Universal Bus Stop Seating, Anti-Semitic Display At Governor’s Island, On 1010 Wins, NYPD Funding, Vaccine-Terminated Employees Return, Line-Of-Duty Firefighter, Hear From the Mayor, Trip To Israel, Supporting Immigrant PS Student: Mayor Adams
Universal Bus Stop Seating, Anti-Semitic Display At Governor’s Island, On 1010 Wins, NYPD Funding, Vaccine-Terminated Employees Return, Line-Of-Duty Firefighter, Hear From the Mayor, Trip To Israel, Supporting Immigrant PS Student: Mayor Adams
Editor’s note: Readers can see last week’s rundown by the Mayor here, and his op-ed about schools safety is here.
MAYOR ADAMS INVESTS $40 MILLION FOR UNIVERSAL SEATING, INSTALLING SEATING AT EVERY BUS STOP IN NEW YORK CITY
Bus Stop Seating Will Make Transportation More Accessible for All New Yorkers, Especially Older Adults and People with Disabilities
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced a $40 million investment to expand seating at the approximately 8,750 eligible bus stops — those on public property with sufficient sidewalk or island space — across the five boroughs that currently lack seating. Bus stop seating makes transportation more accessible for all New Yorkers, especially older adults, parents with young children, and people with disabilities. Beginning in November, seating will be installed, where feasible, at 875 bus stops every year over the next 10 years, while maintaining existing seating, to deliver monumental upgrades to bus stops across the five boroughs and provide universal bus stop seating to New Yorkers.
“To make New York City the best place to raise a family, and grow old in we have to take care of the big things and the small things,” said Mayor Adams “This $40 million investment will ensure that every eligible bus stop across the five boroughs that lacks seating will be fitted, every year over the next 10 years, with either a bench or a leaning bar. I am proud that this effort will give New Yorkers a break and transform the bus-riding experience for thousands of people.
“In the hustle and bustle of the greatest city on earth, sometimes there’s no better feeling than resting on a city bench while New York keeps moving around you,” said DOT Commissioner Rodriguez. “For many New Yorkers, having a place to sit at the bus stop is more than just a matter of comfort, it’s a matter of whether they can take the bus at all. With more than 15,000 bus stops used by 1.4 million people every day, many of whom are seniors and people with disabilities, there has never been a better time to step up so New Yorkers can sit down.”
Nearly two-thirds of eligible bus stops currently do not have seating while passengers wait for buses to arrive. To date, seating elements are installed at more than 5,000 bus stops across the city. DOT inspects and maintains seating at over 2,600 locations throughout the five boroughs on sidewalks and at plazas.
“Bus stop seating is essential to safe transit for our city’s families. As the bus network is a vital mode of accessible transportation for us, we are excited that the city has secured funding to expand bus stop seating across all five boroughs,” said Christine Serdjenian Yearwood, founder and CEO, UP-STAND. “Additional bus stop seating will decrease children’s exposure to moving traffic and enable pregnant and disabled riders the respite they need to travel safely.”
“Bus riders deserve a seat at the table and a seat at every bus stop,” said Jolyse Race, senior organizer, Riders Alliance. “Bus riders work the jobs that make New York possible, and we have earned the respect of a safe, comfortable place to wait for service. Thanks to the Department of Transportation for holding the line on existing seating and making this new investment, an important step toward universal seating for millions of New Yorkers who take the bus.”
While the introduction of more comfortable and efficient bus seating has enhanced the commuter experience, it is equally promising to note that these improvements have contributed to a significant decrease in traffic fatalities, reflecting broader strides toward safer roadways for all. The Safe Streets for Seniors initiative evaluates how older New Yorkers interact with the city’s streets — studying crash data, conducting outreach, and developing and implementing mitigation measures to improve the safety of seniors and other pedestrians, as well as all road users, as part of New York City’s Vision Zero initiative.
According to the recently released Mayor’s Management Report, traffic fatalities decreased 24 percent and were down across nearly all categories in Fiscal Year 2025 — this includes fatalities related to motorized two-wheelers, which decreased by 39 percent from 99 to 60; motor vehicle occupants, which saw a 31 percent decrease from 54 to 37; and pedestrians, which decreased by 8 percent from 119 to 110 — making Fiscal Year 2025 one of the best years for Vision Zero’s goals in recent history.
Mayor Eric Adams delivers remarks at Veterans Day Breakfast. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wednesday, November 5, 2025. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
TRANSCRIPT: MAYOR ADAMS DELIVERS AN ADDRESS TO NEW YORKERS
Mayor Eric Adams: My fellow New Yorkers, I’m here today to talk to you about an issue that has been weighing on my heart in a heavy way. The unleashed hate that has spread throughout our city, around this country, and across the globe. We’re not the first generation that has to deal with pervasive hate. History has shown us what happens when it is allowed to fester and grow, when it evolves from the individual actions of some to major entities accepting it in society.
There are many examples of the institutionalization of hate. As an African American, it goes without saying that slavery will always remind us of how institutions normalize their horrors of keeping people in bondage.
But this experience is not unique to African Americans. Early arrivals to these countries, like Irish, Italian, Hispanic, and Chinese communities, to name just a few, experienced hatred that was supported by government institutions. Symbols and images like these were used to reinforce negative stereotypes and give reasons to target groups.
Understanding these historical moments has caused me to have deep concerns over what is playing out across our city and country, particularly when it comes to antisemitism. Here at home this past weekend, a so-called art installation was spotted on Governor’s Island. It included paintings that praised the terrorist organization Hamas and displayed disturbing signs that paraded anti-Israel profanity.
Let me show you some of this hate-filled art. Putting a Jewish star on the robe of a Klansman, equating Zionism with Nazism and fascism, stating that you are a Hamas lover, and saying that Israel’s very existence is beyond the pale. Let me be very clear. This right here is beyond the pale.
