By Joy Bergmann
For more than two hours on the Upper West Side Wednesday night, Mayor Eric Adams fielded questions on some of the neighborhood’s hottest topics: policing, e-bikes, affordable housing, cannabis shops, and more. Headlines from the far-ranging session, however, focused on just seven of his words: “This issue will destroy New York City.”
That issue? Migrants. And the mayor had much to say on the topic. But he had plenty to share on everything else, too. So herewith, WSR’s full account of the community conversation with the man who calls himself a “perfectly imperfect mayor.”
During the first hour of the event, held at PS 191, about 200 Upper West Siders chatted in small groups with city representatives, uncovering common issues and deciding what to ask Adams during the Q&A session that followed.
A Hollywood casting agent could not have assembled a more diverse-looking group of locals. Kids, seniors, young parents, and entrepreneurs leaned in, eager to find solutions to neighborhood problems. Energy level? High. Cordiality? Even higher.
At 7:00 p.m. Adams took the floor. Backing him up on the dais: Local elected officials and some 40 top city executives from every conceivable department – commissioners galore.
As the evening progressed, some clear themes emerged.
The impact of of the migrant influx on NYC
In his opening remarks, Adams expressed escalating frustration with the federal government’s lack of response to New York’s plea for help in handling the influx of migrants to the city.
“We’re getting no support for this national crisis,” said Adams. “And let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don’t see an ending to this.” Then, the punchline that became the headline of the evening: “This issue will destroy New York City.”
Adams cited the estimated $12 billion price tag for migrant care over the next three years. “Every community in this city is going to be impacted,” he said. “We’re going to have to cut every service in the city.”
[Earlier on Wednesday, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said that as of Sept. 3, the city had more than 112,300 people in shelters including about 59,700 asylum-seekers. Between Aug. 28 and Sept. 3, the city received 2,700 new asylum-seekers.]
“Now people from all over the globe have made their minds up that they’re going to come through the southern part of the border and come to New York City,” Adams said.
Adams challenged attendees to get involved. “As you ask me questions about migrants, tell me what role you play. How many of you are organizing to stop what they’re doing with us?” referring to “madman” officials in Texas and elsewhere who are directing migrants to NYC.
City Councilmember Gale Brewer asked attending agency representatives to ensure migrant families arriving at West 70th and West 85th Street shelters next week receive “immediate services” to accelerate their integration into the Upper West Side, including schools.
Elizabeth Espert, an educator for 35 years and “proud member of the PS 191 community,” asked officials to “streamline services to newcomers” to lessen stress on families and support public schools expected to enroll an estimated 21,000 asylum-seeking children.
“You’re right,” responded Education Chancellor David C. Banks. “We need to streamline this and communicate best practices all across the city. And we’re going to do that.”
[On Thursday, Banks announced that the Department of Education will offer tenure to every teacher with an up-to-date bilingual education license. “This move will open the door for all Spanish-speaking English Language Learners to get the necessary help they need in learning English at school.”]
Seeking safer streets and consequences for illegal behavior
Multiple community members voiced outrage at e-bikes, mopeds and other vehicles operating recklessly and illegally on UWS streets and sidewalks.
Pamela Greitzer-Manasse shared her experience of being hit by a moped driver, sustaining brain injuries that left her, “somewhat paralyzed, unable to completely care for myself or my children…and losing my livelihood as a cellist.” She asked Adams to support legislation requiring licensing and registration of these “dangerous mopeds,” as part of the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance’s reform agenda.
“I’m deeply, deeply sorry about what happened to you,” said Adams, noting he plans to meet with the EVSA group and will tell Pamela’s story whenever he gets “pushback from people about our crackdowns on illegal mopeds.”
“I know the quality of life of a city that’s out of control. You can’t have a city when people disregard the common decency of their neighbors,” added Adams. “If you don’t have clear rules and standards of behavior, the city will go to pot. We can’t have that.”
Mary Evancho, a 44-year UWS resident asked, “How can we better enforce our existing laws?” She noted a 2017 law passed by the City Council requires bike delivery drivers to wear helmets and vests with ID numbers.
