Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Joins NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch and Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Renita Francois for a Security Briefing Ahead of the West Indian Day Parade
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
No. We are excited for this parade this year and for every year. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAnd what I will also just add is that you heard it from the public advocate, and also before I was acknowledging elected officials — we also have our City Councilwoman Crystal Hudson, who is here alongside us. We are all united in what this parade is, which is a celebration of the Caribbean community, without which so much of what we love about New York City would not be the city that we call home. And this is going to be a weekend, this is going to be a Labor Day, where each and every New Yorker has the space to celebrate that. And I also just want to make my own position very clear is that ICE's actions, while they state their motivation is that of public safety, do nothing to advance that. They are a cruel agency. They're one that I believe should be abolished, and they are one that has created a real sense of fear and terror across the city, across immigrant communities.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYes, I would encourage everyone to come out and celebrate. And as you heard from the police commissioner, as you've heard from deputy mayor for Community Safety, you can come as early as those moments are to join the celebrations and really be a part of something that makes the city so special.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI really appreciate this question. The Racial Equity Plan is something that is critically important to our administration, and what it also outlines is the specific areas where we think we can make a real difference to what has been a legacy of a lack of equity in our city. Whether we're talking about maternal health mortality, whether we're talking about unemployment, whether we're talking about housing, these are all examples that see. And even when we speak about our foundational focuses of building affordable housing, of faster buses, of universal child care, the impacts that these also have. And finally, we made it very clear that this is an all-of-City-government approach that has to include every single agency, and so that will be something that informs our budget as we get into it. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'll just start by saying we know that our responsibility in City government is to ensure that New Yorkers receive updates about services, whether that's how to report a pothole, whether that's to sign up for a 2-K slot or how to file a 311 report. And I am proud of the work that our team has done to connect New Yorkers to those services, to keep New York informed, to reach New Yorkers across neighborhoods, mediums and as many languages as we can. And to be crystal clear, because I know that there's been some confusion in some reporting about this: City Hall has never paid a content creator or an influencer for an interview or an engagement with myself. And as I said earlier this week, our administration will always strive to comply with all legal requirements, including those that relate to the preservation of city records. And if we find that there are any departures from what's legally required, my administration will look into it and immediately take corrective action. I'd also like to just invite up our chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, who can add a few details to your question.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThank you for these questions. I would say first and foremost, I have complete confidence in Commissioner Richards and his commitment to this work. I actually was just with him right before this as we were together on Rikers Island to commemorate the service and the sacrifice of DOC members on 9/11, close to 25 years ago. And when it comes to the monitor's letter, we are addressing those concerns, and our administration is committed and continues to be committed to working closely and collaboratively with both the federal monitor as well as the remediation manager to improve our jail system. And one of the things that that means is keeping lines of communication open, sharing information transparently and taking the steps necessary to deliver reforms. And to your first question, what I would argue is that we need to take every step that we can to connect New Yorkers with the information about how City government can help them in their lives. And the New York Times that actually reported on a mother who had found out about 2-K because a friend had forwarded her an Instagram video about it. So, what we're talking about here is the importance of knocking on New Yorkers' doors to let them know about their rights as tenants, informing New Yorkers at their bus stop about how there could be faster, as well as also reaching out to as many people as possible to communicate everything that our City Hall is looking to do for the people of this city. Because we do not want to say that only one medium is one by which a New Yorker should consume the news. However they consume the news, we should be there and be engaging with them.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, what I would say is we send the same information that we send out to a press list about an announcement that we're making — for example, about 2,000 seats available for free 2-K for the first time in New York City, here's how New Yorkers can apply. That's also what we want to share with influencers. And I think that, you know, even the term, frankly, is one that it doesn't keep up with the way that so many are engaging with media, are consuming media. I mean, just recently, one of the most significant developments we've seen in the NBA, a $30 million fine that's being levied onto the Clippers, is a result of Pablo Torre's investigation. And Pablo Torre has been described as someone who exists out of the traditional media. So, I think that these, to me, are examples of why we should be engaging with our press, as we do. We should be engaging with anyone who a New Yorker might listen to or read.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think we've seen in the past that City agencies have contracted a wide variety of people as an attempt to get their message out. When it comes to our City Hall, we have never contracted an influencer or paid an influencer for an engagement or an interview with me. And I think to your first question, Marcia, what I would say is that we are always available to speak to New Yorkers about the topic at hand, and we are looking for as many ways as possible to get that information out. And to us, the question comes back to: Does this serve a New Yorker? And I think it just goes back to 2-K. We want to make sure that we can look back at an outreach period and say we did everything we could. And if we find that even one parent could find out about this through a radio jingle, then you know what, we have to do a radio jingle. If we find that one parent [could] find out about it through an Instagram video, it's worth doing an Instagram video. I mean, recently we made the decision to make videos in multiple languages about the 2,000 tickets we gave away to high school students for free for Broadway plays, and what we found is by utilizing social media we were able to reach far more people about the work that the Theater Development Fund does than if we had said this isn't something that should be considered.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe are always striving to fully comply with all legal requirements. I will pass it to my chief counsel to speak about additional details of that.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI want to be very clear: The fourth estate, journalists, are a critical part of how we not only engage with the city that we love, but also how we are held to account by the city that we love. And I think the point that we are trying to share is that it is important for us to utilize every possible avenue to reach out to New Yorkers. And when it comes to those interviews and engagements with content creators who use, whether it be Instagram or TikTok or whatever social media platform that it may be, that is always premised on the topic at hand and never contingent on some kind of a contract or anything of that nature. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think that the congresswoman would be viable no matter what decision that she makes, and I think she would make a good whatever it is that she wants to pursue. Thank you very much.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Joins NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch and Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Renita Francois for a Security Briefing Ahead of the West Indian Day Parade.