ADAMS IN ‘APPLE POLISH’
Ignores crises in rosy pitch for new programs
Mayor Adams touted “real progress” since last year on tackling crime and the migrant crisis during his State of the City address Wednesday — as he unveiled a crackdown on social media companies and dangerous delivery bike services.
Compared to his 2023 speech, when Adams repeatedly begged Gov. Hochul for help fixing New York City, Hizzoner used his third annual address to paint a much rosier picture of the Big Apple under his watch.
“When we came into office two years ago, we had a clear mission: Protect public safety, rebuild our economy and make this city more livable,” he told the crowd of elected officials, City Hall staffers and industry reps gathered at Hostos Community College in The Bronx.
“Two years in, we are seeing real results. Crime is down, jobs are up, and every day, we are delivering for working-class New Yorkers,” Adams said.
Instead of dwelling on issues that continue to plague the city, Adams turned the page to new items for his 2024 agenda, including establishing a new, wide-ranging agency that will oversee everything from e-bike safety to the lithium-ion batteries that power such devices.
Assault on batteries
The Department of Sustainable Delivery “will also build on the work we have done to protect New Yorkers from the dangers of lithium-ion batteries,” Adams said, adding that his administration was still in talks with the City Council to create the agency.
“Our administration banned the sale of uncertified e-vehicles and refurbished batteries, but with the Department of Sustainable Delivery, we will be able to do much more, including educating riders and enforcing safety standards for lithium-ion batteries.”
The DSD would operate like the Taxi and Limousine Commission by issuing licenses and inspecting e-bikes to ensure the batteries meet safety standards, according to City Hall.
The mayor also vowed to better protect kids from online harm as he accused social-media giants of endangering their mental health — echoing Hochul’s State of the State speech just two weeks ago where she threw her support behind legislation cracking down on children being targeted by addictive algorithms.
“Companies like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook are fueling a mentalhealth crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features,” the mayor said. “We cannot stand by and let Big Tech monetize our children’s privacy and jeopardize their mental health.”
Adams said his administration was issuing an advisory Wednesday to officially designate social media a “public health hazard.”
“We are the first major American city to take this step and call out the danger of social media like this,” he said. “Just as the surgeon general did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media like other public health hazards and ensuring that tech companies take responsibility . . .
“We are going to correct this crisis that is facing our children.”
Adams laid out the fresh items after he praised a decrease in crime and considerable job growth since he was elected mayor in 2021, as well as his administration’s handling of the asylum-seeker crisis.
He pointed to the 14,000 illegal guns that have been taken off the streets, a “double-digit drop” in the number of shootings and homicides.
Overall, crime across Gotham did drop slightly in 2023 — down 0.3% —
compared to the year prior, the NYPD’s latest figures show, but crime rates are still up more than 31% overall compared to 2019.
“Our strategy is working,” Adams said of tackling crime, adding that “we are making progress on the fentanyl crisis, car theft, retail crimes and more.”
‘Speech very positive’
He touted the creation of 270,000 private-sector jobs and revealed a new $100 million investment for a Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, which falls under the city’s wider Green Economy action plan that is slated to create 400,000 jobs by 2040.
Hizzoner also vowed to advocate for four years of mayoral control over city public schools and expand New York City Reads, which is the updated curriculum linked to phonics.
Reforming how NYPD discipline cases are handled was on Adams’ list, too.
“When a civilian brings a complaint, we must act more swiftly to resolve the matter,” he said, acknowledging that some internal cases can take a year to resolve.
Reaction to Hizzoner’s glowing tone was mixed, with Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) saying: “The speech was very positive, and you need that, and I’ve been here for many of them.”
Others, however, were more cautious.
“The State of the City address offered a glimmer of hope, yet New Yorkers remain burdened by soaring taxes, high living costs, diminished quality of life, a never-ending migrant crisis and crime,” Councilman Bob Holden (D-Queens) told The Post.