Deputy Mayor for Operations Meeri Joshi confirmed the existence of that law. “But it was passed at a time when delivery drivers were linked back to brick-and-mortar restaurants, and so enforcement could go straight back to the restaurant,” she said. “The Council is working with us on how we incorporate more regulation with the delivery apps.”
Adams agreed to meet with his team to find a way for drivers, restaurants, and delivery apps to be accountable and “follow the law.”
“Something happened in the city over the last few years. Our use of streets changed drastically. We did not adjust to those changes. And we have to do so,” said Adams.
UWS mother of three Alison Gardy said that after seeing “cannabis stores operating illegally” and “marauding groups of e-bikes” racing on the streets, “there’s this sense of despair that creeps in. Because why are they getting to break the rules again? And again and again.”
“What can we do to create consequences for criminal activities?” asked Megan Martin, a 10-year UWS resident, noting concerns about recidivism and the “revolving door” for emotionally disturbed people who are quickly released from hospital emergency rooms following psychiatric evaluations.
“We need to zero in on the extreme recidivists, a small population of people that are committing so many crimes. They’ve made up their mind they want to prey on innocent people,” said Adams. “And then we have to have real, quality-of-life enforcement…but I need your voices,” he said, citing opposition to increased quality-of-life policing that the mayor said is used to peg him as “heavy handed.”
Charles Davis, a lifelong UWS local, asked for better NYPD visibility. “Years ago, you really had community police officers who patrolled and the neighbors knew who the cops were. Now you don’t see a police [officer] like you used to.”
“You should see that visible presence,” replied Adams. “That feeling of seeing the police interacting with the community is a real win.” Adams urged residents to attend NYPD’s monthly Community Council meetings to make their concerns and demands known. [Find meeting times and places on the websites for the 20th Precinct, 24th Precinct, and Central Park Precinct.]
Affordable housing and the 59th Street women’s shelter
Securing an affordable NYC apartment is more difficult now than at any time in the past 20 years, according to recent studies.
On the UWS, “a full 20% of Community Board 7 residents are considered severely rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 50% of their income on rent,” said City Planning Director Dan Garodnick.
Growing the supply of housing units will ease a crisis Adams characterized as an “inventory problem.”
Garodnick announced one way forward. “Later this fall, we are going to be presenting the mayor’s housing opportunity initiative, which is a zoning proposal.” The zoning changes will add, “a little bit of new housing in every neighborhood.” [Adams and Garodnick recently unveiled a plan for office-to-housing conversions as well.]
Several Upper West Siders said they’d like the new $500 million, 200-bed women’s emergency shelter at 537 W. 59th Street, currently under construction by Project Renewal, to be permanent affordable housing instead.
UWS resident Rachel Nazarian asked Adams, “Can you intervene before building begins? It’s a unique opportunity, and it’s an empty lot at this point.”
“We have to have the emergency housing,” replied Adams. “If someone loses their housing, we’re required by law to place them in housing within a certain period of time.”
“We cannot set up a dichotomy between shelter or housing; it’s really shelter and housing because we have to be able to meet people where they are,” added Molly Wasow Park, commissioner of the Department of Social Services, citing domestic violence and evictions as examples when emergency shelters are needed at the moment someone becomes homeless.
Park also said the city’s Family Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement [FHEPS] is helping keep about 30,000 families in their homes by paying rental subsidies.
In response to a local man’s concern about the UWS being ranked ninth out of the city’s 51 Council Districts in terms of the number of shelters, Adams agreed the neighborhood was doing its share. “It’s called upon all of us to do more than our share right now,” he said, inviting attendees to help him figure out how to “fix this sick shelter system that has perpetuated and has grown into a monster.”
And more
Indefatigable residents kept the queries coming. Lightning round recap:
We need more trash baskets on the street. The Department of Sanitation will be putting more baskets on the UWS and debuting new, rat-proof litter baskets here, too.
Ambulance sirens are too loud, harming health. City Council work is underway to address this.
The clogged bureaucracy is keeping me from obeying the city’s new short-term rental regulations for AirBnB hosting. Adams said his team will figure out the bottleneck and ensure the Office of Special Enforcement doesn’t fine hosts when they still don’t have answers regarding their compliance application.
