Brian Lerer on WNYC. We're going to turn now to our lead Eric Adams reporter Elizabeth Kim.

She joins us now as she does generally on Wednesdays to talk about the

mayor's weekly any topic news conference, which takes place on Tuesdays, but also today to talk

about the mayor being out this morning, talking about the police involvement at CCNY last night and at

Columbia. So Liz, always good to have you on the show. Intense times, huh? Right, Brian. Good

morning. And let's start at this morning's news conference. Well, it wasn't a news conference.

He's been doing some media rounds this morning.

So why don't you just describe first what the mayor has been doing this morning?

So the mayor did give two interviews this morning on television.

But yes, he did have a news conference at 9 o'clock with the NYPD.

And he's basically briefing the public on the

arrests that happened, both at Columbia University and also at City College in Harlem last night.

There were approximately 300 people arrested. As we know, this has been built. This has been a moment that's been

building. It basically culminated this week in the taking of a campus building on Columbia.

And even though the president of Columbia University, Manus Sheafek, had said that she did not want to bring the police in a second time,

she ultimately wrote a letter to the police commissioner asking him to bring the NYPD in because she felt that she had no choice.

She said that the taking of the building was an escalation in tactics by the protesters.

She also said in her letter that she felt that the leader of the protesters was someone

that was not affiliated with the university.

And she also went on to ask the police to stay until May 17th.

Now, May 15th is the graduation ceremony for the university.

So basically there will be police presence there, I guess, to see the university through its commencement ceremonies and then, you know, a few days after.

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