Transcript: Mayor de Blasio, Fire Commissioner Nigro Deliver Remarks At Dedication Ceremony Honoring FDNY EMT Yadira Arroyo

June 15, 2018

Mayor Bill de Blasio: It is truly an honor to be with all of you today here at Station 2-6. This is a place that I want to honor for all the extraordinary work the men and women who serve here do. And I want all the members of 2-6 to know we grieve with you still, and we stand by you, and all the members of the FDNY to know that you’re in our hearts at all times, and what I have learned over these years is how this family of the FDNY grieves together, stands up for each other’s, supports each other, and supports the families for the long term, because if there’s ever a definition of family, it is the FDNY.

So, I thank you all for that and share with you this moment in appreciation of a life that now is gone but is not in any way forgotten someone who left such a powerful imprint. And I am going to talk about her, but I want to thank also everyone who knew how important it was to be here today. Of course the leadership of the NYPD that is present, I want to thank Commissioner Nigro, First Deputy Commissioner Kavanagh, Chief Leonard and the leadership of the NYPD. I want to thank all the labor leaders who represent the men and women of the FDNY. I am sorry FDNY. The elected officials who support the FDNY in so many ways and this is really important to acknowledge and appreciate. I want to thank City Councilmember Vanessa Gibson who every year when we talk about the things we need to do to support the FDNY she is right there with us. Thank you Councilmember, thank you Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Thank you DA Darcel Clark for your support as well. You know when you think about the notion of an angel; a guardian angel is something we all can conceptualize in our own way.

Well, I have no doubt in my mind that Yadira Arroyo was an angel who walked among us, a guardian angel for family who she loved so much, a guardian angel for the people who she met every day in her noble work. Yadi made a decision in joining EMS to be there for people in their toughest moments and to go toward the challenges, to go toward the danger, to go toward the unknown. What I’ve heard so often from her family, and from her colleagues, and from her friends was what a big heart she had, what strengths she had, because to do this work you need both. It is s not enough to simply be strong, and it’s not enough to simply be filled with loved and compassion, you’ve got to be both. And Yadi was an outstanding person, a natural leader, a natural example to those around her.

The spirit of serving others animated her, and she understood what a calling this was. And I think it’s important for us all to reflect on that. We were all shocked; this whole city was shocked the day we lost her. It was a reminder of the dangers that people face in this work. But it was also a chance to reflect for a moment on why people come forward to take on this challenge. Because they know it will make a profound difference. We will never forget that painful day and we’ll never forget that Yadi was doing exactly what she intended to do in the middle of a run to go help a pregnant woman in need. What higher calling could there be than that. With her partner Monique Williams answering the call of duty and then suddenly tragedy struck in such a painful way. And everyone here felt that pain and still feels it. But I also know everyone here is so moved by her example. To Yadi’s family, I want to honor you and thank all of you. To her parents, Laida and Luis, her stepfather Efrain, her partner Phillip, who also serves this city, her sons, Jose, Edgar, Kenneth, Justin, and Isaiah, her whole beautiful extended family, I want to thank you for bringing Yadi to all of us, and thank you for your strength, your dignity, your love in the midst of crisis, this whole City watched with admiration and this whole City and the FDNY will stand by you.
And a particular word to her sons who I had a chance to spend a little time with and saw there goodness and saw how they were carrying on their mothers heart. I want to tell you something that I hope you know, but it has to be repeated, which is that when you are the child of a hero it will strengthen you and sustain you. We will all meet adversity and we’ll all meet doubt in our lives, but there is one thing that you do not have to doubt, you will always know your mother was a hero and you’ll always know that she is in you, and you’ll always know that she is looking out for you. Someday at a fork in the road, you may feel that you need some extra strength, I know she will be there for you. And I also want the whole family and everyone to take solace in the fact that there are people in this good borough, in this good city, walking around today whose souls were healed, whose bodies were healed, because Yadi was there for them one day when they were in distress. There are families who are whole, their lives who were saved, and that is part of her legacy as well.

Today we’ll dedicate a plaque, and today we will name a street, those are the physical acts, but the act in our heart is to carry on Yadi’s legacy and try in our own way to live just as well as she did. I say on behalf of 8.6 million New Yorkers to the family, God bless you, we stand by you, and thank you for Yadi.

Captain Joseph Jefferson, FDNY: Thank you Mayor de Blasio. Next we hear from our Fire Commissioner, Daniel Nigro.

Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro: Good morning, everyone, and thank you Mayor for those kind words for our sister Yadi. Plaque dedication ceremonies are among the most important and most sacred moments for this fire department. For us it is an opportunity to honor, remember, and to celebrate an extraordinary person who gave her life for others. And as everyone who knew Yadira Arroyo could tell you, and as evidence by this tremendous turnout here today, she was an extraordinary person who touched so many lives. Sadly and cruelly Yadi was taken from all of us as she fought an attacker who was trying to stop her from responding to a call for help. She was on her to provide urgent medical care to a pregnant woman in pain.

Yadi was an 14-year-veteran of the FDNY, a mother of five children, and a mother to so many more here at Station 26. She was an exceptional EMT, the one that her captain would as a partner to new members to help them learn the right way of doing things. She was a leader, mentor, a friend, and she cared for every one of her patients.

A year ago, as we gathered here the day after she was killed, I was moved by the number of the people from this community who came by to pay their respects and simply to say thank you. Yadi not only worked in this neighborhood, she lived not far from here. She had seen the residents here, coming and going from calls, and many times she responded to care for those same people. The store owners here on Boston Road knew her, the children who walked by here saw a role model in Yadi, someone who they could aspire to be like when they grew up, and the many patients she cared for, those she had responded to and cared for numerous times, they were all deeply touched by the incredible life of service that she led.

Today, as department, we have come together to continue a sacred tradition, to dedicate a memorial plaque in Yadi’s honor and to see that the street she traveled down countless times has been named in her honor. Today we ensure that Yadi’s memory will live on forever and that she will always be part of this station, and this neighborhood that she cared for, and when young children walk by this station and they see her name on the wall here or on the street sign, Yadi will still be serving as a tremendous role model for them and every young EMT to ever walk through these doors.

To Yadi’s family, know that all of you will always have a home in this department and especially here at this station that Yadi so bravely served in. May God Bless EMT Yadi Arroyo and the entire Arroyo family and may God continue to bless the FDNY.