-Ana Patricia Candiani: And we are here in Brooklyn, the most populated borough of New York City. This is María Hernández Park, named since 1994, in honor of the activist against violence and drug sales.
Hernández was shot through her window in 1989. Today we address the most prevalent problems in Brooklyn County, and the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, joins us precisely to talk about these. So we are going to welcome you: mayor, welcome to Súbete al 41.
Let me tell you, before taking office, Mayor Eric Adams was president of this county, so he is more than familiar with the issues that affect its residents.
I want to tell you that according to the census in 2020, more than 2 million 700 thousand people lived here in Brooklyn, almost 19% of them of Hispanic origin. And here in Bushwick, where we are, more than half of the population is Hispanic. Affordable housing, no doubt, and the cost of living are their biggest concerns. So the question for the mayor is what programs or services does the city offer to protect those communities from gentrification?
-Mayor Eric Adams: What you say is very important because lifelong New Yorkers, especially those in the Hispanic community, should feel that the county and the city take them into account.
Now the question is: How is that guaranteed? There are two levels. Number one is at the state level. We have to build more. We have an inventory problem. There are not enough units.
The second level is the city. We want to rezone so that every part of the city can build more and more. We want to convert office spaces into homes. We want to build housing for low and middle income people. This is why the combination of the city and the state is necessary. Also the protection of those who are in homes so that they are not displaced. This community has changed dramatically. This was a predominantly Hispanic community for so many years and they can’t shop here anymore and we have to make sure they can still stay here.
-Ana Patricia Candiani: And they need affordable housing.
-Mayor Eric Adams: Yes, this is very important.
-Mayor Eric Adams: And they should be. I am surprised and upset. And the community must understand that the federal government does not allow me to deport violent people. The federal government does not allow migrants and asylum seekers to work. The city government does not allow me to hand over dangerous people to ICE. I can’t stop the buses with migrants from arriving. So what they are doing to New Yorkers is unfair. What the Police Department is doing is arresting those responsible.
It is up to prosecutors to prosecute, the federal government must deport criminals. We must be clear: the enormous number of people seeking asylum do the same thing that all of us have done as immigrants: wanting to be part of the American dream, but when people are denied jobs, when you create these environments you cannot give the next step.
We have more than 170,000 people in our city. We have been able to help more than 100,000 people take the next step towards independence.
We need the federal government to step up and do its job, control the borders, make a decompression strategy and make sure this does not fall on our city.
-Ana Patricia Candiani: We are here in María Hernández Park. She died due to violence unfortunately. Everything has changed since then. But we want to know what initiatives you have to continue improving public safety here in Brooklyn.
-Mayor Eric Adams: And María Hernández is really an example of so many people during the days of the crack epidemic and gun violence. She and her husband knew they could create an environment where our children were safe. And she is a symbol of what we can do, what one person can achieve. We believe that there are a series of things that we have to do. We have removed more than 13,000 guns from our streets since the time I was elected mayor, more than 6,000 were removed last year. We need to punish criminals and repeat offenders.
There are only a small number of people who commit crimes repeatedly. We need to ensure that when they are arrested, they are punished to the fullest extent of the law. This is one of the main problems.
-Ana Patricia Candiani: That is what the community wants to be done.
-Mayor Eric Adams: That’s right.
-Ana Patricia Candiani: Mayor, thank you very much for being with us.
-Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you, good to see you.
1/9
Since January, when 2023 was just beginning, Mayor Eric Adams was already announcing that New York City could not contain the enormous number of immigrants arriving in the Big Apple. He even traveled to El Paso, Texas, to discuss the issue.
Credit: AP
2/9
New York City had spent around $360 million dollars at the beginning of the year to address the immigration crisis, which is why it called on federal authorities to obtain more resources. However, he never got solutions.
3/9
Schools, churches, prisons, hotels and gyms, among other venues, were set up to provide shelter to the wave of immigrants arriving in New York City. Some Samaritans, by their own decision, offered their homes to provide shelter.
Credit: AP
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4/9
In May, the iconic Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan was reopened and enabled to shelter dozens of immigrants. However, New York City remained understaffed and underfunded. This caused many to sleep on the streets.
5/9
Given the arrival of more immigrants and the emergency in which several counties, such as Rockland, declared themselves to not accept them, the mayor of New York undertook a tour of Latin America to address the immigration issue. He also visited the Darien jungle.
6/9
In mid-October, Mayor Eric Adams announced that immigrant families with children could only stay in shelters for 60 days, having to apply for a new period in the shelter. Likewise, asylum seekers who were alone had the right to 30 days.
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7/9
In November, Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn was opened as a shelter for immigrants. The Adams administration prepared it with rooms, bathrooms, medical care and food, however, asylum seekers noted that they were in an isolated area that prevented them from emerging.
8/9
On December 27, Mayor Eric Adams announced measures to control the arrival of immigrants in New York City. This after five buses suddenly arrived, full of new asylum seekers. They all came from Philadelphia, and initially from Texas.
9/9
On December 28, a record 14 buses carrying migrants arrived in New York City. Most were located at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan and more were expected to arrive that night.
2024-02-10 18:57:00
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