As questions about where the art came from started to pour in, a shocking number of people were afraid to call this out for what it is. But I am not one of those people. This was a vile, antisemitic exhibit. The art and the artists were unsanctioned by Governor’s Island, and thankfully the display was removed within hours of going up. But I share this story because it reveals the dark underbelly of hate, and it exposes just how deep hate has seeped into our institutions, as installations like this somehow go up in the first place.
It is also a stark reminder of what happens when ignorance and bigotry combine. This incident disturbs me, and it should disturb anyone with a conscience. I’ve talked a lot about how we’ve seen these incidents erode the fabric of cities across the globe, but in New York City, we must never tolerate this type of prejudice. We cannot pretend this exhibit is a normal expression of artistic freedom, because art is not an excuse for hate. Activism is not an excuse for antisemitism or hate.
And this installation was a cover story for the oldest form of hate. It’s been said that antisemitism is a virus that mutates. It comes back in different forms and finds new ways to hide in plain sight. I want to be clear that disagreeing with the policies of Israel’s government does not make someone antisemitic, but to openly praise Hamas at an exhibit in a government facility sends a message of institutionalizing hatred.
Hamas is a terrorist organization that murders gay people, Jews, and Christians, among many other groups. Like so many other cultures before, we are now watching as antisemitism is institutionalized right before our very eyes.
History shows us how hatred begins on the fringes. It starts small, with a few artists trying to make a statement, with a few exhibits that go unnoticed by our leaders and institutions, with a few institutions that accept the hate and embed it into our culture.
Before we know it, hate moves to the mainstream, and once it is in the mainstream, it becomes much harder to mobilize against. We saw that with Apartheid. We saw that with the Holocaust. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t see seeds of it planted within our own city government.
Antisemitism has sadly become the end thing. With the help of social media, we are watching it infect our young people. With no knowledge of history, they have devolved antisemitic slogans and soundbites. We are seeing our college campuses and public schools embrace this energy and hate. Over the course of my 40-year career in public service, I have fought against all forms of hate, and over the last four years, I’ve worked to weed it out wherever I see it.
As borough president, I created Breaking Bread, Building Bonds to bring together people of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and more to do something crazy, talk with one another. As I have always stated, we must bring down the temperature. Too many across this country are ready to go to war with one another, to start at a place of disagreement, to believe in only the worst of each other. I know we can change that. I know that we can move forward with love and acceptance, and I know that it’s not too late for New York.
We will never surrender our city to hate, or to those who want to say they want to globalize the intifada, or to choose and believe and not refuse to condemn it, because it is literally a phrase that means death to Jews all over the world.
Today, a whopping 57 percent of hate crimes in New York City target Jews. Just this week, a man was attacked in Midtown for wearing a yarmulke, so we will not ignore that antisemitism is on the rise, and we will not sit quietly as the fire of prejudice smolders in the background.
If this was a stat for any group we would respond accordingly. People might ask, you’re not Jewish, so why should antisemitism concern you? To that question, I often tell the stories of the Jewish Americans who stood with Black people in other communities when racism and bigotry might not have directly concerned them.
I often tell the story of Julius Rosenwald, an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of a Jewish immigrant from Germany. Julius donated tens of millions of dollars towards the construction of 5,000 schools for African American children in the South when Black people did not have quality schools due to segregation. I often speak about how when Black Americans fought for civil rights in the 50s and 60s, the Jewish community marched with us from Selma to the Senate.
So again, to the question, why should antisemitism concern me, I answer, it concerns all of us. Today, as antisemitism spreads like a cancer across our city and our country, we must do the same for our Jewish brothers and sisters as they did for us. And let me be very clear, hate of any form should concern us all, whether we’re talking about antisemitism or racism, Islamophobia or homophobia, anti-Asian hate or any form of bigotry. Because when we are silent in the face of hatred, hate will spread.
And I will stop at nothing to raise my voice. As long as I have served this city, I have always been a man who never cowered, who never wavered out of fear of the political course, and who remained steadfast in the commitment to rise up against prejudice. No matter where I served, from the streets of the 88th precinct to Albany, Borough Hall to City Hall and beyond, this will always be my fight.
Your pain has always been my pain, what I have done throughout my years, and especially since the terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7th, standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm with this community. I did it not because I’m a public servant. I did it because of what I want for my family, my son, and for our city, and what I want for your children and theirs. And that is a New York where every group, every faith, and every person can grow and thrive in safety and in prosperity. Thank you. May God bless you, your families, and our city.
Deputy Mayor Jeff Roth joins MSG group to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Radio City Rockettes with a temporary street renaming. Radio City Music Hall, Manhattan. Friday, November 7, 2025. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
TRANSCRIPT: MAYOR ADAMS CALLS IN FOR LIVE INTERVIEW ON 1010 WINS
Lori Madden: Mr. Mayor, are you there?
Mayor Eric Adams: Yes, I am. How are you?
Madden: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mayor Adams on the phone with us. Mr. Mayor, I don’t know if you just heard our Mary-Lyn Buckley reporting from Bushwick and the widespread damage there.
Store owners asking for help from the city. They say some of these catch basins weren’t cleared out. It caused this. The rain came down so quickly this afternoon. Is the city going to help? What are you going to do?
Mayor Adams: Yes, as we always do during storms of this magnitude and the catch basins, we’ve sent a team out throughout the city. And we also ask our store owners and residents to also play a role in cleaning the basins.
But when you look at the amount of water that was coming down, our sewer systems are just not built to handle that. It was a steady rain throughout, in particular areas you saw bursts of heavy rain in specific locations. The heaviest part of the storm has mostly passed us by. We’re going to see rain throughout the night, but not at that magnitude. And by tomorrow, we’re going to see just high winds and not rain of this level.
