NYC Mayor Eric Adams: Last Interview Before Federal Indictment

Victoria Jenn sits down with New York City Mayor Eric Adams for an insightful conversation about his leadership challenges, and the unique pressures of being a public official for a city that never sleeps.

Why tune in:

  • Mayor Eric Adams tackles the controversial topic of cancel culture and how he is transforming his perceived weaknesses into strengths

  • Immigration and how the Mayor’s stance on this issue got him in hot water

  • Mitigating police brutality, how the city is providing resources to the Latino community, and much more…

  • This interview was recorded a week before the indictment announcement and we’re honored we had the opportunity to show a different side of the Mayor that the media often does not show.


Full Transcript:

What's up, mi gente? Welcome back to Banking on Cultura. I am your host, Victoria Jenn Rodriguez, and today we have a very special guest. I mean, all of our guests are special here on the show, but this one you might be very familiar with, especially if you're in the New York City area, but what you may not know is that he is one of six children. He was raised by a single mother between Brooklyn and Queens. He comes from very humble beginnings, so much so that he used to bring a bag of clothes to school every day to in case of eviction. And he used to actually make some runs for some hustlers. He used to steal for some prostitutes. And as a result, he was arrested. And during his time in custody, he experienced some police brutality, some harassment until a black officer came into the room and saved him. And under the advice of a mentor, he decided to change the system from within and became a New York City transit officer. then moved on to the NYPD, joined the police force, retired as a captain, then decided he wanted to play in the political arena, became a state senator, and now he is New York City's current mayor, Mr. Eric Adams. Welcome to Banking on Cultura. You got some good highlights in the journey. We like to highlight the human part of our guest, you know, because you are your story. One uh one part of the political part that I I'm really proud of is becoming the first person of color to be the bar president of Brooklyn. And it was a huge accomplishment for me and just open the doors. And when we open doors, we should make sure others come in because after I left office, uh uh Antonio Renoso, the first Spanish-sp speakaking Dominican became the bar president as well. So that's why it's important uh that we uh stand on each other's shoulders not only for our particular ethnic group but for all those who are coming after us. Absolutely. So how should I address you? Do you go by Eric? Mayor Eric Adams. Eric. Okay. Good. Yeah. This is a we right now. So we like to start this show with some bin which is tea. So tell us something about you that we can't Google. U there's a whole lot. I still cry at the end of Five Heartbeats, you know. Okay. Okay. I must have seen that a hundred times. But seeing that that brother stand up in that pull pit and sing the song after he recovered from uh drugs, abusive, and all the other things that came with it. It just reminds me that the bend in a road is not the end of the road. You just got to make the turn and don't count people out. And you know, as you went through some of my stories, some of my mistakes, my errors, uh you know, we're perfectly imperfect. And I think those perfect people that want to look down on us, uh because we're still evolving. Uh I tell people all the time, don't don't allow people to look down on you, don't allow people to really blow out the candles of your dreams. Just keep aspiring and and hoping and moving forward. And that has been my life. My life um has been a life of just you know people have you know discounted me counted me out you know they uh you know going through school uh being a dyslexic of thinking that I'm dumb they used to tease me in school and call me the dumb student there right on the back of the chair I used to get up and say God don't make me read cuz they're they mimic me throughout the day let's act like we read we read we read we read we read we read we read we read we read we read weeding you know cute children are cute but oh they're bullies oh yeah they are bullies le and they don't care. Right. Right. And they look back later and say, "Wow, that was really cruel." And then, you know, like you said, falling um and, you know, making mistakes with law. Everything from selling weed to running numbers to u getting arrested, uh my brother and I. Um but when you look at it, you know, God is good. You know, when you could be uh dyslexic, arrested, rejected, as I say, and then be elected to the most important city on the globe, that's only God. That's the only God, you know. So, u, you know, you just continue to evolve and that's that is who I am. That's one of the things that I appreciate about New York City and actually you being in this role is that you do own your flaws and you do take accountability for things that don't go as planned. Um, and you you represent a normal person in the city. Well, you know what? Well said. And and to me, I think uh my life just as uh you know, I'm a very