Jeff Coltin on Mayor Adams' Report Card

Transcript

Speaker 1:    0:18    Good afternoon! I’m Dennis Futoryan. And this is the 25th Hour helping you stay on top of everything that happened beyond the 24/7 news cycle. It’s been almost 8 months now since Eric Adams has been elected New York City mayor. And we’ve had some polling taking the temperature on how New Yorkers feel about the self-proclaimed Mayor with swagger. A lot of news has come and gone looking at how Adams has handled gun crime, his relationship with Albany, and even what the mayor is up to in the city’s nightlife. Helping us parse through everything, this episode features an exclusive interview with Jeff Coltin, who just so happens to be the first guest re-interviewed for the show. Jeff is the City Hall Bureau Chief for city and state one of the foremost publications covering New York news and politics. You can find him covering New York City’s Politico’s at City Hall, throwing questions at Mayor Adams, and even throwing the first pitch recently for the Brooklyn Cyclones. Jeff, I am happy to have you on the show again.

Speaker 2:    1:02    Thanks for having me back. I really appreciate the vote of confidence just as the Brooklyn Cyclones gave me a vote of confidence, and given me the ball. 

Speaker 1:    1:12    You see! So, we can’t go wrong here, Jeff. So, let me just launch first into what we’re going to talk about here today. Now, whether, it’s swagger calling demonstrators clowns, yelling at the press, Eric Adams keeps getting into trouble for what he says. So, how do we feel about a recent quote from New York Magazine saying, Adams is just winging it!

Speaker 2:    1:35    I want to give credit to the author of that story, David Freedlander. One of my favorite reporters, writers in New York, and a competitor of mine, definitely. That was a fantastic article. It really got people talking, and so much of it was true. And yet, that part, the mayor winging it. I guess, the mayor is winging it. It is true. But the thing is, everybody is winging it as mayor of New York City. What prepares you for this job? What prepares you for a workforce of 350,000 people, being the nominal leader of a city of 9 million, suburban area of 20 million, all these people across the country that love New York and want to follow it or hate New York and want to follow it, and watch Fox News and learn about New York City burning to the ground because of our crime policies? It’s just a huge job. I mean, many people say it is the second biggest job in politics, in short of being President of United States? Nobody’s prepared for that. So yes, the mayor is winging it. But we do talk so much about what the mayor says, his jokes, his gaffes, and his insulting comments. This is all super important. Let’s be clear. It is my job to listen to the mayor to interpret what he says to hold him accountable. But let’s be honest, I mean, what the mayor says, whatever he says at a press conference, it is less important than what he does, who he appoints what his government implements. And I mean, that’s a bigger question. That’s a bigger question about how the government is implementing right now. It is too early in many cases. In many cases, you could say the Adams administration has shown us exactly where they are. And we know what’s happening. We did see the recreation of the gun violence unit. We see bringing back homeless sweeps trying to get people off the streets and into shelters. That’s a bigger debate, I’ll say. But yes, I guess broad point is, Yeah! I think, the mayor is winging it. But anybody would be... You just this... This is a crazy job. And Lord, we saw how much [unclear 3:51] changed from 2014 to 2021. And now just this week, so when he dropped out of the congressional race, it is a big job. And it wears you down. 

Speaker 1:    4:03    Yeah. I mean, you started touching upon it a little bit. I mean, we can forget for a second what Adams is saying. And you started talking about his focus on gun crime, which, he could probably say that that’s the number one issue that he campaigned on. And that’s what voters ended up getting him in for his homelessness sweeps, which are controversial. So I mean, some would say pay less attention to what the mayor says, and what Mayor Adams does. And can we gauge, how well Adams is doing just based on his actions alone. right now?