Madden: Mr. Mayor, we knew we were going to have heavy rain today. Were the catch basins not cleaned out? Did city agencies not prepare for this properly?
Mayor Adams: Yes, we were aware that rain was coming of a heavy level. We were expecting a nor’easter and the team, they know exactly what to do during this time.
The forecast called for one to two inches of rain between two and 10 p.m. with high winds. But when you look at what happened on one storm cell that largely fell in a 10-minute period, that just overwhelmed the sewer system. This was made worse by fall foliage on the ground that clogged our basins.
Madden: But why weren’t these basins cleared yesterday?
Mayor Adams: Think about it for a moment. We do it throughout the entire city in anticipation. We put crews out there to make sure they are clean. And look at where some of the heavy rain and where the flooding took place, Fulton Street.
I’ve been living in Brooklyn for almost 30 years. I’ve never witnessed Fulton Street flooded at the level that we witnessed today. And like I’ve said, high winds that blew a lot of leaves. So, even if you clean the basins, when you have high winds that blow leaves off the trees and clog basins, this is the result of that.
Madden: Mr. Mayor, you brought up Fulton Street. We have seen the video. It’s not just Fulton Street, the Clearview, the LIE, the FDR Drive. Do you know of any rescue operations with vehicles trying to get through this water?
Mayor Adams: None is reported at this time. It was brought to my attention earlier, during a briefing, that we had an incident in Brooklyn where there was a flooded basement that required a level of rescue. And we’re getting an update on the victim at this time.
Madden: And do you know that person’s condition? Do you know of any injuries because of the storm?
Mayor Adams: It’s just coming through. You’re the first to hear it on [1010 WINS]. And as I find out more, we will let it be known.
Madden: And going forward, as we look into the evening, a lot of these neighborhoods are now cleaning up. Any message to New Yorkers? You just, again, heard from these people in Bushwick. What a mess they have. Anything you’d like to say to them as we clean up from this mess?
Mayor Adams: The city is going to be there with you. Our teams are out for rescues. We have FDNY, NYPD, and DEP is utilizing all of their resources as well. And also our emergency management team is going to also make sure that we deploy the personnel that’s needed. So, it’s a full team effort. And as well as everyday New Yorkers doing what we do best, responding to these conditions.
Mother Nature is still in charge. And we have to respond as these storms take place. But it’s a reminder to us that global warming is real. And when you see what’s on Bushwick and on Fulton Street, it shows you these are new challenges that we are facing.
Madden: Okay. Mayor Eric Adams, thank you very much for joining us this afternoon. And again, we know of at least one rescue because of this storm.
Panama flag raising. Bowling Green, Manhattan. Monday, November 10, 2025. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR 5,000 NEW NYPD OFFICERS IN NOVEMBER PLAN, BRINGING UNIFORM HEADCOUNT UP TO 40,000 BY FISCAL YEAR 2029
NYPD Uniform Headcount Will Be at Highest Level in 20 Years
Additional Officers Will Build on Adams Administration’s Success in Driving Down Crime to Historic Lows, Achieving Mission to Make New York City Safer
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced a new investment in the upcoming November 2025 Financial Plan Update that will increase the uniformed headcount of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) by 5,000 officers, increasing the total number of officers to 40,000 by Fiscal Year (FY) 2029 — the highest level in 20 years. Mayor Adams is making an investment of $17.8 million in the upcoming fiscal year that will increase to $315.8 million by FY 2029 to support the phased-in hiring of the additional 5,000 officers by July 2028.
The new phase-in will begin in July 2026 with 300 officers, growing to 2,500 in July 2027, and increasing to 5,000 annually in July 2028. At full strength, NYPD will be authorized to put approximately 40,000 officers on the street to protect New Yorkers. Mayor Adams previously expanded eligibility requirements and continued funding that put the city on the path to 35,000 uniformed NYPD officers by the fall 2026. Additionally, this past August, Mayor Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch announced the hiring of nearly 1,100 police officer recruits, marking the largest class of officers sworn in by the NYPD since January 2016. Including the August class, already this year, the NYPD has hired 2,911 recruits — the highest number since 2006 — with another class still scheduled for this year.
“Our administration has always been guided by the belief that public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity, and over the last four years — as we’ve driven crime down to record lows and presided over a resurgence in New York City from the COVID-19 pandemic — we’ve proven that the price for our safety is well worth it,” said Mayor Adams. “The vast majority of New Yorkers want more police officers on their streets and in their subways, and that is what we are delivering by adding these 5,000 new officers. With our administration’s investment, we are, once again, using our strong fiscal management to put investments where our values are. Now, New York City will be on a path to reach 40,000 police officers in the next three years — the highest number of police officers in 20 years. I am so proud of the work we have done to keep New Yorkers safe, and I am grateful to the brave men and women of the NYPD who help us get there each and every day.”
Today’s investment builds on successful efforts by the Adams administration to drive down crime. Since day one, the Adams administration has prioritized public safety initiatives to stop the scourge of gun violence and keep 8.5 million New Yorkers safe. More than 24,300 illegal firearms have been removed from city streets since January 2022, including over 4,500 this year alone. Shootings have decreased by 54 percent citywide since before Mayor Adams came into office, and in September 2025, major crimes dropped by 3.8 percent.
Additionally, thanks to the Adams administration’s proactive public safety efforts, shooting incidents and shooting victims are at their lowest levels in the city’s recorded history. Citywide shooting incidents are down more than 20 percent in the first nine months of 2025, their lowest levels ever, shattering the previous record low set in 2018 by 20 fewer incidents; and they are down nearly 16 percent for the quarter, marking the fewest number of shootings in any third quarter in recorded history. Shooting victims are also down 19 percent this year, tied for their lowest levels ever. And they were down more than 11 percent last quarter, the second best third quarter in recorded history.