u spiritual person and and one of the spiritual books that I look to a lot is the Bible. And the Bible is an accumulation of stories. And we're supposed to use the stories of people uh to understand when we're in those dark places. Mommy told me, "Your dark place is not a burial. It's a planting." you know, and if you if you honest with yourself, if you look over every dark moment in your life, you came out learning something, you know. So, what I've learned is like, what am I supposed to learn right now? You know, the the universe has a way of saying you need to slow down. Like, I got co uh uh uh last week, you know, it was like the universe was saying, listen, man, slow your ass down. You need to sit down. And I cannot tell you how much uh reading I got in, meditating, breathing, relaxing, sleeping, and I just came out of that week like like, "Wow." You know, I needed that. Right. Right. That's right. So, let's talk about how you're managing it all because you actually are, I think, one of the most social and on the scene mayors that the city has ever seen. How do you manage that? And like, how do you what keeps you up at night besides the turnup? I know you be outside. You know, um the I'm really number one concerned about uh our country and I'm concerned about the pain that people are experiencing the old soulful ballad. If you take a close look at my face, you'll see my smile is out of place in the tracks of my tears. uh people are self-medicating themselves uh through drugs, through violence, uh through uh all sorts of measures because people are in so much pain and if you just think about the folks in your circle and uh some of the things that they're doing and you know I'm really concerned that we have reached a point where we don't enjoy healthy dialogue. you know, everyone is waiting till, you know, you finish a sentence so I can show how wrong you are. I got to yell at you. I gotta cancel. I mean, it's just that there's just this madness that, you know, I just quickly want to take the worst day of your life and judge it as your entire life. And I just see that all the time. And so I'm really concerned about the spirit of who we are as a country. This anti-Americanism where everyone hates this country. This is the greatest country on the globe. And this is darn sure the greatest city on the globe. Uh some of the violence that we're seeing globally was playing out in uh Sudan, was playing out in the Middle East, was playing out in Haiti, uh was playing out in um uh Lebanon. I mean, all of this violence and you know, if you're connected to uh the energy of the planet, you feel it. And what helps me get over it is what you just said. being outside, being on the subway station and and talking to people, walking the streets, being part of going up uh to, you know, some of my favorite locations in Washington Heights or in the Bronx and just engaging in people in a real way and being authentic about who I am. You and I share that in common. I'm very much a feeder of people's energy and I need to be outside like I need to be I need to be where the noise is at, where the action is at, where the energy is at because it makes me feel alive which then makes me a better performer. Right. Right. And I show up in spaces much better. It is crucial that when I became mayor, you know, I don't fit into the definition of a mayor. Mhm. And because of my life experiences, you know, uh, public school, CUNI, uh, all of those things, you know, people have a tendency to say, "Well, you don't fit the model, you know, well, why do you go out?" I go out at night to speak to the waiters and these cooks and the bartenders and and people to see that, hey, this is a 24-hour city. You know, historically mayors may have done the nineto-5 or or some, you know, tuxedo event. No, I want to be among the people and that is part of what brings this authentic approach to government. And a lot of the solutions I find are are coming from those people. M that's really interesting that you say that because for politicians in particular I find that there's like this box that we tend to place them in where you have to be like ultra serious and you can't have a life like Biden going to the beach was like this big phenomenon like my he can't get some vitamin D. My goodness like let the man go outside. That is right and and that's why I'm intentional about it. That's why I said you know young man on the campaign trail um said you know hey I want you to get an earring. I said, "If I win, I'm going to get an earring." So, I got an earring. Oh, so that's how this happened. Okay. Cuz I see you blinding me over here. Okay. You know, but all of those authentic approach. If I'm out somewhere and I'm smoking a cigar and I'm drinking a glass of Tito. People say, "Well, you can't take a picture that way." I said, "Why? I smoke cigars and I drink Titos, you know. I'm I see. If you are authentic in who you are, you don't have to hide who you are." So, what you see is what you get. Now, does that make people uncomfortable? Yes, it does. Because we're so used to this elected official must be perfect. And I'm not perfect. I'm perfectly imperfect. I have good days, bad days, days I wish I would have stayed in bed, days I wish I would have