Netanyahu Faces Arrest Threat In New York? Mayor Mamdani Bombshell Press Conference — Full Q&A

[0:00] Some Jewish groups have noted that in your video, you didn't include a reference to October 7th or Hamas leaders who carried out that attack. [0:09] And it's not easy always to pin you down on this subject, forgive me, but because there aren't many perfect analogies to draw. [0:16] For instance, not all world leaders or alleged war criminals have ICC warrants, or they're not planning to come to the UN General Assembly, or perhaps they're dead. [0:27] So my question is that would you, if circumstances were different, would you have vowed to arrest the leaders of Hamas who perpetrated the October 7th attack if they were visiting New York? [0:41] And if so, why not include something about that to show New Yorkers that, you know, you're presenting a more balanced approach? [0:50] Why not include that in your video? [0:52] Didn't the ICC put forward a warrant for Yahya Senwar? [0:55] I mean, I know he's dead. [0:57] Yes, but my point is that they did. [1:00] And in the video, I made very clear, as I have before, that my interest in executing that warrant is not specific to Benjamin Netanyahu, but to anyone who they put a warrant towards for war crimes and crimes against humanity. [1:16] And part of that is a reflection of a universal politics. [1:20] And it is from a universal politics that I can look in October 7th and describe it for what it is, which is a horrific war crime. [1:27] And I can also look at Benjamin Netanyahu and see the way that he has orchestrated this genocide and also deem him to similarly be a war criminal. [1:36] And I think especially at a time when there are those in Washington who are discussing measures to take apart the International Criminal Court, what so many are looking for is a sense that there is, in fact, a rule of law across the world where there are crimes that are so grave that they offend all of humanity. [1:54] And I believe that we should hold those who perpetrate them accountable, no matter who they are or where they're from. [2:01] And when it comes to the ICC, they've put forward warrants, whether it's Yahya Senwar, Benjamin Netanyahu, I think a few other members of the Israeli government. [2:08] I believe that all of them should be honored. [2:11] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. [2:12] And what is your response to the criticisms that were raised by Council Speaker Julie Menon on the Legionnaire situation? [2:18] And specifically, given the fact that so many cooling towers turned out to have had live Legionella bacteria in them, maybe more than we expected, came back positive for live Legionella. [2:30] With the benefit now of hindsight, does that suggest in any way that blanket disinfecting might have made sense in retrospect? [2:37] So I'm frankly less interested in the politics of it all, more in the public health of it. [2:41] And what I will say is that previous administration procedure had been that we would wait for the results of culture, and that would mean two weeks. [2:54] We made the decision to do both culture tests and PCR tests. [2:57] So that meant that we could actually test immediately, disinfect any of the cooling towers that came back, and then additionally wait for the culture results. [3:05] As you've mentioned, there are four additional culture results that came back positive beyond the PCRs. [3:11] And the other point here is that we know that Legionnaires is something that has affected our city over many, many years. [3:18] And we are both trying to stop this cluster in the moment and ensure that we are not weakening our ability to stop it in the future. [3:25] And when I sat with public health experts, what I was told time and again is that if we were to do a blanket disinfectant of every single cooling tower across the Upper East Side, [3:35] that would weaken those cooling towers' ability to protect against Legionnaires in the years to come. [3:40] And so we want to make sure that everything we're doing gives people both the safety and the public health they deserve and the confidence that this isn't going to be something that returns. [3:49] I'm going to pass it over to our commissioner to add some detail. [3:52] Thanks, Mr. Mayor. [3:53] So we'll talk about Speaker Menon and the investigation. [3:58] But first, let's talk about the people. [3:59] Five New Yorkers have lost their lives because of this disease, and our hearts are with their families and their loved ones. [4:07] Every single one of those deaths for us underscores the importance of identifying the source and eliminating the source that caused this investigation in the first place. [4:18] So now turning to the investigation, the good news is we are in a very reassuring position. [4:24] We feel confident that we've eliminated that source. [4:28] You know, when we look