Below ground, the NYPD is delivering on public safety, as well. The city recently celebrated the safest third quarter ever on subways this year, including all-time lows in transit for the months of July, August, and September, excluding the pandemic years. These record-low numbers helped drive the city’s seventh straight quarter of declines in major crime, which has consistently decreased every quarter since January 2024. Finally, to address the national increase in domestic violence incidents, Mayor Adams and Commissioner Tisch, earlier this month, announced the creation of the NYPD’s Domestic Violence Unit — the largest unit of its kind in the country that will allow the NYPD to enhance how it investigates domestic violence incidents and train officers while strengthening support for survivors.
Today’s announcement follows Mayor Adams’ history of strong fiscal management, including the on-time, balanced, and fiscally responsible $115.9 billion Adopted Budget for FY 2026, which built on the FY 2026 Executive Budget, often called the “Best Budget Ever.” The Executive Budget doubled down on Mayor Adams’ commitment to make New York City the best place to raise a family by, among other things, investing in “After-School for All,” a $755-million plan to deliver universal after-school programming to families of children in kindergarten through eighth grade; baselining funding for 3-K citywide expansion and special education pre-K to build on the administration’s work to dramatically expand access to early childhood education; investing over $400 million to fully fund the transformation of Fifth Avenue in Manhattan into a world-class, pedestrian-centered boulevard; and revitalizing “The Arches,” the public space on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The FY 2026 Adopted Budget was also the first to implement Mayor Adams’ landmark “Axe the Tax for the Working Class” plan, which abolishes and cuts New York City’s personal income tax for filers with dependents living at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty line. Because of this plan, which the Adams administration successfully fought to pass in Albany this budget cycle, $63 million will go back into the pockets of over 582,000 low-income New York filers, including their dependents, helping make New York City more affordable for working-class families.
Panama flag raising. Bowling Green, Manhattan. Monday, November 10, 2025. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
MAYOR ADAMS OFFERS FORMER EMPLOYEES WHO WERE TERMINATED FOR REFUSING COVID VACCINE SECOND OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN TO CITY EMPLOYMENT
Offer Includes Right to Return to Former Title and Salary Without Retroactive Compensation for Time Not Served
Under Mayor Adams’ Leadership, City Has Fully Recovered From COVID-19 Pandemic, New Policy Reflects Changed Reality
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the city will offer employees terminated for failing to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate — first issued in 2021 under the previous mayoral administration — a second opportunity to return to city service in their former civil service titles and at their former salaries. This policy will apply to terminated employees in all mayoral agencies, at New York City Public Schools, and at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Approximately 2,900 terminated employees will be offered the opportunity to return to their same title at the same rate of pay for which that title is currently paid, but without any credit for the time they did not serve the city, and with no right to backpay. Under Mayor Adams’ leadership, New York City has fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic with all-time high record levels of jobs, small businesses, and more, as well as the second-highest number of tourists in city history last year.
“The policies put in place before we came into office helped us weather additional waves of COVID, and once coupled with the policies our administration put in place over the first months of our term, we helped New York City rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic with a record number of jobs, record number of small businesses, near record tourism numbers, and so much more. But we recognize that we are in a different place today than we were nearly four years ago, and our policies should match the realities of the times,” said Mayor Adams. “That’s why we are updating our policies to reflect our new health and economic reality, as we look forward to welcoming back many of our former employees to their former positions. Ensuring New York City has the strongest workforce possible will continue to make our city safer, more affordable, and the best place to raise a family.”
“As we surpass five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to reevaluate policies to reflect current realities,” said New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Louis A. Molina. “We are committed to working with agencies to offer employment opportunities for employees terminated for failing to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”
In 2023, the Adams administration had previously offered former employees who were terminated for not taking the COVID-19 vaccine the opportunity to be reinstated, resulting in approximately 450 terminated former employees returning to work. This new policy will, once again, specifically allow eligible employees who were terminated for not being vaccinated the option to return to city service, pursuant to a proposed rule change by DCAS, subject to a public hearing and approval by the New York state Civil Service Commission. Non-competitive employees are eligible to return to city employment without any change to existing civil service rules. New York City Public Schools school-based staff are also eligible to return to employment without a change in rules.
Former employees who require a physical exam, fitness test, or other training or examination requirements, including certification, to return to their former position will still be subject to such requirements as a condition of reinstatement. In addition, there will be a limited background review of subsequent history. All former permanent competitive and labor class, non-competitive, or exempt employees who were terminated and are interested in returning to city service must contact the head of human resources at their former agency by December 5, 2025. Employees terminated from New York City Public Schools should contact [email protected], and employees terminated from NYCHA should contact [email protected].
New York City Mayor Eric Adams marches in New York City Veteran’s Day Parade on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
TRANSCRIPT: MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES THE LINE OF DUTY DEATH OF FIREFIGHTER PATRICK D. BRADY
Mayor Eric Adams: We are here to update all New Yorkers of a death of a member of the Fire Department that took place this evening. Firefighter Patrick Brady was responding to the scene of a fire on Kings Highway in Brooklyn when he tragically passed away. He gave his life protecting the city we all love. There is no sacrifice that is more selfless than the actions that took place this evening.
I would like to first express my deepest sympathy for Ms. Brady, his wife, and the Brady family. Hearts go out to Kara, his brothers Jimmy and Brian, his cousin Pete, and Uncle Pete who are all either active or retired firefighters. This family is a firefighter family, they have been dedicated to protecting the lives of New Yorkers and we will all cherish Patrick’s memory. I know that he comes from a strong lineage of firefighters and we realize how painful this is for the family and for the people of this city.
