Mayor Eric Adams: My fellow New Yorkers, as you may have heard, the Department of Justice has directed that the case against me be dismissed, finally ending a months-long saga that put me, my family, and this city through an unnecessary ordeal.
As I said from the outset, I never broke the law, and I never would. I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor. It is worth repeating the facts because many sensational and false claims have been made. So let me be clear, I never asked anyone to break the law on my behalf or on behalf of my campaign, never. And I absolutely never traded my power as an elected official for any personal benefit.
No witness ever came forward publicly to make claims against me. None of the baseless threats from prosecutors of new charges and new evidence ever materialized. And this case will no longer continue.
Psalms 34:1 says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. So I thank the Justice Department for its honesty. Now we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city. It's time to move forward.
But despite the fact that I am no longer facing legal questions, I also understand that many New Yorkers will still question my character. And I know that I must continue to regain your trust. I've learned a lot over the last year, and this experience has been humbling. But as we have been dragged through this unfortunate prosecution, I never took my eyes off what was important, you and your family's future. And because of that, our city government has never been stronger. Just look at the figures.
We have achieved record drops in crime, record increases in affordable housing, and the highest number of jobs in New York City history. And I want to repeat that, double-digit drops in shootings, homicides, and subway crimes. The most new housing built in a three-year period ever, and the most jobs ever. We moved more than 185,000 migrants through our system and out of our care.
We helped put $30 billion back into the pockets of New Yorkers through direct assistance. And we enrolled more children than ever into early childhood education programs while reducing the cost of childcare to less than one-tenth of what it was when we came into office for working families. We put thousands of new police officers on our streets and in our subways, and we connected thousands struggling with mental illness to services.
That's right, hidden beneath all the shocking headlines full of rumors and accusations, all the innuendos and insinuations, the real news is that the women and men of my administration have delivered for the working people of New York, just like I promised we would. Those are the facts. Many people continue to feed whatever false narratives they want, but no one can dispute the numbers.
Continuing to improve those numbers even more, month after month, and dedicating myself to the values and fights that New Yorkers believe in, is how I will restore the faith in those who have lost it in me, and it will be how I reward the faith of those who believed in me for four years ago. Giving hope again to all New Yorkers who want to see their city thrive.
If you want to know who I am, all you have to know about me is where I am from. Who I am is not in the headlines, it is in my history. It's the same place as you, working class, struggling to survive, in love with this city, even when it lets us down. I grew up in a place where justice always seemed out of reach. My family was betrayed by a city that didn't care enough about us, and that's why I fought for you and will keep fighting for you, because I am you, and that is why you can trust me to keep moving this city forward.
This has been the most difficult 15 months of my life, but my inspiration was knowing that I was fighting for the people of this city. So many of those people are still facing their own difficult challenges every day, just like my own mother did when she worked three jobs to raise six children. If you work hard enough, New York City should give you a chance to succeed. This is our great promise. This is my promise to you. Hard work, real results, and a city and a mayor you can be proud of. Thank you, New York.
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