Mayor Eric Adams hosted a town hall in Corona Wednesday evening as part of the mayor’s Talk with Eric Community Conversation Series, informing local residents that he hopes to speak to the Trump administration regarding its plans on deportation.
Adams, along with Council Member Francisco Moya and several City Hall officials met with local residents at IS 61 at 98-50 50th Ave. on Wednesday, discussing the progress of Operation Restore Roosevelt and hearing concerns about a number of local issues, including trash pile-ups on Roosevelt Avenue and Queens Boulevard and community fears regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the local area.
Adams told local residents that his administration would stand up for all New Yorkers, both documented and undocumented, stating that he plans to speak to the Trump administration about its plans to carry out raids in New York City.
“There’s a lot of anxiety and a lot of uncertainty and the ink is not even dry on these executive orders,” Adams told Corona residents Wednesday night.
Responding to concerns that his administration would collaborate with ICE by allowing agents to carry out raids in New York schools, Adams said New York residents should continue to go about their daily lives.
“We are very clear, children should go to school. Those who need healthcare should go to hospitals. Those who are involved in any type of interaction where they’re victims of a crime, they should speak to the law enforcement agencies. We have maintained that over and over again,” Adams said.
Moya added that New York City is a “better city” because of its immigrant communities, stating that Adams has done everything he can to ensure that the immigrant population is not living in fear.
“This to me is home and it is surrounded by immigrants, whether they came from Italy, Ecuador, Mexico, wherever they come from, we’re here to protect that,” Moya stated at the town hall.
Several residents raised concerns about trash pile-ups in the area, with one resident stating that garbage is dumped throughout the community because there are not enough trash cans and not enough garbage pick-ups.
Another resident raised concerns about trash on Queens Boulevard, stating that graffiti and overgrown weeds have been a persistent problem on the thoroughfare. The resident told Adams that they have called the Department of Sanitation on several occasions over the issue, only to be referred to NYC Parks, who referred the issue back to Sanitation.
“Nothing is worse than you call city government and they tell you, ‘That’s not my problem,'” Adams said. “It is our job to hear your complaint and refer it to the proper agency, not to run you around.”
Antonio Whitaker, assistant director of Bureau of Community Affairs at the Department of Sanitation, apologized to the resident on behalf of the department, stating that removal of overgrown weeds is a Sanitation issue.
Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry, who oversees Security Operations at the NYPD, also promised that the NYPD would investigate graffiti in the area, stating that the NYPD’s citywide vandals taskforce can investigate graffiti and arrest graffiti artists.
A number of residents also stated that there is a significant trash problem at a waiting zone for the LaGuardia Airport limo service on 23rd Avenue, informing the Mayor that limo drivers frequently dump in the area or use the area as a toilet.
Moya, responding on behalf of Adams, said he has provided around $175,000 to provide extra pick-ups in the area and promised to install more cameras in the area to combat illegal dumping.
Garbage was one of the issues that the Operation Restore Roosevelt aimed to solve. The 90-day multi-agency plan, launched by Adams and Moya in October, attempted to address a number of quality-of-life issues along Roosevelt Avenue, including reports of prostitution, shoplifting and garbage pile-ups.
The Adams administration recently shared data from the 90-day operation, which came to an end earlier in January.
Over the course of the initiative, authorities made 985 arrests, including 134 prostitution-related offenses. In addition, 11,831 summonses were issued, and 464 vehicles were confiscated, including 419 illegal two-wheeled vehicles and ATVs. City agencies conducted 292 building inspections, resulting in 18 vacate orders and two padlocked locations by the NYC Sheriff’s Office for illegal cannabis sales.