Bradys are a family who live the road’s duty and sacrifice, who know what it’s like to rush towards danger not away from it. I just visited his wife and his relatives and his brothers and I want to let you know that we realize this great sacrifice he made. It takes courage to put on that uniform, to put your life at risk for others to answer the call.
There’s a reason we call them New York’s Bravest and Patrick Brady personified that bravery.
Today’s incident underlines the danger that our fearless members of the FDNY face every single day. On behalf of the entire City of New York, I want to thank them for their service, their courage and their commitment to the city. Our hearts are heavy with this loss. The city is here for you in grief and comfort now and always. I’m going to pass it over to our first deputy commissioner.
First Deputy Commissioner Mark Guerra, Fire Department: First Deputy Fire Commissioner Mark Guerra. Good evening. Tonight, the FDNY lost Firefighter Patrick Brady. Firefighter Brady died in a fire in Brownsville, Brooklyn, carrying out the greatest traditions of the FDNY. It is the second line of duty death that we have suffered in the last two weeks.
He comes from a great Fire Department family. He’s a Belle Harbor resident in the Rockaway section of Queens. I ask you to keep in mind his entire family, the FDNY family, and very importantly, the officers and members of the companies that he was at work with tonight when he lost his life protecting the citizens of the City of New York. Thank you. I’d now like to turn it over to Chief of Department John Esposito.
John Esposito, Chief of Department, Fire Department: Good evening. I’m Chief of Department John Esposito. This is a very sad day for the New York City Fire Department and the City of New York. Our firefighters are out there day and night protecting the people of the city.
Patrick Brady was one of them, and he was an outstanding firefighter. His loss, it’s a tremendous loss, obviously, for his fire company, the Fire Department, and the city as a whole. Please pray for Patrick Brady’s family. Thank you. And now Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, Kaz Daughtry.
Kaz Daughtry, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety: Tonight our city mourns the loss of one of its heroes, Firefighter Patrick Brady. Patrick Brady gave his life doing what firefighters do every single day. Running towards danger so nobody else has to. This was a five-alarm fire, a five-alarm blaze in Brooklyn. Some might call it a routine response, but his loss is a stark reminder that there is no such thing as a routine call in this line of work. Every response carries a risk, and every member of the FDNY answers that call with courage every single day.
Patrick came from a proud family, a firefighter family. His service, sacrifice, and bravery run deep in his blood. Tonight the entire city stands with the Brady family and the entire FDNY family. We will never forget Patrick’s bravery, his commitment to protecting others, and the ultimate sacrifice he made for this city. To every firefighter, EMT, and every first responder, we say thank you. You put your lives on the line for New Yorkers every day, and this city will always have your back. Thank you.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams marches in New York City Veteran’s Day Parade on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
TRANSCRIPT: MAYOR ADAMS HOSTS “HEAR FROM THE MAYOR” RADIO SHOW ON WBLS 107.5 FM
Gary Byrd: Well, as you know, each and every [second] Sunday of the month, WBLS has been proud to welcome the 110th mayor of New York City, second mayor of color, and the first hip-hop mayor in the city’s history, we [were] talking about him just a few minutes ago. Well it’s time to Hear from the Mayor, Mayor Eric Adams joins us this morning from 107.5 WBLS. Mr. Mayor, good morning.
Mayor Eric Adams: Hey Gary, how are you to all of the listeners? It’s great to be on this Sunday and I want to welcome you back to another episode of Hear from the Mayor. I’m your Mayor Eric Adams and really before we get started, I just want to take a moment to honor Firefighter Patrick Brady. He was responding to the scene of a fire on Kings Highway in Brooklyn last night and tragically passed away in the line of duty. Hearts go out to Patrick’s family, his wife, his brothers and uncles who are also firefighters.
The Brady family is a well-known firefighter community, and so we want to give them our deep condolences. He’s [given] his life to protect this city that we all love. And so today, we want to talk about things that I love around technology. And if this is your first time tuning in, really the show is just to hear from me and to interact in a dialogue. Listeners should give me a call and hear directly from me at (212) 545-1075.
You can also sign up to hear more from me by visiting nyc.gov/HearFromEric. Today’s guest is really, you know, one of my favorite commissioners. My brother, Matt Fraser is over at the Office of Technology. He’s the youngest and I believe the first person of color to hold that position. and what you have done has brought a level of innovation that’s unbelievable. You know, he’s my chief technology officer and we’re gonna talk about something that he introduced that really marriages public safety.
But I want to, before we get off the air, to talk about some of the other initiatives that you have brought as well, you know, as you’re rocking your God Speed hat. So, Matt, EAS, the acronym for Emergency Alert System, directly integrates New York City Public Schools with New York City 911 services and is capable of initiating 911 response in under 10 seconds. Give me the whole concept behind EAS.
Matthew Fraser, Chief Technology Officer, New York City Office of Technology and Innovation: Yeah, so when we look at what happened, not just in New York City, what we saw on Park Avenue, what we saw across the global landscape, and what we see in terms of active shooter situations. Parents that have kids that are in school, they want to know that their students, their kids’ safety is paramount. They want to make sure that we provide the fastest support possible.
And the emergency alert system gives us the capability of doing that. Now, with the system, it’s more than just being able to put in a call into 911. It’s giving those that respond the contacts necessary to know where to respond to. So imagine being a student in a school and the school has you know a couple dozen classrooms, someone comes in, and then something occurs, when a teacher hits a button it gives the capability for 911 to know that there’s an incident happening in the school.
At the same time it gives school safety– which is located in the school the ability to know that something is occurring in a specific classroom and it also gives the school administration the capability of knowing where something is happening so it gives them a better capability of who to move kids how to lock down classrooms to minimize any impact that it could have.