Waterline Square private streets don’t appear properly on maps. The Department of Transportation is currently mapping the area as public roads.
Residents and tourists need more free, clean, safe, public restrooms. The Parks Department is surveying the globe for smart, inexpensive solutions, including compost toilets.
“One thing is clear,” Adams said with a grin. “No matter who you are or what block you live on, when you gotta go, you gotta go.”
View the entire Q&A session on YouTube.
Subscribe to WSR’s free email newsletter here.
As people “welcome our new neighbors ” Adams tells the hard truth. Other states have migrate issues brought on by Biden’s policies, but NYC’s right to shelter is a death sentence for the city. The feds will never fund this ridiculous policy. 10K per month per migrant × 110,000 migrants is could add up to some serious money. I agree with the Mayor this will forever change NYC for the worst.
“Adams urged residents to attend NYPD’s monthly Community Council Meetings to make their concerns and demands known.”
Isn’t that exactly what happened during this meeting?!
WTF?
Seems that Mayor McSwagger and the useless City Council will continue to pay lip services while Rome burns.
No. You are completely incorrect. An NYPD Community Council meeting is held every month with the Police Precinct to address specific problems that arise in a specific police precinct area. Every police precinct in this City has held a community council meeting every month since 1950. This was a Town Hall meeting to address larger Citywide issues with a new Mayor and his Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners. Two completely different things. If you didn’t know that your precinct held a Council meeting every month, whose fault is that? The Councils have been around sine 1950. When you attend a Community Council meeting, you get voting privileges. The Council Board is comprised of civilians who are voted into office by the people who have attended three or more meetings in a year to get voting privileges. It’s a democratic process. That meeting addresses specific, very localized issues, buildings, streets, etc.
I encourage everyone in the community to watch this meeting. What you will see is a complete lack of leadership from Adams, and Brewer, who hardly spoke. Adams was full of platitudes and no concrete plans on how to fix the many problems facing the upper west side and beyond. He also didn’t know the local police precinct, which was bizarre and telling. He had no answers to the bike issue, homeless issue, car theft issue, etc. Take a look at the video. See for yourself. He lost my faith and my vote. It was a text book lesson in failure. Swagger and one liners only go so far. Do your job.
Here’s the problem Michael B. The UWS and Manhattan was the only borough Adams lost. Let that sink in for a bit. We vote for Brewer but not Adams. We vote for a do nothing politician but don’t vote for the guy who actually handled gangs for a living. And now we desperately want and need his help to enforce laws that shouldn’t need enforcing. The DA always seems to get a free pass. It’s our bail laws that embolden people to break rules without fear of any consequences. We hold cops to a significantly higher standard than we hold criminals. So now cops won’t do the real dirty stuff because they know the woke crowd will demonize them rather than calling out a criminal. Sadly, you reap what you vote. There should simply be no equivocation for doing the wrong thing. And doing bad things or breaking laws should have real consequences.
Totally agree. Stop pointing at cops and the mayor, and start pointing at our state and local representatives and DAs. They’re the e architects of these stupid laws and policies. Our government and courts have been hijacked by “activists” and “progressives” who don’t understand human nature and believe in magic beans. Start voting for sensible people—even if that means Republicans and Independents—and watch the city improve.
It is not either/or. Current administration city, state and country-wide contributed to all of the mess we are currently in.
As I often say, we need a leader. Adams was, at first, a cheerleader, nothing mor.e. Now he ‘s a doomsayer, nothing more. He has no relevant experience. His possible reelection is a nightmare,.
Let’s get behind somebody experienced and competent. So far, I see our Comptroller as such a person. He is not quiet about by Adams’ blather and behavior. Then there’s Kathryn Garcia who very narrowly lost to Adams. Dems, let’s get headed in a much better direction!
I have called Brewer’s office repeatedly on the bikes on the sidewalk on Broadway,
Still nothing has been done.
Can Gale walk the streets here?
Does she understand how dangerous this is to the seniors and children?