Speaker 2:    4:35    Look, again! Being mayor is an absolutely huge job. So, you do need to focus on smaller pieces. Education has been a really big topic here. There’s been an ongoing fight over the education budget. To oversimplify a very complicated discussion, the mayor basically says, Yeah! We’re going to give schools a little bit less this year because there’s fewer students and a lot of people that care about those schools, whether it be parents or teachers, they’re saying, that maybe works on a macro level. But look at our school. Our school is getting less money. We’re doing here. This is crazy. So, that’s just one little example of the mayor doing something that he thought was a pretty easy decision, and getting a lot of pushback. Yes, with crime. That’s been a huge focus of the mayor. It’s been... Rhetorically, it is number one focus. And in practice, he’s definitely been more involved with the police department than any other agency, I would say. Look, crime numbers are up this year. I don’t completely blame the mayor for that. I mean, that’s a very complicated mix of things that causes crime. And also, even when you say crime numbers, that’s a more complicated issue than at first seems. I haven’t checked recently. But last time I checked, murders were down year over year and shootings were down year over year. We’re going on a good trend there in New York City. Thank goodness! Fewer people were getting shot and fewer people dying. That is a huge win. The number of larcenies is up. There’s more robberies and more burglaries. That really make people very uneasy. People are worried. People are losing their belongings. Stores are getting broken into. That’s a serious problem. But, again, I don’t blame the mayor for that. I think, it’s one piece. And his department is going to have to find a way to respond to that.

Speaker 1:    6:43    So, is the honeymoon period over for Mayor Adams? I mean, no! Because look, he’s already starting to do something about the numbers. I don’t know about how the people of New York City feel. But in terms of the raw stats, I think we’re starting to see something going in a downward slope. But as you pointed out, in terms of other types of crimes, those numbers are going up a little bit. That’s where I think, I want to put my finger on the heartbeat of the city for a second. I mean, so our New Yorkers ready to blame Adams for anything going on? Are they still giving him a little bit more time to try to settle into the role, at this point?

Speaker 2:    7:30    New Yorkers are definitely ready to blame Adam. I am time giving him. I am trying to be very careful here and give a broad picture. But if you talk to somebody on the street... Yeah, he’s the mayor. They’re going to blame him for whatever the heck. He knows that. And he accepts that, and Adams welcomes it. Sometimes they’ll say, Oh! Don’t blame me. I’m perfectly imperfect, whatever. But yes, people are definitely ready to blame the mayor. That’s just part of the job as I was talking about before. It’s such a hard... He wanted it. All right. 

Speaker 1:    8:05    Yeah.

Speaker 2:    8:05    And I think, some things are absolutely fair to blame the mayor. If you’re unhappy about homeless folks on the street, whether from the perspective of get these people off my street, or from the perspective of “Oh, my God, this is a humanitarian crisis.” And I wish there were a place for them to sleep. Either of those, they’re fixable problems. I mean, it’s a big problem, but it is fixable. And these are things that is fair to blame the city for. And they want the city to respond in a different way, or try a different technique, or more effective or whatever. So, broad answer... People are ready to blame. We saw the poll numbers from a couple of month ago or so. They’re way down. People are... We’re excited about Adams the first, there’s definitely been a broad sense of... People are maybe less hyped about him and an hour just like... Well, yeah! He’s the mayor. He’s the guy. That doesn’t mean that I think he’s in danger of losing the election yet. I mean, we’ll see when 2025 comes around, but it’s going to be a tough ride. You’re going be a tough ride.

Speaker 1:    9:25    And not for nothing... Like you said, the guy wanted the job. He put himself out there as someone who has solutions, someone who takes those solutions seriously. He painted progressives as having their heads in the clouds. And I mean, he’s definitely active. I mean, he’s been out there basically, delivering press conferences on a myriad of issues. His schedule is always jam packed. He’s even partying it up with celebrities in the city’s nightclubs. But in terms of funneling it down a little bit, I mean, what Is Adams trying to make his signature achievement within the first year? Because when we look at other mayor’s I mean, for example, de Blasio has universal pre-K always comes up. I mean, that was something he was gunning for, and he got it done. So, I mean, we always hear about Adams talking about gun crime, but he also has his campaign, bringing awareness about dyslexia. So, is there something that he’s trying to make his first year achievement to your knowledge?