Mayor Adams: You know it’s unfortunate we even have to have this conversation about how to respond to active shooters but they’re real. We saw what happened at 345 Park Avenue. We see what’s playing out in schools across the country. Knock on wood we have not had a mass shooting inside our schools but it’s better to be proactive than just reactive and so if I understand you correctly when the button is hit it would identify and assist responding personnel and school personnel to move children to an area of safety.
Fraser: Exactly, exactly. So when someone approaches the school and being able to have the school safety agent or someone that’s in the school administration know where in the school the incident is occurring, not just that something’s happening but the where is very important. And minimize times to respond to things that are actually happening, and if something is moving through the school, having the capability of tracking where it’s moving to.
So I think it’s one of those things that it’s an unfortunate circumstance that it’s something that we have to look at, but it’s a reality. And it’s one of those things that we’re the first school system in the nation, the first city in the nation to adapt this type of technology, and it will blaze the trail for many others to do the same.
Mayor Adams: How many schools are we starting out with?
Fraser: So we’re getting out into eight schools at this moment, and then we’re gonna expand much further beyond that. But right now, it’s to make sure that the first phase of the rollout was to prove the concept works out, and we’re at that phase, and the next look is expanding beyond that.
Mayor Adams: And our students must not only be safe, but they have to feel safe, and this technology is a way to do it. Is it a possibility that the next administration could expand this out to city buildings because we have many cases of shootings in city buildings, post offices. I mean, there’s a whole terminology of going postal because of that. What are your thoughts on that?
Fraser: So I think that this sets the foundation at which point that the city could expand and take it further. Again, safety is the most important thing, making sure that people that enter buildings leave those buildings safely. And in the event that something happens, giving responders the capability in real time to get to the areas where it’s happening to minimize impact to human life. And I can’t stress that enough.
Mayor Adams: I want to roll, I want to go into some of the other stuff you’ve done. You know, you’re sort of behind the scenes, but people don’t realize how you changed the game [by] using technology in this city. Let’s talk about number one, the Chromebooks.
Fraser: Yeah.
Mayor Adams: Give me an overview of that.
Fraser: Yeah, so when we stepped into office in 2022 and we came in, one of the first things that we tackled in terms of challenges was cybersecurity. Beyond cybersecurity, we looked at equity and access. And I was alarmed to see that we had a significant portion of those that lived in public housing that didn’t have access to basic things like broadband.
And then what frightened me a little bit more was looking at the fact that there are many students that participate in the school system that don’t have access to devices. So in this digital age where artificial intelligence is getting wings and moving at the speed of light, having those that participate in our school system have access to the basics, connectivity and devices, is one of those things that it shouldn’t be an option, it’s a necessity and we should treat it as such.
That’s why when we launched a program to deploy Chromebooks, we got about 350,000 Chromebooks. We gave it to New York City Public Schools to distribute, but in addition to that they already had about 400,000 devices in hand. So if you look at the numbers what we’re basically doing is we’re creating the foundation so that we can have anyone that participates in the public school system have a device with a connection so that schooling of the education experience can extend beyond the classroom and they can take it home.
Mayor Adams: Excellent, and you know you touched on NYCHA. You did something else that was really innovative with high-speed broadband. Can you elaborate on that as well?
Fraser: Yeah, so when we came in in ‘22, one of the things that we saw was that over 50 percent of the people that lived in public housing didn’t have access to broadband, which was, you know, a travesty, especially considering that we came in this administration off the heels of COVID. So what I like to tell people is imagine being a kid that got sent home to a unit in public housing, you got given a device, but you had no way to use that.
Now you have a significant amount of over a two-year span, there’s learning loss, there’s social dejection, because now you don’t have a way to maintain peership with your friends, because most of the folks that went home at that time, they had Chromebooks, iPads, they were playing Roblox, and like that, that was more than just an education tool with social peership. So when we saw that, there was a program when we came in called the Internet Master Plan. It was funded for $157 million, with a total projected cost of about $2 billion.
And across a multi-year span, they were going to provide broadband to public housing. But when we came in, out of that $157 million, not a single dollar had been spent and not a single connection had been issued. So from within one year of being in office, we brought all the cable providers together, Verizon, Altice, Charter Communications. We said, you guys have access to infrastructure. We have people that need it, and they need it now.
And within one year of being in office, We launched a program, Big Apple Connect, under your leadership, and we were able to give every unit in public housing free access to broadband and basic TV. So the cool thing about that is now when someone enters public housing, they get access to those resources like they get access to running water, heat and hot water.
Mayor Adams: Yeah, because access to the internet is a service that is just as important as heat and hot water and electricity. And you know, what’s interesting is that this free access allows children to go online when you’re doing remote learning, parents doing telemedicine. I saw that too when I was borough president that far too many NYCHA residents did not have access to this. And it fit into our overall plan. Many people talk about affordability, but these are ways that are within the power of the mayor to make life more affordable.
If you’re a NYCHA resident, now we’re going to expand into Section 8 housing. That’s $159, $160 a month you are no longer paying out of your pocket. That is part of the $30 billion we put back in the pocket of working class people, such as no income tax for low-income New Yorkers, paying off college tuition for our foster care children, dropping the cost of childcare.
When you start adding up how much money we put in the pockets of people, It’s not just talking about affordability, it’s making them affordable. But you also expanded a whole program around digital literacy training for our seniors. Can you talk about that a bit?
Fraser: Yeah, so one of the things that we want to ensure is that as we continue to connect New Yorkers [that] no one got left behind. So building a set of programs so that those that were interested in increasing their skill sets using technology, could do that from the comfort of their home. So we have both programs that are available online where someone can take it at their own pace or they can go to one of our digital centers and they can pick up those programs and get skills.