gotten out of bed. I have ups and downs. I have my oops moments. But that is all part of life. You know, if we stop these elected officials feeling that perfection is needed after an election, you'll see people more authentic in the decisions that they make. And I think also would encourage people to run. Yes. A lot of folks don't want to run because of that simple madness. God forbid they pick a wedgie in the street. It's like front page news. Like my goodness. So I love that you're trailblazing in that way. And it from what I understand throughout your career, you've kind of been setting it up. You've been setting it up, opening the doors. So let's talk about one of the largest communities in New York City. So Latinos make up 2.5 million of the population in the city. We have a purchasing power of 3.4 trillion. So, we contribute significantly to spending and to taxes. So, how is your administration prioritizing our needs, hearing our wants, and really investing in in what's significant about our community? What's up, Mi? Are you looking for mentorship and the place to secure the big bag? Have you ever watched me here on the Banking on Cultura podcast and thought to yourself, you know what, I want to work with Victoria Jenn? Or maybe you thought to yourself, I want to be a part of her network of badass women and entrepreneurs. Well, guess what? You absolutely can. Join me this November, November 15th through the 16th, in the heart of New York City for my 7th annual Secure the Big Bag and Wellness Summit. Let's face it, so many of us are tired, burnt out, ready to throw in the towel, honey. And quite frankly, we want to dedicate ourselves to the soft life. But what if there was a way for us to achieve both time and financial freedom and also have a healthy, well-balanced life? What if you could secure the big bag, build a business that fuels you versus drains you, as well as build a solid network of business besties who want to support and motivate you while also centering self. This summit is the premier destination for the latest marketing, sales, and AI tools that can 10x your business while also nurturing your well-being. Learn from top experts from both business and wellness, including executives from the corporate sector, so that you can explore corporate level opportunities that can elevate your business to new heights. Ensuring you're not just prepared, but fully equipped to dominate in 2025 and beyond. This is your opportunity for your business to thrive while you do too. Head over to securethepigbag.com to check out the agenda and all the heavy hitters that will be in the building. I cannot wait to see you in New York City. Mi, it's go time. You know what's powerful about that is that when you use the term Latino community is not a monolithic community. Correct. So many different uh groups with different beliefs and understandings. So although the city on the whole we must do things on the whole for the city of New York uh make sure it's safe make sure children are are educated uh make sure that we have a good transportation system and a good housing which we have been doing good in we have to be honest about each community they have their unique wants and desires and even within those communities because what I get from my folks from Peru is different from what I get from my folks from DR is different from what I get from my folks from PR Ecuador you know so this a difference and we must lean into those communities and make sure that we find out what are your needs specifically. And that's what we we've been addressing. Um everything from bilingual lingual education to changes some of the textbooks in school that you would never see uh any uh Latin authors with real stories cuz to encourage people to read, they should see themselves in what they are reading. And uh our goal is to do that. uh make sure that we open doors for jobs and uh have the Latino community know the employment and doing um my role as mayor must be symbolism and substance both go together. I must do those safety housing other stuff. But the symbolism, I mean, why do we have a It took 110 mayors before we had the first deputy mayor to be Dominican, first Spanish speaking police commissioner, first uh Spanish speaking uh Dominican to be in charge of DOT, largest DOT in the c in the country, you know. So when you start to see um how we elevate uh the Latino comm communities from my commissioner um of department of a agent uh commissioner Cortez Vasquez uh to you see the presence of Latinos in my administration even down to my nightlife uh director Garcia who was a former nightlife person that knew what the nightlife community was going through. So I brought people who went through a lot. Now they're in administr in administration helping people who are going through a lot and understanding real authentic needs uh for the communities that we represent. So do you have a Latino advisory board that's kind of giving you the game of of what's happening has a pulse of what is important to the community? Yes. And that's a great question. um because that goes back to if I attempt to just have just one advisory board, I'm going to miss it. So what we do at Burough Hall, at city hall, think of my burough president