how to him my parents. She showed

752
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,920
Speaker 1: me how to wash clothing. She showed me how some

753
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,600
Speaker 1: of the basic skills. If no one is home to

754
00:47:41,680 --> 00:47:45,520
Speaker 1: teach you that, our schools believe it or not, we

755
00:47:45,600 --> 00:47:49,840
Speaker 1: can't be just academic institutions. We have to reinforce the

756
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:53,480
Speaker 1: life skills and almost be seek your parents, because many

757
00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:57,319
Speaker 1: of these children are going home to atmosphere because unfortunately

758
00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:00,560
Speaker 1: their parents never received that support. So no one is

759
00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:04,160
Speaker 1: breaking the chain, and we must break the chain. Well,

760
00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:09,879
Speaker 1: and you referenced earlier cyclical trauma, generational trauma, and it's

761
00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:14,839
Speaker 1: true with life skills instruction and education as well. And

762
00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:18,839
Speaker 1: I've always thought that it was so unfair to just

763
00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:23,480
Speaker 1: wash our hands of kids or blame parents instead of saying, well,

764
00:48:23,680 --> 00:48:26,120
Speaker 1: nobody taught those parents, And don't you think we ought

765
00:48:26,160 --> 00:48:29,000
Speaker 1: to do something. You know, my mother who was abandoned

766
00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:31,759
Speaker 1: as a very young girl and sent to live with

767
00:48:31,920 --> 00:48:34,799
Speaker 1: grandparents who didn't want her, and then finally, at the

768
00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:38,120
Speaker 1: age of thirteen, she was working in somebody else's home

769
00:48:38,160 --> 00:48:41,440
Speaker 1: to get out of the situation she was in with grandparents.

770
00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:43,640
Speaker 1: When I was old enough to understand, I said, so,

771
00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:45,759
Speaker 1: what was that like? I mean, you're thirteen years old

772
00:48:45,840 --> 00:48:48,560
Speaker 1: and you have no family. In effect, she goes, it

773
00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:50,960
Speaker 1: was the first time I ever saw a real family.

774
00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:55,000
Speaker 1: It's the first time I learned what a family was

775
00:48:55,520 --> 00:48:58,160
Speaker 1: and how to take care of kids and all of that. So,

776
00:48:58,640 --> 00:49:01,080
Speaker 1: from my perspective, should be part of what we do,

777
00:49:01,120 --> 00:49:02,760
Speaker 1: and we used to do more of that in school,

778
00:49:03,080 --> 00:49:05,839
Speaker 1: and so I'd like to see us come back with

779
00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:07,719
Speaker 1: some more of that. You know, I know, how busy

780
00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:09,719
Speaker 1: are I just have two more points, and I want

781
00:49:09,719 --> 00:49:11,680
Speaker 1: to raise with you, Mayor, and I could literally talk

782
00:49:11,719 --> 00:49:14,920
Speaker 1: to you all afternoon, and I want to defend you

783
00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:19,280
Speaker 1: because Bill, you know, really was vegan for a couple

784
00:49:19,280 --> 00:49:21,560
Speaker 1: of years and then his doctor said you got to

785
00:49:21,600 --> 00:49:25,320
Speaker 1: add more protein, and he started eating fish. So he

786
00:49:25,480 --> 00:49:30,120
Speaker 1: is primarily you know, vegan like he will he'll eat salmon,

787
00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:33,680
Speaker 1: He'll eat whitefish and tuna, fish, things like that from

788
00:49:33,719 --> 00:49:37,120
Speaker 1: you know, time to time. So I'm coming to tell

789
00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:39,880
Speaker 1: you living with a vegan man, I get it. You

790
00:49:39,960 --> 00:49:42,839
Speaker 1: gotta have occasionally some you know, other protein. And this

791
00:49:42,920 --> 00:49:46,200
Speaker 1: is where we are right now. Well is such an energy.

792
00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:49,759
Speaker 1: You know, Unfortunately as some of the media where we

793
00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:54,600
Speaker 1: want to play gotcha instead of saying we got you,

794
00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:57,319
Speaker 1: you know, putting out the signal. I'm sure Bill would

795
00:49:57,360 --> 00:50:02,839
Speaker 1: tell you having a hopeful plant based lifestyle really helped us.

796
00:50:02,920 --> 00:50:05,359
Speaker 1: You know, he was dealing with his heart condition, I

797
00:50:05,400 --> 00:50:08,279
Speaker 1: was dealing with diabetes. You know, it just helps us.

798
00:50:08,520 --> 00:50:11,839
Speaker 1: And we just want to encourage other Americans to know

799
00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:14,880
Speaker 1: that you can do some things that, you know, to

800
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:18,879
Speaker 1: really deal with healthcare challenges. Some people want to are

801
00:50:18,920 --> 00:50:22,680
Speaker 1: afraid or upset that we're doing that, but we're focused on,

802
00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:24,759
Speaker 1: you know, just getting the message out and I want

803
00:50:24,760 --> 00:50:27,120
Speaker 1: to thank him for if what he has done, and

804
00:50:27,160 --> 00:50:30,239
Speaker 1: we have to stop trying to judge people who want

805
00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:33,400
Speaker 1: to inspire, and that's all we're doing. We're inspiring people,

806
00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:36,360
Speaker 1: and you are, and you even wrote a book called

807
00:50:36,400 --> 00:50:39,920
Speaker 1: Healthy at Last, a plant based approach to preventing and