And what that really does is it gives people the capability to see what’s beyond what they’re used to. When you look at today’s market space and you look at the job and employment space, technology is an underpinning or a significant part of how those sectors are underpinned. And being able to teach people how to leverage these things that they’re now being connected to is super important.
The way I like to think about it is if you look at broadband and you look at technology, you know the old proverb, you give a person a fish, they’ll eat for a day, you teach them how to fish, they’ll eat for a lifetime. Broadband is like access to water. A device is like access to a fishing pole. And skills training is like teaching them how to use that fishing pole to feed themselves. So the more that we can invest in that, not just into our seniors, but everywhere along the journey, the better that we will be as New Yorkers.
Mayor Adams: Well said and as we look towards the future on using technology to allow people to access the goods and services of the government is so important when we think about that and you know you have really just changed the game. When I came into office one of the things that Mayor de Blasio shared with me was [that] the biggest threat was cyber security. It was a real concern. When people hear about cyber security, they think it’s esoteric, “Okay, that’s nothing to do with me,” but it does. And, you know, you have really heartened many of our soft locations. Tell us what you have done around cybersecurity.
Fraser: Yeah, so for the first time in February ‘22, this is like one month since we’ve been in office, talk about moving at lightning pace. We created the Joint Security Operations Center. So for those of you that don’t know, in New York City, when we look at what we look like from a cybersecurity perspective, we see, on average, about 100 billion cyber security threats per week. And that number is 100 billion. And in order to combat that, we have a security operations center in New York City Cyber Command that runs 24/7 to monitor those types of threats to see how we respond to it.
In February of ‘22, one of the things that we did that took that to the next level is we created a partnership between [the] New York State [and] federal government in the private sector so that we could start to combat cyber security incidents as a collective versus doing it individually. So now the Joint Security Operations Center in real time has resources that are working 24/7 from the state, the federal government, and the city all working towards the same mission of keeping us safe.
Mayor Adams: And the goal is to do what? What is our end result? What would we like to accomplish?
Fraser: So our goal across the board is to minimize as many cybersecurity incidents as we can and also use the skills and the capabilities that we’ve built to reduce the amount of impacts that it has to the critical infrastructure sectors or our critical partners. If you think about what most people consider to be critical, 90 percent of it lives outside of what the government controls.
So by creating this cooperation that brings all levels of government together and brings the private sector and it makes our hospitals safer, our financial institutions better, more safe, and the things that people depend on like their grocery stores and things along that lines, it gives them the capability to partner with someone that has the resources that can help them.
Mayor Adams: You know, you don’t appreciate things until they actually break and you’re preventing that breaking from happening. Speaking of break, we got to go on a break, you know, so we’ll talk with Brother Matt Fraser, chief technology officer on the other side of the break and we look forward to continuing this conversation and again you can reach me (212) 545-1075.
Byrd: It’s Hear from the Mayor and of course more importantly, the mayor wants to hear from you, (212) 545-1075, is the number to call. Stand by, we’ll come back right after these messages from 107.5 WBLS.
[Commercial Break.]
Byrd: (212) 545-1075 is the number to call. Let’s go back to our mayor and his special guest.
Mayor Adams: Thank you, thanks so much Gary and again I’m here with our Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser going into many of the things that we’re doing and also when we look at affordability Matt, we also did a change in cell phone payment. What was that deal that we put together? Can you go into it?
Fraser: Yeah sure, so one of the things that we could do better as a government is start using the power of government to work for the people. And one of the things that we did was we took a look at our cell phone services. Imagine if you work for a company, a private company like Pepsi, UPS, when you go in, and if they give you a corporate device, you don’t get to choose what the carrier is. You might be able to choose a device, but not the carrier.
So by consolidating all of the city’s buying power and by negotiating our telecom or mobile phone plans, we were able to get, not just save money as a government, but we were able to get an employee saver program. So now if you work for the city, do you have a program where you can get cell phone service for $10 a month, not just for you, but for you and up to four members of your household?
So imagine being a family that’s right above the poverty line or at the line, or a family that’s doing moderately better, and you’re paying $200 bucks a month for a phone, for four phones in a household, and all of a sudden that goes down to $40. Significant savings that impacts people in a real way.
Mayor Adams: Excellent, excellent. So why don’t we go to the phones. Caller, you’re on the air.
Question: Yes, good morning, Mayor Adams. I just wanna call you and thank you for all the great work that you did in providing us with jobs and opportunity to have a better life. Thank you very much.
Mayor Adams: Thank you. Thank you. It was a great pleasure being the mayor of the City of New York as we finish up this last month and 20 days. I look forward to moving the board forward. We have more work to do. We’re not done yet. And we’re going to continue to move forward. And I thank you for being a constant caller and a real vision over the city. Thank you. Caller, you’re on the air.
Question: My name is [Karen Brooke]. Mayor, as far as I’m concerned, I even voted for you this last time, but you didn’t make it. I mean, I know everybody got their thoughts, but you did a good job in a lot of things also. But sometimes we have to move on. But God’s gonna have over you like he’s gonna have all the rest of us. Everybody’s going through something, especially me for the past year.
But listen, my blessings finally came and I’m getting ready to go to church. Now I’m going to two churches. My main church is the Bronx, Catholic, but I’m going to first a [inaudible] church. I love the pastor, Black pastor that finally got her own church, because she was [inaudible]. So thank you Eric Adams, you helped out a lot. God bless you, have a beautiful day.
Mayor Adams: Thank you, God has blessed me so much. I mean, when you go from a kid from South Jamaica, Queens, struggling with a learning disability, watching mommy struggle with those three jobs, raising six children, and she raised a mayor. And you know, I am blessed every day, and there’s only been 110 of us, and I’m 110, so my picture would be up in City Hall.