at the data, the data demonstrates that the last new diagnosis of Legionnaire's disease was on July 15th, so about a week ago, as you heard the mayor say. [4:36] And then in terms of the last person to develop symptoms, they did so over a week ago, over 10 days ago. [4:46] And so we feel fairly confident. [4:48] When you also add in the emergency room data, we're not seeing any concerning spikes or signals. [4:54] Our focus has been and continues to be on accountability, accountability, identifying the cooling tower owner or owners that's at the source of this [5:05] and holding them accountable to the full extent of the law. [5:08] Now turning to Speaker Menon's point, here's what would happen if we blanket disinfected. [5:16] Number one, as you've heard from the mayor, every time we do this biocide treatment, it actually does degrade the cooling towers. [5:24] And thus, in the future, allows them to potentially harbor more Legionella bacteria. [5:28] Now, it's always about finding the right sort of happy medium, but that's the first. [5:33] The second is, had we blanket disinfected from the beginning, we wouldn't be able to actually get the samples. [5:41] And we need the samples to know what caused this, and then that will give us an opportunity to learn. [5:46] So thank you for the question. [5:50] It seems to me that if 34 of the towers came back as having had live Legionella, that seemed to me, and according to some people I've spoken to, to be higher than what we anticipated. [6:03] We thought maybe, you know, a small number would have come back positive. [6:08] So separately, what does that tell you about whether or not the procedures in place already to try to prevent live Legionella bacteria in these cooling towers are working? [6:20] Where's the breakdown that so many of these towers on the Upper East Side were problematic? [6:26] Thank you for that question. [6:28] So, first of all, this bacteria is ubiquitous. [6:32] It is everywhere. [6:34] It is found in nature commonly. [6:36] And to give you a sense of how common it is, when we looked at the data for last year's Harlem cluster, we had 12 of the 47 towers, right, in that case that had live Legionella bacteria. [6:53] So that's the first piece. [6:53] These numbers are not out of what we've seen in the past, and in fact, the overall rate of Legionella bacteria in these cooling towers has decreased over time because the enforcement is working. [7:06] Now, in terms of enforcement, let's talk about that. [7:09] So over the course of the last year, we've issued countless violations. [7:14] Just in the last year, 1,300 violations to cooling tower operators and owners. [7:18] And this, you know, amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. [7:24] And the reality is that, you know, our job is to enforce this law and to make sure that we hold cooling tower operators who are not following the law accountable to the full extent of law. [7:36] And that's what we're going to do here once we identify which tower or towers are responsible. [7:40] I'll just add one thing to what the commissioner said, and I also want to acknowledge the deputy mayor who's here who's been overseeing a lot of this work. [7:50] We will not rest until each and every New Yorker is living the public health that they deserve. [7:57] And that means not only continuing to address this cluster, but doing the work after this point to ensure that what has become an annual event in New York City is one that we are developing far enhanced processes for. [8:15] Because what we've found over the course of this process itself is that there are so many more procedures that the city had been taking years prior that, in fact, could be expedited. [8:27] And I want to credit our health department and the leaders that are here on this stage for having taken that decision time and again. [8:32] And we also know that while we are able to stand here and tell New Yorkers of the fact that no new symptoms have been developed for anyone in the last 10 days, that we are confident we have found the source, we know that there are still New Yorkers who are in hospital as a result of this cluster. [8:47] And so we will continue to do this work and also continue to monitor this outbreak. [8:52] Thank you. [8:52] Thank you. [8:53] I know, Chris, you had an off topic. [8:54] Yeah, thank you. [8:55] So the 2025 cooling tower fines and violations totaled over $600,000 in terms of all of the cooling tower operators that were not compliant with the law. [9:27] And so that was a 2025 number. [9:29] And so we have just begun the implementation and the promulgation of this new law in May. [9:36] And what we see from the data is actually the vast majority of cooling tower operators have been compliant, giving us the information that we need, which is good. [9:44] And we expect that, by the way. [9:46] Now, for the