Speaker 2:    10:24    Look, nothing immediately comes to mind. I think, you’re right. The dyslexia program could be a real legacy issue. But I mean, look, the mayor is only talked about that as far as I can tell once or twice in the past 7 months. So, that’s not a defining achievement yet in any way. I guess, his goal is more than anything else is to make New Yorkers safer. I don’t know, if he’s helping them feel safer. He’s talking a lot about how dangerous it is out here. But I really do think public safety is the main focus, whether that is his approach or trying to stop guns from coming into the city. He tried to change the bail laws and Albany. There’s definitely an open debate on whether those bail laws really have any effect on crime, to be clear. But that is what Adams thinks. And that is what he was trying to do. So, I will give him credit for like for... He was trying, again. 

Speaker 1:    11:33    Yeah! 

Speaker 2:    11:34    They [unclear 11:34] didn’t get changed much that nearly to what he wanted to see this year. So, it always comes back to crime that seems to be his main focus. There’s a lot of other things that he was doing. Let’s be clear, he’s talked about... He [unclear 11:49] to housing program. He’s talking about building more housing. That, of course, takes a while. That’s not an immediate program. That’s going to be a legacy thing. It’s going to take a few years to see changes. And my gosh, again, being mayor is a huge. Sure, there are so many other things. Even just, he just had his first budget passed. We didn’t see any top line, big exciting things that I can think of. It was more about here and there. More money for this, get restored, gets restored... Nothing to the level of universal Pre K....

Speaker 1:    12:27    It almost looks like when we’re trying to cut a little bit beneath the surface, Adams is still trying to find a way to effectively learn how to govern the city. And it’s not to say that he doesn’t have any experience governing whatsoever. I think, he’s trying to find his footing, just making sure that he has a good grasp on, like you said, making sure that the city’s budget totally, and fiscally solvent. He has been out talking about making sure that the city’s workforce is coming back into offices to try to revive the economy, at least before COVID levels. But we’re struggling with that. And we’re actually seeing our COVID levels. I mean, they’re marginally increasing. Just correct me if I’m wrong, but they’re starting to increase a little bit. And there’s a little bit of anxiety in terms of, is Adams inclined to kick back restrictions or not? It doesn’t look like he wants to do that. So there’s that. And you also talked about his relationship with Albany a little bit. I mean, he has to go to Albany for a lot of things. And previously on the last episode of New York City, we saw how Bill de Blasio and then Governor Andrew Cuomo, they had a rivalry that completely just froze up. I feel like anything in the city... And at least it looks like Adams and Governor county hotel have a working relationship. So, how much of a coalition does Adams have here to really get anything passed? I mean, fine. We’re not getting a clear-cut concrete first year legacy item here. But he ever even a coalition to get something off the ground as of right now?

Speaker 2:    14:06    Look, not in Albany, which did surprise me. I thought that he would be coming as a first year mayor, somebody who would be very helpful endorsement for Governor hopeful. And I thought Adams was going to get whatever the heck he wanted in Albany. That was a bad prediction. It seems like he came in with maybe too confidence. I thought, he had more support than he did. And the legislators didn’t like his approach. I mean, that’s all the reporting. That’s from a little bit of... What I’ve heard... And certainly, a lot of what I’ve read... He got some things passed, to be clear. There was an earned income tax credit extension or something. I’m sorry, I don’t know the exact details on that.

Speaker 1:    14:54    Not the sexy stuff.

Speaker 2:    14:58    He wanted to extend the Ford 21 A program. Very sexy! We’re talking about tax credits to build affordable housing and luxury buildings. You wanted that, he didn’t get it passed. You wanted dangerousness standard for judges, a bail adjustment, didn’t get that, wanted a longer extension for mayoral control. He didn’t get that. You got a little one, just a short one. Again, I really thought he would be coming up to Albany, a former state senator as well, who worked up in Albany for 7 years. I just didn’t get it. I just didn’t get a lot of what he wanted. I think that’s going to be something. Intergovernmental team is working on a lot over the 6 months where Albany is not in session, and they are going to really try and hit the ground running. Come 2023! Presumably, with a Democratic governor. And Kathy Hogan is still reelected in this deep blue state. Lord knows, what’s gonna happen. If Zeldin gets elected governor, if the Republican gets elected.

