Mayor Eric 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. Kathy 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 the 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.”
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 the devices.
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 department would operate like the Taxi and Limousine Commission by issuing licenses and inspecting 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 mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features. We cannot stand by and let Big Tech monetize our children’s privacy and jeopardize their mental health,” the mayor said.
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. 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 for their products,” he said.
“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.”
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.
“This year, the NYPD will further reform their internal case process to cut that time in half — setting stricter timelines so that cases do not languish for months.”
Elsewhere in his address, the mayor outlined strategies to further drive out rats and reduce citywide rodent complaints.
“Soon, we’ll be taking our sanitation strategy to the next level, by bringing containerization to our high-density buildings and taking steps to take every single black trash bag off our streets. Every single bag,” he said.
It adds to the agenda items Adams had promoted in the week leading up to his remarks, including a push to use a slew of city-owned properties for affordable housing projects and wiping out $2 billion in medical debt hanging over the heads of 500,000 New Yorkers.
Reaction to Hizzoner’s overall 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.
“Realizing the mayor’s vision could mark a turning point, but it will take more than just words to see the change we want.”