So I thank you, that’s a blessing, and hope all the young people out there that feel they hit a bend in the road, it’s not the end of the road, just make a turn and keep moving and reach your destiny.
Caller, you’re on the air.
Question: Yes, I was hoping to speak to the mayor.
Mayor Adams: Yes, you are, you’re speaking to the mayor.
Question: Yes, mayor, you know, it hurt my heart that you didn’t stay in the race. Because, you know, I believe you’re one of the most prolific. And you did a real great job for the people and the City of New York. And even the last initiative that you had where you wanted to open up the job roles to those who got terminated in the COVID was such a great initiative.
I hope you stay connected to the people because if you stayed in the race, my vote was definitely going for you and I know a lot of people were disappointed that you dropped out. But kudos to the great job that you did and Almighty God continues to bless you and surround you with grace and mercy for the next leg of your journey.
Mayor Adams: So true, thank you brother. You know, it’s been 40 years, 40 committed years of doing this work, you know. And many people look at the glamor of having mayor in front of your name and they don’t realize the awesome responsibilities of taking care of 8.5 million people with 35 million opinions, you know. People will give you a thumbs up and they’ll give you the middle finger all in the same day in the same conversation. And you just have to be able to be committed to the work. And we’ve done that.
Something as simple as making sure there are benches at every bus stop, making sure that we have 11,000 internship programs for our young people, what we’re doing with financial literacy, teaching our young people how to manage their money by doing [in-school] banking, what we’re doing around universal afterschool program, making sure that we expanded the pre-K to children with special needs, breaking the record 11 times on more jobs in the city’s history, building more housing than the city’s history.
So we had one heck of a run. And so when I come to the end of the race, I’m looking for the next level of this journey. I am so excited that I can just enjoy life and just sit back and look over the real opportunities that are waiting for me. When you run the city, like New York, you can run anything and I’m ready for it. So thank you so much, great to be on the air with you and WBLS, thank you Gary and your entire crew.
Byrd: Giving thanks my brother and thank you of course for the service that you brought to our city
New York City Mayor Eric Adams deliver remarks at the annual memorial service for American Airlines Flight 587 to mark 24 years since the crash, on Wednesday, November 13, 2025. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR MAYOR ERIC ADAMS
On Friday, November 14, New York City Mayor Eric Adams will travel to Israel for a multi-day trip to meet with government officials, economic development leaders, and members of the tech community. He will also visit religious sites and discuss efforts to combat antisemitism here in New York City and across the world.
The mayor will be in Israel through Tuesday, November 18.
More details on the trip will be forthcoming.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams deliver remarks at the annual memorial service for American Airlines Flight 587 to mark 24 years since the crash, on Wednesday, November 13, 2025. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
CITY OF NEW YORK TAKES ACTION TO SUPPORT PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT DETAINED AFTER ATTENDING ROUTINE CHECK-IN
Amicus Brief Argues That Detention Should Always Be Last Resort for Children, Students Must Remain in Their Communities While Immigration Proceedings Play Out
NEW YORK – The City of New York today took action in support of E.J.C.C., a New York City Public Schools student who was detained on October 23, 2025, after attending a mandatory, routine immigration check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, by filing an amicus brief in support of E.J.C.C.’s petition for immediate release from custody.
E.J.C.C., a 16-year-old who lives with a relative chosen by his mother, is a student at Gotham Collaborative High School in the Bronx. An average of 93 percent of students graduate from Gotham Collaborative High, and E.J.C.C., who has a 100 percent attendance record, is described by his teachers as a committed and responsible student. He is a leader in his college and career readiness class, showing his dedication to building a successful future.
“Our public schools should be safe, nurturing places where any child can get the best education and the tools they need to succeed,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “E.J.C.C. is a hard-working student, dedicated to his school work and future, who followed the proper immigration process. We are proud to support his petition for justice, just like we have done with the many other New York City Public School students who have been detained during routine immigration proceedings.”
“As detailed in this brief, the unnecessary detainment of children who pose no flight or safety risk causes irreparable harm to their schooling and to the educational system as a whole,” said New York City Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant. “The Trump administration has not met the very high bar for detaining this minor student who is better served remaining in the community with his family.”
The brief — filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — argues that “detention should always be a last resort. In cases like this, where the child has been living with a family member and undisputedly poses no flight or safety risk, children should remain in their communities, allowing them to access city schools and services while their immigration issues are being resolved.” E.J.C.C. has already missed three weeks of class as a result of his detention.
The detainment will only further derail his education, and “given the passage of so much time, E.J.C.C.’s release will not be ‘prompt,’ as the law requires. Only his immediate release can prevent further harm.”
The brief further argues that “if the federal government wished to deport [E.J.C.C.] and believed his Special Immigrant Juvenile status and deferred application were no obstacle, it could have informed him that it planned to do so, allowed his lawyer to make any relevant legal challenges, and left him in the care of his family and school in the meantime. Instead, it chose to detain him without warning at the appointment he faithfully attended. The City of New York has a strong interest in ensuring that immigrant minors are not unnecessarily detained, and the city prides itself on offering a free and robust education to all children regardless of immigration status, ensuring that the city’s schoolchildren grow up prepared for civic life.”
The City of New York has taken similar legal action in support of other New York City Public School students, including Dylan Lopez Contreras, Jose Luis, and Derlis Snaider, who were all arrested in Manhattan courthouses after attending mandatory, routine immigration hearings.
Banner Image: New York City Mayor Eric Adams marches in New York City Veteran’s Day Parade on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Image Credit – Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
[…] note: You can see last week’s rundown by the mayor here, along with the op-ed for the week […]