groups that have not been, there's a couple of reasons. [9:50] Some of them have not gotten a cooling tower operational yet, so their cooling tower has not been operational. [9:56] And for the ones that have a cooling tower that is operational and have not given us the required information, of course, there are consequences and there are fines. [10:05] Thank you. [10:06] We are working on making sure that every single one of those cooling tower operators complies with our laws. [10:13] And if they don't, there are consequences. [10:15] All right. [10:15] Thank you. [10:15] We're going to go to... [10:18] I've been very clear about the fact that I believe that the warrant that the International Criminal Court [10:55] has placed upon Benjamin Netanyahu is one that should be honored. [11:00] And I've also been clear about the fact that I would follow and respect our local laws. [11:06] And so I asked my team to do a review of all applicable law. [11:09] And it's clear that the city does not have the authority to execute this warrant. [11:14] However, what is also clear is that the federal government does have the authority to execute this warrant. [11:19] And I call on the federal government to join the International Criminal Court [11:23] and to execute both this warrant as well as any warrant that the International Criminal Court holds. [11:27] Thank you. [11:27] Out of respect for your colleagues, let's try to keep it to one off-topic question. [11:30] We're going to go to Jeff Mays. [11:32] Hey, Mayor. [11:32] How are you doing? [11:32] Hey, Jeff. [11:33] How's it going? [11:33] I actually have two questions. [11:34] Sorry. [11:35] In terms of the Netanyahu decision last night, why did you decide to address the public in that way? [11:43] Because that's usually reserved for much more sort of serious situations. [11:47] And in relation to Netanyahu as well, when exactly did your administration tell you that this was not possible? [11:53] Because when you floated this idea last year, legal experts all came out and said, [11:58] this is not a possible thing that the city can do. [12:01] Do you want my other question? [12:03] That was just one? [12:05] That was just one, yeah. [12:06] I heard a few in there. [12:08] Let me go through this, and then we'll go to your second one. [12:13] You know, Jeff, you said that usually that kind of address is reserved for a more serious topic. [12:18] Yesterday, I was on Staten Island for a meeting with faith leaders, and a young man from Gaza attended that meeting as part of an organization that houses refugees on Staten Island. [12:35] He did not have one of his arms. [12:38] He was one of the many children that have been maimed by this genocide. [12:44] I think that is quite serious. [12:46] I think there are tens of thousands, I do not think, I know, there are tens of thousands of children who have been maimed, who have been forced to undergo anesthesia, forced to undergo operation without anesthesia. [12:59] And when we speak about the more than 70,000 Palestinians that have been killed, we know that likely that number is even higher. [13:06] And yet we do not even know what it reaches. [13:07] And also, we know that it is not a faraway issue. [13:11] I have met Palestinian New Yorkers who have told me how they've spent decades in this city building their lives, saving money to send it back home to build a home in the village they grew up in, only to see it obliterated in an instant with an Israeli airstrike. [13:28] And then that same older New Yorker tells me of how his son called him and begged him to send him money for food, that his grandchild was starving, and that he couldn't do anything about it. [13:41] And so I say that this is something that has not only offended the conscience, the morals, the mere humanity of so many New Yorkers, but it has also ripped apart the lives of many who have been personally affected by it as well. [13:55] And I view that as a very serious issue. [13:57] And I think that it is incredibly important that we ensure that we have done all of our due diligence when conducting a review. [14:10] And so I wanted to ensure that no matter what we heard from anyone on the topic, that I actually asked my team to do that. [14:15] I'm appreciative of their work. [14:18] Specifically tell you this was not possible. [14:20] That's a review that I asked them to do. [14:21] They made it clear that this is not possible through applicable law. [14:24] And that is something that I now believe it is clear that the federal government has the authority to do and that they can execute. [14:29] And you had a second question, Jeff? [14:33] That's a review that I made clear that I wanted to see, and then we've had that conversation. [14:39] I've answered the question. [14:41] Thank you. [14:41] I see appointing someone from McKinsey and someone like Lena Khan, her