Speaker 1:    16:02    We’re going need you to come onto the show to explain a couple of things if that happens.

Speaker 2:    16:06    Some would argue that Adams worked well with the Republicans. They’d find a partner. But I think, it’s much better for him and status quo to maintain the current governor. So, that’s definitely an area to watch going into 2023. There’s a lot to change for the mayor. He’s got at least another 3 and a half years as mayor. So, we’re going to see many storylines. 

Speaker 1:    16:32    So, what is it about his approach that’s rubbing people the wrong way? Like you said, he’s receiving a cold shoulder up there in Albany. And I mean, look, how can you say no to the mayor of swagger? I mean, what’s going on there?

Speaker 2:    16:47    That’s what I wonder! I wonder if it is something coming in with too much confidence or something, whether it’s from the mayor himself, or even just from his team expecting that they’re gonna get what they want. That’s just my theory. I don’t know the specifics of what exactly went wrong here. I mean, to be clear, some of the things he was pitching were very difficult, very politically controversial, such as that dangerousness standard for judges regarding setting bail. That’s been something... Also Cuomo pushed for, and de Blasio pushed for it. And they didn’t get it. So, this isn’t... That wasn’t just a failure of Adams. Look, he still did get an extension to mayoral control. So, it’s not like he totally fell flat on his face in Albany. Let’s be clear here. But certainly, he didn’t get everything he wanted. And I think, it might have been going in with too much confidence, and not working within the rules that Albany has set, for better or for worse. Most people are not quite happy with the way that state government works up there. And I think, the mayor might be the latest one to have a complaint about the way things are.

Speaker 1:    18:02    And it’s a wakeup call for him for sure. I imagine considering the amount of confidence, like you said. He thought that he would come and place a lot of change into the system. I mean, look, it’s a good thing he did that. It’s a lot of optimism. And voters need optimism. The public needs optimism, especially after COVID, especially since crime was increasing way before he started even campaigning. So, I get where he’s coming from with that. But we can’t ignore the factionalism that’s been exacerbated a little bit since he’s been elected. I mean, even here in New York City, we’re seeing him make unnecessary moves into the Brooklyn Democratic Party. And huge disclosure to the listeners here, I am the legal director for the Brooklyn Young Democrats. But I am acting. I have my 25th our host hat on for this one. So, we’re objectively talking about how Adam’s moves are being, let’s say, accepted? How they’re being analyzed by his fellow Democrats, even here in Kings County? What’s your take on that?

Speaker 2:    19:12    Yeah. Look! I’ve written a lot about Brooklyn politics with the Democratic Party and all of these races that pay a lot of attention to the mayor’s political game, who he’s endorsing, and who he’s giving money to that. I find it to be very interesting. And here’s another one, where the mayor might have gone in with too much confidence, or... I guess at the very least, the mayor didn’t take on any very tough political fights. I’ll give him credit. His 2021 primary was an incredibly difficult, the political fight. And he came out on top there. So, the guy knows politics. At least he hires people who certainly know politics. He was elected mayor of New York City. But if we’re looking just at a few of the endorsements that he made this cycle, we’re talking about Nikki Lucas, assembly member. We’re talking about Hercules Reed. We’re talking about Brian Cunningham. We’re talking about Renee Collymore. I’m just naming random names here, I guess. And there really there’s no common thread in their ether. Because some of them won, and some of them lost. That’s thing. I guess, the broad point here is that the mayor didn’t actually get too deeply involved with any of them as far as I could tell. He did hold a press conference for Hercules Reed, who then proceeded to get crushed in the election. That was really a mark of loyalty for Adams, to be clear, Hercules, an assembly candidate in Brownsville. He’d worked for Mayor Adams for about 3 or 4 years now. A loyal aid came with him from Brooklyn Borough Hall to the campaign, to City Hall. So, Adams endorsing him. I think a lot of people took that, as... He was there for somebody who had been there for him. And I don’t think, he was working too hard, pulling strings to really make him win. But then, there were other elections like Nikki Lucas and Assembly member, who was facing a DSA backed candidate in Corona Allen. And Nikki Lucas won easily in a landslide. And she didn’t need the mayor’s help there, to be clear. So again, I’m just naming random racist here with blue-line. I’m paying a lot of attention, I guess, to what the mayor is doing. But I don’t think, we’ve seen yet the Adams political manifesto. I guess, the one through line, to be clear. One consistent thing here is all of the political candidates that Adam supported were running against progressive working families party-backed candidates. The mayor has been relatively careful about his words. Last year, in the summer, he was caught on tape at a fundraiser criticizing Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. And he was saying, the DSA wants to get me down. And that story is still referenced now a year later. Because that was one time when he made it clear. Everything else has been a little more subtle that we know that the mayor doesn’t get along with progressives. And we know the mayor isn’t too progressive. And we know that progressives don’t like the mayor. And WFP doesn’t like the mayor. They ran against him. So, it is an interesting thing to watch there. Adams is really running against the progressive movement.