day at city hall is that we do these roundts with the groups within the groups. you you know you'll see that the first time of as I talk about symbolism and substantive we the first time you'll see the flag raises of different uh Latino communities the first time we'll host their acknowledgement days uh you we have Hispanic month but we didn't go into the different groups that makes up uh the Hispanic community and Latino community and we will host them at Gracie Mansion um but we also sit down with them and ask her what are the needs inside the community one of the example. Let's think about the Venezuelan community. When you look at the migrants and asylum seeker issue, there are Venezuelans who are citizens here, green cards here holders here and have been here. No one is asking them how are you feeling seeing everything about your country being plastered on the news. Um people trying to demonize you. So, we brought the Venezuelan leaders in and say, "How do we help you as you deal with the new arrivals that are coming here and as you stabilize those of you who are here?" We had a one-on-one conversation with them to talk about that and we're doing that with all the groups. So, we have the overall advisory, but we also want to make sure that we don't leave anyone there. And then um my respect for comm community for the cultures because remember this country is the only country on the globe that tells you don't leave your culture like I'm not American African you know you're not American Latino a Chinese person is not American Chinese America says put your country first you know put we aspire to do that says we aspire to do that that's the spirit you know put your country first because it's important because it becomes part of the common denominator of the American experience We are who we are because people are bringing their life experiences into the mix. The food, the culture, the dance, the ingenuity, how they solve problem in in their homeland. And that's important. So what I'd like to do, I'd like to visit the homelands of people. I want to go to Ecuador and learn what's happening there to Colombia, learn what's happening to Puerto Rico, to to Dr. to Peru, uh to go to South and Central America. because when I get an understanding when I visited those countries I say wait a minute now I understand some of the cultural norms here in the city I appreciate that I think that's a really good approach to have because it's very difficult from the outside to relate right right unless you've gone through the experience yourself and if you're just going by what you see in the media it's very easy for you to be influenced and create a bias like with what's going on with immigration in this city so I would love to take a deep dive into this with you because you have been on camera associating immigration with aliens and that language can be disheartening, right? Especially to Latinos because many of us did migrate to this country as well as the black community. But right now, what you're seeing in the media is this uprising of Latinos being violent that have immigrated here. They're stealing, right? they're terrorizing our citizens. So, so what is your approach to this? And and given everything that you just said about trying to understand the roots and the community, what are we doing about this issue? Well, number one, that's why it's good to do um these grassroots authentic conversation. I use that word authentic so much because people interpreted what others said, Eric said about my migrants and asylum seekers, which is just factually wrong. Mhm. Never used a term to say that um undocumented or documents um individuals number one are harmful to the city and that they um don't want to pursue the American dream. Just the opposite. National leaders, national well-known immigrant leaders came to this city because like you said, they said, "Well, we heard that you're anti-immigration." They came to the city. I said, "I want you to come and see what we are doing here." They then met me at Gracie Mansion for for dinner and said, "We want to apologize. No one is doing what you're doing. You have raised the level of this conversation." The federal government had 216,000 people come to our city. I went down to Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico to the Darian Gap to get an understanding why people are flowing. I spoke with the people there on the ground as they're walking to come to Mexico and eventually coming to the United States. 