808
00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:43,919
Speaker 1: reversing diabetes and other chronic illnesses. So I know you work,

809
00:50:44,920 --> 00:50:47,160
Speaker 1: you're you. You are like my husband and me. Your

810
00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:51,400
Speaker 1: your idea of fun is, you know, work at another

811
00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:55,200
Speaker 1: ten hours. But you know, as somebody who's done that

812
00:50:55,520 --> 00:50:58,040
Speaker 1: to being older than you, mayor for a long time,

813
00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:02,080
Speaker 1: you still have to kind of some fun, get off

814
00:51:02,120 --> 00:51:05,440
Speaker 1: of the you know, the fast track. So what do

815
00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:08,080
Speaker 1: you do for fun in the city? I mean, who

816
00:51:08,120 --> 00:51:14,919
Speaker 1: works harder than you? You know that, But but I do.

817
00:51:15,080 --> 00:51:19,000
Speaker 1: I have, I have some amazing downtime. But you and

818
00:51:19,080 --> 00:51:22,560
Speaker 1: I both know when your work becomes your passion and

819
00:51:22,600 --> 00:51:25,640
Speaker 1: your love is no longer work, you know, but I do.

820
00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:31,480
Speaker 1: I start my day with breathing exercises and meditation, ride

821
00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:34,280
Speaker 1: my bike a lot. When it's time for me to travel,

822
00:51:34,920 --> 00:51:37,200
Speaker 1: I'll get on the plane in a minute, and you know,

823
00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:40,080
Speaker 1: get out of here and just enjoy, you know. But

824
00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:43,880
Speaker 1: you're right, and I encourage any and everyone. You know,

825
00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:46,080
Speaker 1: you're no good to others. You're not going to yourself.

826
00:51:46,360 --> 00:51:48,480
Speaker 1: But I do a lot of self care, you know,

827
00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:52,120
Speaker 1: I laugh and joke. I'll tell you the minute. I'll

828
00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:55,960
Speaker 1: put some bubble baths and some rose tellers and incense

829
00:51:56,080 --> 00:52:00,560
Speaker 1: and sitting a hot tub in a minute. You are

830
00:52:00,600 --> 00:52:04,480
Speaker 1: a man after my own heart. Mayor. Nothing like a

831
00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:07,239
Speaker 1: hot bath. I mean, I can't believe I'm talking to

832
00:52:07,440 --> 00:52:11,759
Speaker 1: Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City about our bath practices.

833
00:52:14,239 --> 00:52:16,560
Speaker 1: I want to thank you. Thank you for your passion,

834
00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:20,400
Speaker 1: your devotion, your determination to lead this city that we

835
00:52:20,520 --> 00:52:23,480
Speaker 1: both love. Thank you, Mr Mayor, Thank you. Take care.

836
00:52:28,600 --> 00:52:33,400
Speaker 1: You can follow Eric Adams on Twitter at n YC Mayor.

837
00:52:34,520 --> 00:52:37,839
Speaker 1: Before I go. As a reminder, I'll be answering your

838
00:52:37,960 --> 00:52:41,759
Speaker 1: questions on a future episode of You and Me Both. Now.

839
00:52:41,800 --> 00:52:46,360
Speaker 1: Maybe you're wondering, after my conversation with Mayor Adams, what

840
00:52:46,520 --> 00:52:50,920
Speaker 1: I'm doing to, you know, get myself in fighting form.

841
00:52:51,040 --> 00:52:54,040
Speaker 1: Or maybe you're wondering what's happening around the world or

842
00:52:54,280 --> 00:52:57,400
Speaker 1: right here at home in our own cities and towns.

843
00:52:58,080 --> 00:53:01,200
Speaker 1: Whatever your question might be, just write to You and

844
00:53:01,320 --> 00:53:05,400
Speaker 1: Me Both pod at gmail dot com, or you can

845
00:53:05,480 --> 00:53:09,200
Speaker 1: leave a voice message at two oh two seven eight

846
00:53:09,239 --> 00:53:14,240
Speaker 1: oh seven five one. Who knows, I might just answer

847
00:53:14,360 --> 00:53:20,239
Speaker 1: your question on the show You and Me Both is

848
00:53:20,280 --> 00:53:24,200
Speaker 1: brought to you by I Heart Radio. We're produced by

849
00:53:24,280 --> 00:53:28,920
Speaker 1: Julie Subran, Kathleen Russo and Rob Russo, with help from

850
00:53:29,200 --> 00:53:35,440
Speaker 1: Huma Aberdeen, Oscar Flores, Lindsay Hoffman, Brianna Johnson, Nick Merrill,

851
00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:42,400
Speaker 1: Laura Olan, Lona Velmorrow and Benita Zaman. Our engineer is

852
00:53:42,520 --> 00:53:47,839
Speaker 1: Zack McNeice and original music is by Forest Gray. If

853
00:53:47,880 --> 00:53:50,879
Speaker 1: you like you and Me both, please tell someone else

854
00:53:50,920 --> 00:53:54,200
Speaker 1: about it. And if you're not already a subscriber, what

855
00:53:54,280 --> 00:53:57,480
Speaker 1: are you waiting for? You can subscribe to You and

856
00:53:57,560 --> 00:54:01,640
Speaker 1: Me Both on the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

857
00:54:01,760 --> 00:54:06,239
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening, take

858
00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:09,080
Speaker 1: care of yourself and each other, and we'll be back

859
00:54:09,239 --> 00:54:09,799
Speaker 1: next week