Embattled New York City Mayor Appoints Maria Torres-Springer as First Deputy

Mayor Eric Adams had his usual Tuesday morning “off-topic” press briefing (which was again done in City Hall’s central cupola rather than the briefing room), focusing his opening remarks on the city’s recently reported drop in crime, as well as to announce the appointment of Maria Torres-Springer as the city’s new First Deputy Mayor, after Sheena Wright announced officially that she was stepping down earlier this morning. The mayor entered the briefing to the song “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z – more specifically, a version that has audio recordings of his inspirational/motivational lines (“rise and grind”) inserted into the opening of the song. Like last week, Adams was alone at the podium flanked by signs touting his accomplishments, which this week were all about the drop in crime reported yesterday by the city, each one calling New York “the safest big city in America.”

The former police captain was indeed coming from another press briefing earlier in the morning with NYPD officials at 1 Police Plaza dealing specifically with this report. Interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon thanked the mayor for his appointment, and called the NYPD “the greatest police agency in the world.” He then ran down a list of the statistics from the report, which showed increased enforcement and drops in crime across numerous metrics. According to the report, 18,000 illegal guns have been seized during the Adams’ tenure, 5,000 of them this year, along with 3,000 associated arrests. Felony arrests more broadly are at a 26-year high, and murder at a 5-year low. Donlon went to single out investigative analysts’ work in contributing to these stats, stating that “the work they do is very tedious, time consuming,” but that their contributions are ultimately brings “valuable information to investigations.”

Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael J Lipetri continued where Donlon left off, noting that New York City had the “safest August ever” and that it’s “getting to levels pre-pandemic when it comes to violence.” The cloud in the silver lining? Shoplifting, which Lipetri stated “continues to be at unprecedented levels,” leading to over 21,000 arrests this year. Lipetri took a aggressive stance on the issue, saying that this type of crime is being committed by “career criminals” who are “highly recidivist,” pointing out a particular offender who reportedly had stolen $36,000 worth of goods from various cell phone stores.

Eric Adams was part of that press conference, and at the next one in City Hall (a two-block walk from 1 Police Plaza) shortly thereafter. One of the signs behind him reiterated the statistics on confiscated illegal guns and the 9-month-long drop in crime “citywide,” while the other communicated the 8.7% drop in crime on the subway in September. While the increased patrols on the subway have apparently borne fruit, their presence there has not been without deeply concerning interactions with the public. On Sunday, September 14^th, officers shot at a fare evader who was brandishing a knife on an elevated subway platform in Brooklyn, injuring the suspect, a police officer, and two bystanders, one of whom suffered serious brain injuries. The latter’s temporary guardian has now filed an $80-million-dollar legal claim against the city.

The mayor’s opening remarks at City Hall repeated the talking points concerning crime in the city: “I inherited a city where we were witnessing a 40 percent increase in crime, and you’re seeing we’re moving in the right direction.” Adams even one-upped the sign behind him, stating that while we are now the safest big city in America, the goal was to be the “safest city in America” full stop.

He then moved on to the biggest news of the day: the appointment of Maria Torres-Springer as the new First Deputy Mayor, taking the place of now-officially-resigned Sheena Wright. Wright is one of many officials in Adams’ orbit (including her husband, David Banks) who have left City Hall in recent weeks as the mayor is facing federal corruption and bribery charges. The mayor thanked her for her service to the city and wished for her to “make us all proud” with her future endeavors.

While Adams mostly swatted away concerns from reporters that this was an appointment that was being made in the midst of crisis, his introduction belied those sentiments, calling Torres-Springer a source of “calm during rough seas,” commending her “ability of landing the plane” as he introduced her. Torres-Springer is widely viewed as a highly competent official for the position, with nearly two decades of experience in city government across three mayoral administrations. She called her cumulative experience in city government her “life’s work” and stated her longstanding commitment to “ensure that no neighborhood is left behind.” The former nonprofit executive committed to “focus on the work” and to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with public servants. As she left the podium, the mayor shook her hand: “do your thing and run our city.”

Adams returned to the deflections that typify these sessions as of late when reporters ask about the federal charges against him, even resorting to a more semaphoric style after repeated attempts to tease out information: “any questions dealing with the case – lawyer.” As the number of resignations and firings surrounding the mayor pile up, with seven top officials leaving in just the last month, Adams remained unfazed that they were a cause for concern to constituents. “I have 300,000 employees,” he stated, wondering aloud why these few individuals were being singled out as indicative of a crisis. When pressed further, he went in another direction, stating that “aggravating factors” like the migrant crisis and COVID have taken their toll on now-burnt-out officials. He employed this explanation in explaining the departure of David Banks in particular, who Adams says told him he resigned because he “ran out of gas” due to the pressures of the job.

The mayor pushed back on the claim that he appointed Torres-Springer at the direction of Governor Hochul, stating “I don’t get sign off from other entities,” and sarcastically dismissing reports claiming otherwise: “you know if it’s reported then it has to be accurate.”

La Voce asked the mayor about the report from the Daily News this morning indicating terrifying conditions suffered by mentally ill inmates at Rikers Island jail, who are held in solitary confinement for weeks or even months at a time, to the point of decompensation (i.e. total mental breakdown). He was not yet familiar with the report, instead expressing his confidence in the current commissioner of the Department of Corrections, Lynelle Maginley-Liddie: “she’s a great human being, and she’s not going to tolerate mistreatment at Rikers.” He also noted the need for “wraparound treatment” for the mentally ill to address their problems before they commit a crime.

The mayor left the podium to a reprise of “Empire State of Mind,” the original version this time.