New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said his administration will send out drones to broadcast safety messages to neighborhoods at risk of major flooding as the city absorbed heavy rain from Tropical Storm Debby.
The drones will cover several at-risk neighborhoods for flooding across the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island until weather conditions render them unsafe to operate, officials said during the mayor's weekly press briefing.
“We have drones out today that are going to be messaging in certain neighborhoods as well in multiple languages,” said city Emergency Management Commissioner Zachary Iscol. “Letting people know that this is something that people need to take very seriously and notifying the public that there is significant weather coming into New York City.”
Although the city has urged New Yorkers to sign up for NotifyNYC, the city's emergency communications program, and works with nonprofits and community-based organizations to warn about the potential impact from severe weather, Adams said the city is continuing to seek alternative communication methods.
"Yes, we're going to have a large number of New Yorkers that's going to sign up for NotifyNYC, but there's a large number that won't. And not everyone gets their information from social media. Some people don't speak English. So we must meet New Yorkers where they are," Adams said.
Iscol emphasized the unpredictable nature of storms as it’s “very hard to know where the rain is going to fall” and also stressed the importance of having a plan in case of dangerous flash flooding.
Parts of the city, especially the Bronx, saw about 5 inches of rain on Tuesday, while portions of Brooklyn got about 2 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. A travel advisory is in effect through Wednesday.
The mayor also addressed a question about the Campaign Finance Board's draft audit of his 2021 campaign, which revealed $2.3 million in undocumented expenses. Because the audit is a draft, Adams and his team will have the opportunity to clear up the problems flagged in the report.
“CFB has a very important job of protecting taxpayers' dollars. They give us a draft report. We go through it. I have a compliance team,” said Adams. “Whatever we can learn from it, not only do you address the problem, whatever you can learn from it, you learn from it.”
More than 70 expenditures by the Adams’ campaign in 2021 lacked sufficient records, according to the audit first reported by the Gothamist. Auditors also flagged around 50 donations as straw donations, or funds given to the campaign on someone else’s behalf.
The audit flagged a payment of $35,000 made to Suggs Solutions Inc., the consulting company of Brianna Suggs, the chief fundraiser for the Adams campaign, whose home was raided by the FBI last year. Auditors said the payment was missing required paperwork, including a contract and an invoice.
“Each item on the CFB's report, we have to respond to. And that becomes public…That's going to be part of our public response,” said Adams. “Then you can take a review of it. You can look at it and see it.”
Adams has until August 30 to respond to the audit and account for the items in question.
Meanwhile, the mayor was not willing to address whether there was an investigation on the alleged rampant sexual abuse happening at the women's jail on Rikers Island after the Gothamist published a story detailing one corrections officer's behavior that led 24 women to accuse him of sexual assault.
“I can't answer that. If there's a culture at Rikers Island that's allowing this to happen…That's a review that would have to be put in place,” the mayor said. “But I don't know…I don't want to tread on the litigation review.”
The Bronx District Attorney’s office, which has jurisdiction over Rikers, has begun reviewing the civil suits for evidence and leads as of July, according to the Gothamist. It is not clear if the Department of Investigation has looked into the allegations made against jail staffers named in the lawsuits.
