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Mayor Adams’ top public safety official refuses to explain role
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Feb 24, 2023
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A screenshot of the meeting which was streamed on YouTube.
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Feb 24, 2023
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Mayor Eric Adams’ top public safety official refused to explain his role in the administration on Friday, disrupting the first in a series of briefings on the city’s efforts to protect New Yorkers.
The briefing was a rare public appearance for Phil Banks, the former NYPD chief of department now serving as deputy mayor for public safety. Since Banks' appointment last January, Adams has faced questions about how the deputy mayor's responsibilities overlap with NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell’s duties. Banks retired from the NYPD in 2014 while under federal investigation. Prosecutors later named him as an unindicted co-conspirator in a sprawling NYPD bribery scandal.
When asked why he was the best person to lead a public safety briefing and how his role differed from Sewell's, the first woman to head the department, Banks said, “that’s not a question.”
“I won’t answer that particular question. I'm in this role because the person who was elected mayor has the authority to appoint a deputy mayor of public safety,” Banks said. “And he believed that I should be the person in this particular role. And that's why I’m in that role. End of story, bottom line.”
When Banks accepted his role in the Adams administration, he wrote in the Daily News that he’d never broken the law or abused the public trust. But he also offered an apology for his friendship with two men who bribed cops, which he called a mistake.
Banks was flanked at the briefing by Sewell, Correction Commissioner Louis Molina, Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh and other top city officials.
The briefing had been billed as a way for New York City officials to engage the public on safety issues and their concerns. Officials touted data showing a drop in subway crime, and gave updates on recent law enforcement operations.
But the briefing became heated when a reporter asked Banks to explain his official duties for the administration, the specifics of which have been something of a mystery to the public.
Adams has frequently sparred with the media over coverage of his administration. In an email sent widely on Thursday ahead of the briefing, he said “keeping New Yorkers safe is my No. 1 priority as your mayor, and I want to make sure you know what we're doing.”
Members of the public were allowed to submit public safety-related questions through an online form.
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new york city
public safety
Michelle Bocanegra
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