216,000 people came to our city. Uh I can't stop the buses from coming in. I can't give them the authorization to work. It's against federal law. We were only able to allow 40,000 to work as after we finish forcing those who are committing violent crime like the g the person who raped that young lady came out and then raped someone else. I can't turn them over to ICE. They are hurting those who are seeking just to pursue the American dream. And so what the national leaders have have have have have wrapped themselves around me and saying we're going to follow your lead, Eric. People should have the right to work. So your parents, my parents, all these parents, uh can you imagine if they were told you cannot provide for your family? And you know what we know what else? We have a Ukrainian asylum seeker issue as well. We don't even hear about them. We sure don't know why they're allowed to work. So if you could work from Ukraine, why can't you work from Ecuador? Why can't you work from West Africa? Is that the case? Thank you. And that's at the federal level. Yes, that's at the federal level. Okay. That's what I'm up against. Okay. I'm up against the uh the lack of consistency, you know. So when I go to my Latino community and say that listen, we need to raise our voices and say this is not right. You know, now when you do that, it's not always pretty to folks. It's not what always folks want to hear. But I got to fight on behalf of New Yorkers. So I am not only pro-immigrant. When you talk to the national leaders and get the local politics out of it and talk to the national leaders, they are wrapping themselves around what I'm doing here in New York City. 40,000 children went through our education system that we are educating uh right now. And we are not one child or family sleeps on the street in this city unlike other cities. We're providing that care. 70% moved on to the next step of their journey to be part of American dream. So I I love that and I think that's super important. I wish we would hear you talk about that more, right? Because there is a misconception within the community of of what your position is. Uh, and what is your response to New Yorkers who are feeling like we don't have space and you know, you're putting these kids in school or you're providing housing. How is that taking away from New Yorkers to present day? What would be your I love that question. I love I love both things you said. Number one, Eric, we like to hear that more cuz that's not supposed to report it. People don't want to report the truth. We we are in a sensationalism journalism status now. How many clicks can I get? Cuz we say this all the time. We talk about all the time the overwhelming number of people that come here want to pursue the American dream. They should have the right to work. We're going to provide for them. We say this all the time, but you'll never find it in the stories. you know that because showing the compassion, dedication, and commitment that we've done in this administration uh with the first Dominican um B president, first Filipino deputy mayor, first uh Trinidadian deputy mayor, uh first uh panameanian uh to be a chief advisor. I mean, when you go look through the list, my or my group is diversity, and so you don't hear it. They don't want to report it, but we say it often. But when you when you when you go back uh to the the the first part of your question, what was the first part that was very important? Housing the the resources because what people say is they're getting everything and we get nothing, right? It's just not true. Mhm. You know, they're not elig eligible uh for wick. They're not eligible for uh the uh SNAP benefits for screed to freeze your senior rent, your dream if you're dis disabled to get a freeze in rent. We put uh $30 billion back in the pockets of everyday New Yorkers that migrants and asylum seekers can't get. You know, we're putting money into our foster care children, paying their college tuition, um giving them a stipen so when they graduate, allow them to have a life coach to 21 years old. Free highspeed broadband. Wow. Yes. I love that. Yes. Yes. I'm tell we're doing some good stuff. Free highspeed broadband for Nitra residents. We're going to be moving into other low-income uh tennis and residents. Um reduce fair metro card. Uh dropping the cost of child care from $55 a week to less than $5 a week. if you're a lowincome New Yorker, $55,000 a year you're you're making. Um, so when you do an analysis of what everyday New Yorkers need and particularly low-income New Yorkers, it is not part of what we're doing to deal with the migrants and asylum seekers. We are not taking anything away from lowincome New Yorkers. In fact, we're adding things to low-income New Yorkers and working-class people. Okay. I do read your newsletter. I do get that, which shout out to the team because it's very informative and personalizes you in in a in a way that I haven't seen mayors uh being humanized in that way before. And I also get the tea on what's happening across the city and resources and just free events going on. So, if you're not on the mayor's email list, make sure you get on the email list. That's right. And that's important. The importance is, you know, come on. We know folks. Like I said, I have a masters in public administration, but I got a PhD in people. Okay? We know people. Sometimes people rather complain and not get themsel out there to find out what's available. We had a young lady at one of our press conferences who she says, "I went into one of the job fairs unemployed. I walked out with a stabilizing job where I can actually provide for my child that has um on the spectrum of autism." There's so much out there. My job is, I got it for you, now I gotta get it to you. And people tend to sit back sometime and say, "Oh, they're giving everything away." No, come and find out what's available. So, we do the hiring halls to meet people in the community. We send out that newsletter. We're