Speaker 1:    22:41    Yeah. As a former Republican as well, I mean, Mayor Adams is definitely trying to put on a new front for the democratic party. And he’s saying, he’s the new face of the democratic party. And it’s a moderate face, I feel like. So, I’ll just close this out here. Look, I mean, we’re coming up on month 8, how do you see the trajectory going for the Adams administration? I mean, are there any political trends that you’re keeping an eye on in the future for Mayor Adams? Is it just more pro-safety policies, or something else?

Speaker 2:    23:14    I am interested to see if he becomes more of a national figure. We’ve seen him dipping his toe in that. Just this week, he appeared on Good Morning America. And maybe, it was the today show one of those national morning shows with a number of other black mayors to talk about tackling gun violence. We saw him pitching to the Democratic National Convention, wanting to host it in 2024. That would be a real feather in his cap. Let’s say, I’m the mayor in front of all the democrats. We’ve seen him appear with Joe Biden a few times. So yes, he’s been dipping his toes in that. It will be interesting to see if he goes all out and tries to do a national tour or tries to get involved the way that Bill de Blasio did in his first few years as mayor. So that’s on one side, on the other hand... Yeah. Look, I do wonder if the administration is going to start narrowing down, and making a couple of big programs to focus on. And he will really be highlighting some things, and trying to make something into their universal pre K, even if it’s not as big not as expansive. You can play something up and make it feel like, this is defining the administration. Because like right now, at this point, I think if you talk to most people is administration as defined by trying to tackle gun violence. And then also, it’s keeping the city open, and not doing any coronavirus regulations, talking, going out, and spending money. And you should go back to your offices and that thing. Both of these are -I guess, to put it simply- frustrating topics for a lot of people. And It will be interesting to see if he tries to focus a little more on something like preschool, a little more universally accepted.

Speaker 1:    25:10    It seems a little bit of a safe thing for him to tread on, if all else fails. Well, we will see. So, Jeff, thank you so much for coming back to the show. We hope to have you back on again, if anything else changes. You are absolutely welcome guest for the 25th Hour.

Speaker 2:    25:31    Things are always changing. I appreciate you listening to my disordered thoughts about our disordered mayor of New York City. So, thank you, Dennis!

Speaker 1:    25:40    It’s more orderly than you think, Jeff. So, ladies and gentlemen, look out for Jeff Carlton’s articles in City and State. He is also one of the foremost voices on the Adams administration. So he is very big to watch. Okay! And that’s it for this week’s show of the 25th Hour helping you stay on top of the 24/7 news cycle. Don’t forget to rate us wherever you get your podcast. Share it with your friends, and subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. You can email your tips and suggestions at the 25thnews@gmail.com, and become a patron today to support the show at patreon.com/25hournews. Thanks for listening! And we’ll see you next week.