Sorry. I was there. It was a very long meeting. He’s a retired Police Captain. Of course he knows the precincts. Nothing like that was said at all. Brewer spoke before the meeting, after the meeting, and during the meeting. It was her birthday. You are completely banking on people not watching the meeting. For those of us who attended, your comments are pure fiction.
I guess we should be careful what we wish for…and who we vote for.
In the ranked choice voting, I did not include Adams, and only one person I know did so. But here we are, stuck with him and others whom I shall not name.
Thanks, WestSideRag. I could not make it to the meeting and this article let me catch up quickly.
I am glad that some realism about the city’s finances has settled in with the mayor
but still have a hard time understanding why a project that provides 500 shelter beds costs
over $2M per bed. That sounds a little bit like the $1M public bathroom in California.
correction,: it is 200 beds and the money will be spend over 30 years
And why isn’t the Mayor discussing the real — and unfortunately, only — solution, which is to end our State’s guarantee of free shelter?
Other states, believing they don’t need to help those in danger, bus them to NYC.
This is why migrants and homelessness should be a federal expense not a state expense. All states should contribute to the expense.
This is a very good point, Yvonne
Good quip today from the WSJ editorial board – perhaps they’re reading the Rag?
President Biden “has abdicated political leadership, and the asylum laws that draw migrants won’t get fixed until Democrats admit they’re broken. That’s the truth, whether or not the Upper West Side wants to hear it.”
Yeah, Rupert’s Rag….
True, and ironically quite Trumpian. The problem won’t be fixed until Dems admit their policy was wrong; and the odds of Dems ever admitting that any of their policies were wrong are about the same as The Donald ever admitting that he was wrong about anything ever!
What is a reasonable argument that allows Ds to admit Biden’s open border policy isn’t working but gives them credit for trying in good faith to find a path forward?
There is no ‘open border’ policy. And when you say that, it is a good hint that you are either misinformed or pushing falsehoods.
OK, can you give me better information? I don’t wish to push any falsehoods…
You can call it whatever you want. The border is in fact wide open.
Ok – if the Mayor needs “our voices” – who exactly are voices of the “opposition” to quality-of-life enforcement? Who are the 20-50 vocal, powerful opponents that prevent real work here? Can the Mayor provide this list – names, organizations, titles – so we can judge whether or not this is just a lame excuse for inaction?
Our role in “stopping what they’re doing to us” re: the migrant crisis? Is this a joke? Why would we go protest in Texas – and not Albany or City Hall? Who enables the ridiculous free-for-all provided by this City (not by Texas) and fails to act to stop that? The entire world sees the red carpet and acts accordingly. What executive order powers do the Governor and Mayor have in this regard? What are they afraid of?
“Monster shelter system.” Who are the specific people responsible for and/or benefitting the most from this? Can we actually hear some names and organizations, instead of platitudes? Who collected the most on contracts over the decades of this spawn? In salaries and bonuses? Who certifies that the unending “services” actually achieve any measurable outcomes? Who along the chain allowed a homeless person in NYC to cost us as much as the annual GDP-PPP of a well-off European country? What are the names of the legislators that failed to act to stop this over the years?
“…will destroy New York City…”, “no ending in sight”, “cut every service”. With this damning, definitive sentence, can anyone make a coherent argument why a tax-paying middle-class family trying to raise children in the City should stay here? Asking for a friend.
The voices of opposition in the case of the reckless bike situation is Transportation Alternatives (which is a big, powerful bike lobby), Citibike, the DOT which contracts them and is also in bed with TA, the restaurant lobby, the delivery apps and their lobbyists, and the manufacturers and retailers of all these electric mopeds and vehicles. A LOT of money is involved, and powerful lobbyists are involved. They provide the push back that the Mayor is talking about.
As for the migrant situation, it the GOP who is busing migrants to New York City, as was done from Texas (Abbott) and Florida (DeSantis), as well as the pleasure they get from chiding New York and its Democratic administration. The feds have not provided enough money for us for all the migrants we are taking in.
As for the homeless, it was brought up by an audience members that City Controller Brad Lander’s wife works for the company that has the ga-gillion dollar contracts for housing the homeless, so there is no desire to “cure” any of those problems. That is the monster shelter system that was talked about. If you want to watch the entire Town Hall meeting, it is on You Tube.