background, seems like a bit of an odd couple. [14:50] I'm wondering where do you see their views on economic justice actually lining up? [14:56] And I'm wondering if you're concerned that, you know, the agency could be in for a bit of a bumpy ride if these two can't sort of meld their worldviews. [15:05] Well, I think what you'll actually find is that both Lena and Tony, their worldviews are aligned in looking to uplift working New Yorkers across the city [15:15] and in understanding that we must also measure the economic strength of the city by whether it is able to lift up those who are currently being priced out of the city. [15:25] And what I've seen even now in the incredible work of the civil servants we have at EDC is that there are so many who are currently there who are dedicated to this new vision. [15:35] And I'm confident that in both of their appointments, what we're going to see is not only shared alignment, [15:41] but also the execution of a vision that will have real tangible results for New Yorkers. [15:47] All right. [15:47] When you said not a serious topic, I just wanted to address that. [15:54] Thank you, Jeff. [15:54] Marcia, go ahead. [15:55] Mr. Mayor, I'd like to approach the Netanyahu issue from a different direction. [15:59] Please. [15:59] I wonder what you would say to your Palestinian supporters and others who voted for you because of your vow to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu [16:09] and are disappointed with the fact that you can't do it, some of whom have taken to social media saying, [16:15] arrest him anyway because ICE doesn't ask for permission that you should just do it. [16:19] And also, the second part of the question is, what do you think that these people who are frustrated with Netanyahu should do [16:26] when he arrives in New York City for the United Nations meeting? [16:31] I think one of the bedrocks of our city is protest. [16:35] It is something that has been a part of what makes our city so special. [16:39] That New Yorkers can express themselves, whether they are in support or in opposition, no matter on whatever topic. [16:46] And I've always said that when we respect our Constitution, we also respect our First Amendment. [16:51] And here in New York City, it will always be a place where you can exercise that. [16:54] And when it comes to the first question, you know, I have made clear both that I believe that this is an arrest warrant [17:01] that should be executed and also that I would follow the laws that we had. [17:06] And I would be respectful of those laws. [17:08] And that is why I asked my administration to review of all applicable law. [17:12] And I believe, however, in that same finding that the United States government does have the ability [17:17] to both joining the International Criminal Court and executing that warrant. [17:21] And that is something that I want to see happen. [17:24] I just want to follow up. [17:25] I want to give two questions, really. [17:27] Can you tap into the disappointment that people in the Palestinian community feel that you're not going to be able to arrest them? [17:35] And are you urging them to protest? [17:36] I'm simply saying that this is a city where if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect. [17:47] I leave it to New Yorkers themselves to make that decision. [17:50] And when it comes to Palestinian New Yorkers who are disappointed, I understand it. [17:53] Because we are talking about someone who has been charged with crimes against humanity. [17:58] Someone who has visited the city on many an occasion and who has been welcomed by previous mayors. [18:04] And I want to make it very clear that that welcome ends with me. [18:07] I will not be welcoming Benjamin Netanyahu or any other war criminals when they come to this city. [18:12] And I do believe that our federal government should join the International Criminal Court and ensure that there is accountability when it comes to crimes against humanity. [18:19] Thank you, Marsha. [18:20] All right. [18:20] I've got time for a few more. [18:21] We're going to go to Kelly and then Jacob. [18:23] Hello, Mr. Mayor. [18:25] Again, I wanted to stay on the same topic about Netanyahu. [18:29] The United States doesn't recognize ICC warrants. [18:33] So I'm wondering how much of this due diligence was always meant to be failed. [18:37] Do you feel like this for you was, for some people would say, political theater? [18:42] And then I want to go back to the idea of Legionella and what the speaker said in her op-ed in the New York Post. [18:49] Do you feel like some of the points she made were valid? [18:52] Or do you feel like she's taking aim and using this particular issue for a political advantage? [18:58] I'll leave it to New Yorkers to make that determination. [19:01] What I'll say is that my focus is on the public health of it all. [19:03] And