In his fourth State of the City speech, Mayor Adams vowed to double down on housing during the remainder of his term — and a possible second.
Adams, speaking from the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Thursday, stated his case for New Yorkers as he faces a field of mayoral challengers and legal headwinds. The mayor is slated to stand trial in April on federal corruption charges as he heads into a June primary.
The mayor, who has seen many of his top advisors resign in recent months after being ensnared in various corruption investigations, kicked off his speech by thanking his deputy mayors and senior officials.
“The hardest job in politics is working for Eric Adams,” the mayor said, nodding to his aides.
Adams began the speech by emphasizing his record on public safety and the “City of Yes” zoning plan. He touted crime stats, citing numbers that Brooklyn has seen the “lowest amount of gun violence” in its history and overall crime fell by 15% in December citywide.
“I promise you this: No one will fight harder for your family than I will,” he said.
During the speech, Adams announced a set of ambitious initiatives addressing street homelessness and housing.
Homelessness
Adams promised the city would put $650 million toward getting people off subways and into housing. He pledged to create 900 Safe Haven shelter beds and open an facility for homeless people with serious mental illness.
“We must do more to help people struggling with serious mental illness,” he said during the speech. “We can’t just walk past them and act like they can take care of themselves when they can’t. We know that too many New Yorkers cycle between the hospital and homelessness.”
The mayor also set a goal of seeing no more children born into the shelter system. He announced a pilot program to connect expecting parents with services to help find permanent housing before their child is born.
Housing
The mayor announced a new plan, dubbed “City of Yes for Families,” intended to build more units specifically for families through both zoning changes and expanding payment assistance programs.
As part of that, Adams said the city would build 100,000 new units in Manhattan — a massive 11% increase for the already densely-packed island where local residents often resist new housing and zoning changes.
More swim classes
The mayor vowed to expand free swim lessons to 4,800 second graders in underserved communities.
Cleaner parks
Adams said the city would add a second cleaning shift to spots at over 60 parks around the city.
Ahead of the mayor’s speech, dozens of members of the NYPD sergeants union gathered outside The Apollo to protest what they view as the Adams administration’s refusal to address pay disparities that leave them earning less than some of the officers they supervise.
Also outside the theater was a smaller contingent of anti-Adams protesters from the “Close Rikers” coalition and Make the Road, an immigrant advocacy group. Adams has faced increasingly heated criticism from Close Rikers activists in recent months, amid growing concern over the feasibility of the city’s plan to shutter the infamous island jail by 2027.