Only a portion of the migrants were sent to NY by Abbott and DeSantis. Per the New York Times last week, it is about 10 %. The others come from the Democrat mayor of El Paso, the federal government and maybe just on their own.
And the voices of opposition are the members of the city council who are not supporting Adams’ efforts to reform the right to shelter. Only 2 democrats joined the Republican members in writing a letter of support. Query if any of them has a way to pay for this other than the standard “tax the rich,” because there is not enough money in that pot.
“ This issue will destroy New York City.”
And why doesn’t he do anything about repealing right to shelter for anyone in the world? Why doesn’t he engage lawmakers in overturning this provision? Asking for federal help will only attract more migrants.
It stems from the NYS Constitution and a Court Settlement. To get it changed the court settlement has to be changed and or the State Constitution.
If it stems from the NYS Constitution why does it not apply to the entire state of NY? And why can’t the consent agreement be re-litigated.? Upstate politicians do not want the migrants and left wing Democrats do not want to abandon right to shelter.
Jake, my understanding is it does apply to the whole state, but other cities in NY are not sanctuary cities and will deport those who are here illegally. That’s why asylum seekers who are here illegally don’t want to go elsewhere. There are ways to seek asylum in the US that don’t involve illegally entering the country.
Do you want to have 110,000+ homeless men, women, and kids to be denied the #RightToShelter and living in NYC streets and subways, panhandling for food, and mugging people when panhandling is not enough?
It’s not that easy. He does not have the power to overturn state law. A civics lesson would help.
Of course it is not easy. However it is not a law but a court ruling that can and should be repealed. It is clear as a day the ruling that worked before doesn’t work now for the whole world. No one is doing anything about repealing it. That’s where the focus of our lawmakers should be instead of whining and predicting doomsday.
And Sam? Tone down the condescending attitude, it doesn’t help in constructive discussion.
You cannot “repeal” a court ruling. A judicial decision is the court’s interpretation of a law, a constitutional provision, etc. and as such establishes what the law means.
So, either you need to (a) have the NYS Constitution amended to clearly establish there is no right to shelter in NY (which no lawmaker would sponsor, in my opinion) or create a law that accomplishes the same thing (thus setting up a potential lawsuit) or (b) have the court ruling overturned which requires an active litigation matter reach the highest court in NYS for a final determination.
The issue public toilets..Once in place who’s going to clean them?..We have problem enough with overflowing street trash..Toilets? This isnt Paris..
A few years ago I read that Paris sanitation cleans their streets FIVE times a day. Could New Yorkers commit to executing a policy like that?
Can’t think of a better argument AGAINST reelection than “there’s a crisis that’s destroying NYC and even though I’m your mayor, I can’t do a thing about it.” From the guy whose motto is “get stuff done”?
Let’s assume the federal and state government aren’t going to help us. He’s literally saying, “that’s it, the city will be destroyed under my watch.”
People elected him mayor. They expect HIM to do something.
You may recall that last year he made the laughably false statement that crime was higher than it has ever been. ( murder rate was more than 4 times higher when he was cop! ) He loves to make alarmist, and false, statements to rile people up. Rather than ,y’know, giving us an honest assessment of what’s happening.
The mayor is the executive. Laws and funding are set by the City Council. People underestimate how radical and in-the-clouds are many of our City Councilmembers.
A kinder and gentler approach to migrants is in the spirit of the UWS that I have known most of my life.
You’ve never seen this before. 110,000 migrants in a few months with no end in sight who will have to have their housing, food, medical care paid for by taxpayers is unprecedented.
It’s not unkind to call it out as ruinous to the city which has spent $4b on these migrants. And they’re still coming.
How many migrants to get free housing, food, various services … another 100,000? Another 500,000? A million migrants? Where is the money for the UWS we’ve known for most of our lives going to come from when there is NO CAP on the number of people who show up from all over the world to get free stuff in NYC and NOWHERE ELSE?
Federal aid is a band-aid — it won’t change anything. Adams needs to make the change on his end as far as the red carpet.