every conversation that I've had with our commissioner, with our deputy mayor, has always been, [19:07] how can we deliver for New Yorkers right now, those who are living in the Upper East Side, [19:12] those who are fearful of contracting Legionnaires, as well as those who have contracted Legionnaires. [19:17] And what we've done time and time again is follow public health experts and their advice. [19:23] And that is something that we will continue to do because we've seen what it looks like when public health is politicized across the country. [19:30] We want this to be a city where it's clear that the guidance, the actions, the information that we share with New Yorkers, [19:36] it's done without any political incentive in mind, but rather with a public health incentive in mind. [19:41] Thank you. [19:42] Jacob? [19:42] My first question. [19:44] Your first question to that, I always want to make sure as the mayor that regardless of what others may opine, [19:53] that we do a thorough review internally before coming to a decision. [19:56] Thank you. [19:58] I'm sorry, Kelly, that was two questions. [19:59] Let's go to Jacob. [19:59] The other three questions. [20:01] You actually got one before, too. [20:02] Jacob, go ahead. [20:06] What do you think? [20:07] It was amazing. [20:08] Shouldn't he have played? [20:12] A twofold question. [20:14] Please. [20:15] How do you respond to the critics that say that you're trying to create a one-sided narrative of the conflict, [20:22] you know, that many Jewish New Yorkers reject about what the set of the government and using the mayor's office to do that? [20:32] And second, do you also consider October 7th to be a horrific war crime? [20:43] Like, I've considered it to be something that should be deeply opposed with every single fiber of our being. [20:51] And what I would also say is, what brings me to my conclusions about Israel and Palestine, about the world beyond, is a belief in the universality of humanity. [21:05] And what universality means is that we cannot pick and choose which crimes against humanity we oppose. [21:12] We must be in opposition to all of them. [21:14] And I think that, you know, to the earlier question of which ICC warrant would you honor, it has to be all of them. [21:21] And I think that the other point to be made clear here is that I'm the mayor of every New Yorker. [21:26] And that means that I am the mayor of those who agree with me and those who disagree with me and those who, frankly, don't even know what I think on any issue. [21:34] And my responsibility is to deliver for all of them. [21:37] And, frankly, I know that there are Jewish New Yorkers who agree with my analysis. [21:41] There are those who disagree with my analysis. [21:43] And my responsibility to them is to ensure that they are cherished, they are celebrated, and they are safe in their city. [21:50] And that never are they made to feel as if their opinions on any one issue is the precondition for that safety. [21:59] Thank you. [22:00] Okay, I've got time for just two more. [22:01] We're going to go to Morgan, and then we're going to end with Heather. [22:04] Hi, Mr. Mayor. [22:06] I just wanted to follow up on Melissa's question about why Netanyahu specifically is often targeted in some of your comments. [22:12] For example, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, he was arrested for a warrant that was here in the U.S., and you were very against that. [22:25] So, I guess, how do you, do you place more emphasis on the warrants that were issued by the International Criminal Court than here in the U.S.? [22:31] How do you reconcile those two? [22:33] I would say that the International Criminal Court is a body that seeks to hold those across the world accountable for crimes against humanity, [22:41] for war crimes, for things of that nature. [22:43] And I think that the United States should not only be a party to that court, but should also execute the warrants that that court issues. [22:50] And what I have spoken up about Nicolas Maduro, who I've also described appropriately as a dictator, [22:56] is that the violation of international law is one that has to also be taken very seriously. [23:02] It stems from the same belief in the International Criminal Court. [23:05] And now he is here in New York City. [23:09] On that day when the United States did violate international law, I made clear that I was in opposition to that. [23:14] And it all stems from the same belief in how can there be a sanctity in something beyond an understanding of the world where might is right [23:22] and justice is simply decided by those who are the strongest. [23:26] Thank you. [23:27] Heather, I'm sorry, Morgan. [23:28] We do have to move on. [23:29] Heather, go ahead. [23:30] And then we're going to do just one more from NJ. [23:33] I'm sorry, Morgan. [23:34] We just got