at the train station. People need to see there's help out there. If you want that help, don't sit back and just complain. Get in the game. Mhm. Like Michelle Obama said, at a convention, like don't talk about it, be about it. Do something about it. I love that. I love that as well. So, all right. So, let's get into police brutality. So, you come from uh the department. Yes. Um you had a lot of influence and change and strategy there. Uh now as mayor, how are you addressing this with the tension that exists between, you know, how officers are treating citizens? Now, let's not take away from the officers who are doing incredible work. We thank them for their service. Um but there are some rotten apples. Definitely. And so, how are we how are we centering this, especially as it relates to folks of color? Yes. Yes. It's so important, you know, and I that's why I always reflect on my history. Um, listen, I was beat by police officers. You know, I know what it is to abuse your authority and power. That is why I joined uh 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. You know, I was one of the co-founders of that and aligned myself with the Latinos Officers Association, Anthony Miranda Miranda, who's now the sheriff that's going after the illegal cannabis. Uh, another organization. When you do a Google of, you know, Eric Adams and 100 blacks in law enforcement, we were the premier voice fighting against abuse of power in law enforcement communities. We I testified in federal court in the Floyd versus New York City Police Department case because of the abuse of stop and frisk. So, this is where I cut my teeth. I am who I am because I took that painful moment of being abused and turned into a purposeful moment of joining the department that abused me. civil rights leaders told me to go in to the police department. I was a computer geek. I didn't want to be a cop, you know. But so what do we do now? The numbers of we we were stopping almost a million black and brown people a year in this city because we were just throwing on a wide net. We changed that. We're now doing precision policing uh with the right leadership at the helm to make sure that we're going after those who are violent. You know, there are too many guns in our streets. There are too many repeated offenders who have a total disregard for public safety. And when I go to my communities and do my town halls, I have yet to go to one town hall where the people are saying, "We don't want our police here." Not once. They say, "We want our police to do the job. Be respectful, but we want our law enforcement." When I come out of that subway system late at night and that cop is standing on that top of that stairs, there's a good feeling that I that I have. those who are the rotten apples as you stated what we've what we have done we shortened the time to bring them on disciplinary charges so they don't stay around forever being abusive in our department okay I think that's really important because there there is a stigma that exists and there is this fear that lives in the city unfortunately so I would love to see that kind of flipped on its head because we should be proud right welcome um our service officers into our spaces versus be fearful. Right now think about it for a moment. Now the question becomes is how do we do that? Right? We do it by what the Dominicans Police Association is doing. The the Hispanic Police Association is doing Ecuador and all of these groups came in because of the advocacy and the loud voices of the young lawyers and loud voices of those who led the way. we turned around this attitude, let's police ourselves. And so the numbers of Hispanics have grown in the police department and they continue to recruit and bring in others from the community because if we want a the police department to police in the manner which we believe it should be, that we we can't be detach spectators. We got to get in the game. And you're seeing that there's a real recruitment from our Latino officers that are bringing in the diversity we need cuz nothing is more powerful than you walk inside that precinct cuz there's something that's going on. You hear somebody behind the desk that can speak your language, you know, that can talk to you and you see the culture or if somebody's called to a job, they're there and they can communicate with you and understand what needs to be done. That's what we need. So we need all of these our pastors, our imams, our uh rabbis or all of our groups to recruit these fine young men and women to come into the department. Okay. So let's get into the talk that talk segment which is where we discuss something taboo in the cultura in the culture. What is something that you see in the culture that you would like to be improved or uh mitigate controversy around? No, that's a great question. Um, I think utilize city services. You know, historically the community believes, okay, I have a language barrier. Uh, you know, I may not have fluent English, so I don't want to go and get those services. That's why I love uh Adonis Rodriguez and his broken English and his Dominican dialect. You're seeing that, wait a minute, hold on, you know, just because um my dialect may not be perfect, I can still run these