I attended the Town Hall Wednesday evening. The Mayor seemed generally responsive to many issues especially the daily danger of e-vehicles which ride lawless in NYC threatening the safety of our citizens. If there was one issue that was resounding at this Town Hall it was the e-vehicle issue. Electric vehicles must be licensed, registered and insured by the delivery app corporations. The Mayor asked to meet with NYC-E-Vehicle Safety Alliance a safety advocacy group to work on this!
And yet while Adams was saying this his DOT Commissioner had a very different mission. Rodriguez is trying to pass a plan to redefine the term “bicycle” to include all pedal assist e-bikes as long as 10’ and as wide as 4’ and have as many as 4 wheels! Under his leadership all these newly defined “bicycles” would be allowed to ride on sidewalks too! So much for the Mayor’s kind words!! An e-vehicle which can easily go 25-30 mph is NOT a bicycle! It is an electrically powered vehicle!
If you care about this issue you can submit a comment and title it “Pedal Assist Commercial Bicycles” (deadline is 9/13) to rules@dot.nyc.gov or https://rules.cityofnewyork.us/.
The Virtual hearing is 10:30 on 9/13 https://cb8m.com/wp-content/upl
Was the Mayor speaking from 2 sides of his mouth or is he serious about dealing with the multitude of injuries from unregulated e-vehicles?
He “seemed responsive”? What concrete results were occur.
Seeming to care is really adorable.
Getting things done is leadership.
Joe Biden is the reason we have this migrant crisis. To all NYC voters : This is exactly what you voted for. If you don’t open your eyes and your ears very soon and change how you vote, this insanity will continue.
It’s simplistic to blame everything on the president (no matter who is in charge)… the asylum process most migrants are coming under dates back to the 1960s & Covid disrupted the court’s ability to process applications quickly
I beg to differ. Trump was obsessed with it. It is all he talked about. And his only solution was a wall because big structures are the only thing he understands, not policy. I agree that Biden has not helped the situation, but to place this solely on him is not fair. Republicans currently control the House. I don’t hear any brilliant ideas coming from them.
The mayor is correct about most of the issues discussed in this article.
Please support our restaurants, but STOP ORDERING!
WALK TO THE STORE AND PICK IT UP.
Right now, nothing is going to change, so let us be the change.
I can not stand to see one more person injured by a bike.
We are the ambassadors here – the folks who care about our community.
Spread the word – to your neighbors, friends and family.
I am SUPPORTING MY LOCAL RESTAURANTS.
But………. I will pick up my food on foot.
Be the difference folks – please the life you save might be your own.
No one can afford to take the time off from work when hit by a bike.
There is no one to collect from – they just take off after hitting you.
I speak from experience.
And most importantly – our SENIORS – can not survive a fall.
A broken hip is a death sentence.
Our seniors also cannot simply walk to the restaurant to pick up their food. The answer is NOT for us to walk to the restaurant to pick up our food. The answer is to make laws that keep us safe and then to enforce those laws.
I think what would be helpful (and would have been helpful at that meeting) is to understand where and how we can make change happen. We cannot accept the “destruction of New York City.”
We can vote for people, yes, but in the meantime THESE LEADERS NEED TO LEAD. They need to find a way to cooperate and align on what matters most – big rocks, little rocks, etc. and move things up the flagpole. Adams KNOWS the issues and understands how people feel, but as the Mayor, he needs to help provide solutions, and it’s not (in the case of the migrants) shuffling them from one place to another, holding them back from working bc of endless, mindless red tape, letting them hit cops and commit felonies without repercussions (ie deportation) and begging them to tell their friends not to come to NYC. Shouldn’t Adams and co be working on the fine print of what it means to be a Sanctuary City in this day and age, with social media transmitting questionable advice/info with people across the globe in a millisecond? OR, what can we do to insist on policing the millions of small unregistered vehicles that have appeared on our streets since Covid? Why do people have to sustain brain damage for us to really crack down? As a former cop, is there literally nothing that can be done right now, aside from weekly sweeps for unregistered vehicles. I see people committing traffic violations every day, a million times a day. Are the cops encouraged to just ignore?