to move on because we're running short on time. [23:35] Heather, go ahead. [23:36] And then we'll end with NJ. [23:37] Really quick, back to Legionnaires. [23:39] On the NYCGov website, it says there's a six-month delay in posting inspection results to the public. [23:45] Is there any way that that six-month lag would be updated so people can see when their buildings are being inspected on a faster timeline? [23:53] And secondly, during the speaker's press conference yesterday, she called for there to be a dedicated hotline during peak Legionella season [24:03] just to notify the public and inform them of, you know, can they walk past this building outside? [24:08] Is it safe to do so? [24:09] Do they need to be wearing a mask, et cetera? [24:10] Is that something that the health department would consider doing, especially in the summer months when we're seeing it more rampant? [24:17] I think we will consider any proposal that we believe to be helpful to both public health and awareness of public health. [24:23] What I will say is that we've also had a health department that has had a number of town halls, press availabilities, presence physically on the streets as well. [24:32] I recall, in fact, speaking to the health commissioner over the holiday weekend, which is when this began, [24:37] and asking that we do everything that we can. [24:39] And this was his vision to ensure that we were physically present at that time to be there. [24:44] And also, as you said, to the website, as well as in any of these press availabilities. [24:48] But we will always consider anything that can do, that can further that guidance. [24:52] And I'll just pass it over to the commissioner on the first question. [24:55] Thank you for the question. [24:56] So transparency has been a key focus throughout this whole investigation. [25:01] And you've seen our administration be more transparent than any other administration with regard to handling this cluster. [25:09] Let me explain that. [25:10] So in the past, we would only release the names of the cooling towers that were bacterial culture positive. [25:18] What we decided to do this time was to expedite the whole process because the culture positive step takes two weeks. [25:25] New Yorkers don't have time to wait for two weeks. [25:27] And so we decided to make the decision of releasing the names of the towers and the addresses at the PCR positive step, which is a much quicker test to get back. [25:39] We're committed to identifying every single way that we can be more transparent. [25:43] And so I'll speak to the mayor's point and then come back to what you mentioned about the speaker. [25:49] You know, we are eager to identify ways to push our nation-leading Legionella laws even further to keep New Yorkers safe. [26:00] Thank you. [26:00] Just last question here will be NJ. [26:02] To Dr. Martin, a point of clarity on Legionella, initially I think you and the team believed that there was a single source of the Legionella infections, right? [26:15] It sounds now as if you believe there may have been or are multiple sources of Legionella. [26:21] Can you clarify that for us? [26:22] That's a great question, NJ. [26:23] Thank you. [26:24] So we started with 183 cooling towers, 76 of which were PCR positive. [26:32] Let me explain what that means, right? [26:34] So the PCR positive towers mean that we find evidence of DNA of Legionella in that tower. [26:39] Now, the DNA could be live or it could be dead, right? [26:43] The only version that can hurt you is the live Legionella bacteria, right? [26:47] So we now have a preliminary list of 34 cooling towers that have that live Legionella bacteria. [26:55] Now, the next step is, quite frankly, my favorite. [26:58] This is the nerdiest step, and this is the whole genome sequence step. [27:03] We take the bacteria that we found in those 34 towers, and we identify the samples from our patients, and we try and make a match. [27:11] And what we typically find in these clusters is that there is one tower. [27:16] Last time in Harlem, there were two. [27:19] My expectation is that we're going to have a similar pattern here where there will likely be one tower or perhaps two that actually do have the same DNA pattern as the one that caused this cluster. [27:32] Why are there so many? [27:33] I think there's a question underneath that question, which is why are there so many, right, bacterial culture positives? [27:39] As you heard us say earlier, this is a bacteria which is ubiquitous. [27:43] It's everywhere. [27:44] And the vast majority of these towers have infinitesimal, small trace amounts of Legionella bacteria. [27:53] Some have enough to cause a cluster. [27:55] Our job now, now that we've eliminated the source, is to identify specifically which tower caused this cluster. [28:03] So that's the work ahead of us. [28:05] Thank you, everyone.