agencies. I can still be a police officer. I can still be a school teacher. So, I think the community should expand. Stop getting your financial literacy opinion in a nail salon. We have real agencies that can give you that opinion. Don't get your health opinion um you know, based on someone that's your neighbor. Come get access. Uh be part of this city. We tend to as communities, we tend to live within these little small little pockets. I say expand your reach. Be comfortable in who you are because we want you who you are and enjoy all that this city has to offer. You know, there's not a Spanishspeaking part of the city. The whole city belongs to every resident of the city. I'm not a Spanish- speakaking uh I I'm not an English- speakaking uh representative. I'm the representative of this entire city and all the languages and cultures that go with it. I love that. So, let's wrap this up here. Yes. What do you want your legacy to be? Combination of things. I really want people to feel where you are is not who you are. Cuz you know, we're going through some hard moments. And I want that young man on Riker's Island say, "Listen, my mayor is in jail. This is not who I am." I want that child that's sitting in the school and suffering from a learning disability. Say, "My mayor has a learning disability." If you're in a family sitting with domestic violence, domestic violence was rampant in my household. If you made mistakes, that's not who you are. You know, I want people to embrace that where I am. If I'm in the shelter, this is not who I am. You know, no matter what you're going through, if people can just feel inspired again and know that that moment that you're in does not define you, it doesn't. And if I can do that, if if if I can have people use my life story of this perfectly imperfect person can be the mayor of the most important city on the globe, to me that would means a lot. And that's why late at night, um, I would pull up to a hair salon or beauty salon 1:00, 2:00 in the morning with folks inside, you know, just having a few drinks and laughing, joke. I knock on the door and go sit down with them and just say, "Listen, I am you. That's why I got baptized." I saw on Riker's Island with the inmates because I wanted them to see that listen, I'm I am you. I am you. I want to sit next to you. I want to you recommmit my life to God with you. Because if Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John was around right now, they'd be with the inmates. They'd be in the barber shop, the beauty salon. They'll be on the streets. That is who I am. And that is what I'm hoping people can see. Don't deify me. Identify with me. Okay. Mic drop. Okay. Well, thank you so much, Eric, for being on Banking on Cultura. Really appreciate you making the time in your crazy schedule. And shout out to the team for helping us coordinate all of this. Uh so, thank you so much. Really appreciate having you here, especially during Hispanic Heritage Month and spending some time with us. And shout out to all of you for joining us. Make sure to leave your comments, your feedback. I can't wait to hear what you thought about today's episode. Any questions you have for the mayor, I got a direct connect. So, put it inside put it in the comments and we'll make sure to get it over to him and his team. Thank you so much for joining us. I'll see you on the next episode. What's up, Mi? Are you looking for mentorship and the plays to secure the big bag? Have you ever watched me here on the Banking on Cultura podcast and thought to yourself, you know what, I want to work with Victoria Jenn? Or maybe you thought to yourself, I want to be a part of her network of badass women and entrepreneurs. Well, guess what? You absolutely can join me this November, November 15th through the 16th in the heart of New York City for my 7th annual Secure the Big Bag and Wellness Summit. Let's face it, so many of us are tired, burnt out, ready to throw in the towel, honey, and quite frankly, we want to dedicate ourselves to the soft life. But what if there was a way for us to achieve both time and financial freedom and also have a healthy, well-balanced life? What if you could secure the big bag, build a business that fuels you versus drains you, as well as build a solid network of business besties who want to support and motivate you while also centering self. This summit is the premier destination for the latest marketing, sales, and AI tools that can 10x your business while also nurturing your well-being. Learn from top experts from both business and wellness, including executives from the corporate sector, so that you can explore corporate level opportunities that can elevate your business to new heights, ensuring you're not just prepared, but fully equipped to dominate in 2025 and beyond. This is your opportunity for your business to thrive while you do, too. Head over to securethepigbag.com to check out the agenda and all the heavy hitters that will be in the building. I cannot wait to see you in New York City. It's go time. Hey guys, if you enjoyed this video, I'm pretty sure you're going to love the next one. So, make sure to click right here and tap in to the next episode.


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