I don’t know the answers, but short of voting (when we can), protesting (which only does SO much, as we know) or throwing money at various groups that are attached to these issues, what can we do NOW? Adams, Brewer, etc etc etc need to lead the way. That’s what we elected them to do.
Yes, my takeaway from this article (thanks again, WSR!) is that our elected leaders are just throwing up their hands and telling us to get more involved… I see very little leadership here. Working with the NYPD to start enforcing some simple traffic laws (that should apply to all cyclists, not just ebike deliveristas) seems like an initiative the mayor could undertake on his own, not something he should be asking the crowd to help out with.
The NYC Dems are a nightmare for middle class NYC residents.
Rich folks can move to the suburbs anytime they want.
Poor people can live in shelters.
But if you’re middle class? No one is looking out for you.
Mayor Adams urged citizens to attend Community Police Meetings. The next one for the 20th Precinct sector B (W70th – W79th Streets) is on September 13. Please attend. Send an Email to buildtheblocksectorb@gmail.com for time and location
I am on the email chain for this meeting. It’s on Wednesday, Sep. 30th at 6 pm at the
Blessed Sacrament Church, 152 West 71st Street. Please attend. From the email: “Neighborhood Coordination Officers Garcia and Hernandez will be discussing (among other things) our new neighbors at the Stratford Arms on West 70th Street and the status of the boroughwide e-bike initiative. “
The meeting is next Wednesday, September 13, not the 30th as I incorrectly typed in my comment above. Please attend.
What is the deal with Waterline Square’s streets being private? What streets that appear public are actually private? Are we talking about a “street” that goes through the development? For months, i have been confounded by the fact that the streets that abut one of the buildings at 61st between Riverside Blvd and Freedom Place are all marked as no parking allowed at any time but the spots are constantly taken, and don’t appear to be ticketed. Did the building somehow get those parking spots reserved for its residents?
His blaming Texas is rich.
So noting about illegal gas powered motorcycles. Adams clearly doesn’t care about pedestrian safety.
I expect him address the illegal driving of e-scooters and e-mopeds about as much as De Blasio and MBH President Brewer did. So not.
He made the choice to ignore the gas scooters about a year ago. Why would he change?
Adams is absolutely right about the migrants: this is an unsustainable situation and will, indeed, wreck the city, by bankrupting it or driving it to tax people capable of paying taxes out of the city. There is a fundamental disconnect in imposing the burdens all of these foreign indigents on localities; if it is democratically decided that they have to be accepted into the country, then the burden should be borne by the Federal government. More basically, we need a sensible migration law that would exclude indigestible waves of low-skill migrants and recognize that migration to the US (and Canada and Europe) cannot be the solution to the problems of all the poor, oppressed, or downtrodden of the world, no matter how pathetic their individual stories.
“This issue will destroy New York City.” THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR COMING FROM THE MAYOR OF NYC. We want to hear a solution to this problem not the continuing crying from Adams. Maybe the Lt. Mayor should take over.
I live near 73rd and Broadway. Today while walking my dog, I passed Rutgers Church where many immigrants are lined up for food. Across the street (in front of the old Northface) another group of immigrants were standing. They were all yelling across the street at each other and loudly cursing. Then I walked up to 74 (Fairway) where many immigrants who act as personal shoppers were yelling at each other, also cursing,
This is now the UWS. This is it.
Don’t want your kids to hear foul, abusive language? Move.
Don’t want to hear it yourself? Move.
This is the new reality. After over 60 years in NYC, I’m contemplating moving away.
This is becoming the new Baltimore.
Just yesterday, a crusty old New Yorker cursed out my wife bc my 3yr old wandered into her path so maybe the migrants are just assimilating quickly?
It will never return to the neighborhood you remember. Elected officials have failed this city and those of us that grew up here. Very, very sad.
re: mayoral election
1.1 million voters — or 21% of registered voters — cast ballots. It’s the lowest percentage turnout in seven decades. The turnout tally was 23% in 2017, and 24% in 2013,
As the mayor showed at the town hall meeting, he is completely lacking in financial acumen.
Thank you for the clear and concise recap of the meeting, also it’s neutral tone. Very appreciated in this era of hostility and lout noises.
You have to treat this migrant issue like a busted water main. Stop crying about not having enough sandbags while the water is still running. Shut the water off at the source, then go about cleaning up the mess.
Harlem needs more garbage containers!! One sometimes walks three blocks to find one. Others aren’t so patient. They just drop it in the street. Large groups of people congregating on outside of certain stores leave a pile everyday. Put a garbage pail there. Either the city or store owners should be responsible for providing containers and responsible for proper disposal of the contents.
The NY Daily News has noted (article today, Saturday) that Adams is receiving praise from the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer for his vile, hateful remarks.
Pro tip – if Nazis are agreeing with you, you’re on the wrong side.
Yes let another 250,000 ‘migrants’ into the city. This crisis will destroy the city.
Mayor Adams keeps saying he can’t do anything because of the state’s law on “right to shelter”. But is that true? This is the best explanation I’ve read. “the term “right to shelter” appears nowhere in the state’s constitution. The constitution does feature a bill of rights, listing items such as religious liberty, and the right to organize a labor union.“Shelter” is not among these rights.” https://nypost.com/2023/08/27/new-york-citys-got-it-all-wrong-with-its-right-to-shelter/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=pasteboard_app
He could involve lawmakers to change the city provision. You are right, NYS constitution doesn’t explicitly state right to shelter. NYC court order does however. So Adams’s effort should be in involving legal branch into changing this provision for our city. He doesn’t do it and points to a constitution. Either he is ignorant or afraid to upset his lefty bosses or both.
Sorry to say and very unhelpful but face it – you voted for it, UWS! I have met so many neighbors who are still for sheltering these migrants and provide for them. God bless.
My neighbors were like that till Stratford Arms single migrants started creating nuisance right in front of our building. Before most were all “compassion”. Interesting how things change when it is at your doorstep.
I was there, The mayor was cool and well-scripted, practicing for his next new gig for higher office.
His answer to everything was to call upon his staff to give them a platform for telling the public how great they are doing. As one example, the Dept. of Sanitation bragged about the new “ratproof’ waste containers and the addition of waste containers all over the city. Yet people exiting the building where the town hall was held couldn’t miss the overflowing waste container surrounded by garbage on the corner., not 100 feet from the building.
If the mayor were serious about controlling rat populations, he would have demanded that all of the restaurant sheds be closed permanently so that the streets can be cleaned on a regular basis. The streets haven’t been properly cleaned since the start of Covid, three years ago. If restaurant sheds had to dismantle, the streets could be cleaned properly, followed by an evaluation of licensing for expanded space for restaurants. Outdoor restaurants could be given licenses that include a mandate for ensuring that the space is cleaned properly and food is not left outdoors. But Adams did nothing of the sort. These homes for rats will remain, even if part time. In the winter months when the sheds will be officially closed, there is no provision for cleaning and clearing the street. And while we all like dining outdoors in good weather, we don’t need to be in the streets to do it. The name “sidewalk cafe” isn’t a misnomer. These street sheds block the bike lanes, add to street congestion, and are safe havens for rats and other vermin.
And oh yes, the mayor expressed with great gravitas his concern about the proliferation of e-bikes. Except that his “pilot” program in Central Park and Prospect Park allows electric vehicles not only on the roads once reserved for bikers and walkers/runners, but also on the pedestrian lanes, which never before allowed even pedal bikes. Gee, great idea–the e-bikes are riding illegally on our sidewalks so let’s open up our once quiet, peaceful parks and allow them to ride there. Is that a concession to the delivery companies so that their deliveristas can take shortcuts through the park? This new pilot program was delivered without full public notice to even the Park Conservancy. . Does he think that the e-bikes would ride in the park instead of in the bike lanes and on the sidewalks?
Adams is a lot of talk and good at what he might call delegating but what others see as a blame game in which he takes no responsibility for actions and lack of actions that would help solve real problems. His Get It Done motto is a sham; he’s done nothing in spite of spouting of statistics that belie the experience of those who live here. If this city becomes an unrecognizable never-ending problem, it will be because Adams and his administration have done nothing and in fact have made some problems worse.
WHY don’t they send. migrants back to their
home country! Is it illegal to do so and why
It seems only logical