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Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at New Life Outreach International Church

December 6, 2020

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you so much, everyone. It is an honor. It is an honor to be with you today. And first, I want to give honor to God, without Him this day would not be possible. 

[Applause] 

Can you hear, does this help? Should I use this? All right, I'm going to use that. I don't know, I have a big voice. You know, what can I say? Everybody, first of all, I also like to always acknowledge when I'm in a very special place in the world, called the Bronx. Right – 

[Applause] 

And I [inaudible] when I hear Pastor Fernando Cabrera or Pastor – you can call him Pastor, you can call him Council Member, whatever title you choose, when I hear him speak, I'm inspired. Are you inspired by this great man? 

[Applause] 

He has a passion for everything he does. And when he talked about all those ways that we have fought back to help people in the community, I want to tell you every single time he was leading the way. Those small businesses on Burnside and Fordham Road, Fernando Cabrera said to me, we've got to get something done. And I heard his voice because I trust him. When all those food programs like Kingsbridge Armory, that's because we knew people like Council Member Cabrera were leading the way locally, making sure that no one went hungry. You are blessed to have a great pastor. Let's thank him for all he does. 

[Applause] 

Now you have another great pastor and first lady, Pastor Elvia Cabrera. 

[Applause] 

And we have a saying at Gracie Mansion. You know, my wife, our First Lady of New York City, Chirlane McCray, is a strong woman. 

[Applause] 

So, at Gracie Mansion, we got rid of some of those traditional words that might not have represented the whole reality. You remember, they used to say behind every great man stood a great woman? Behind. We don't say that anymore. Beside a great man stands a great woman and you have a great woman here. 

[Applause] 

So, let's be clear, what's happened in this city over just less than a year, because if you go back this time a year ago, it was a very, very different reality. We had barely even heard of the coronavirus. Things were very different, less than a year ago. And out of nowhere, we became the epicenter of this crisis, in this whole country right here. And we felt the pain, our families felt the pain. And nowhere more than in Latino and Black communities was that pain felt. We felt the disparities and inequality that this virus brought. And we were all dealing with this suddenly out of nowhere. And there may have been places that would have felt it was all over. There may have been people who would have given up, but not New Yorkers, not Bronxites. We don't give up.  

[Applause] 

We were struggling, but we fought back. People put on those masks, people practiced that social distancing. They helped each other. People were there for each other. And we went from the epicenter of the crisis to, this summer, being one of the safest places in the entire United States of America. We went from worst to first. To put this in scriptural terms, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. 

[Applause] 

We had our backs against the wall, but we created, in this city, we produced our own PPE. We didn't have factories that did that. We created them. We create our own ventilators. We protected our own people. Thank you, brother. 

[...] 

[Inaudible] country, people voted in record numbers in 2020. 

[Applause] 

So, we have proven time and again who we are, what we are made of. And I'm here to share that good news with you. There's a lot of good news in this place every week, isn't there, Pastor? You share the good news, and this is a place of power and faith. Isn't it? 

[Applause] 

Well, I'm here to share good news about every single one of you, because you are part of this story of bringing back this city. Our success is because of every one of you. We face a challenge now. A second wave has been bearing down on us. It's going to be a few tough months ahead. I don't want to, for a moment, underestimate the challenge, but I want to tell you that our beloved health care heroes are doing amazing work every single day. Let's shout them out. Let's thank them for what they do. 

[Applause] 

Our hospitals have gotten better and stronger at fighting COVID. We will have a few tough months, but we will fight this disease better than ever. And in a matter of days, in a matter of days, the first vaccine arrives in New York City. 

[Applause] 

I look for – when it’s our turn, Council Member, you and I'll be there together, and we'll show people that it's safe and that it's going to bring us forward.  

Now, everyone, I'll conclude with this point because I think is so important. Where are we going? Council Member, I've been borrowing something, a message that came out of that wonderful Zoom meeting we did with your leadership and with a number of pastors from all over the Bronx. And one of the pastors asked from the heart, he's worried about the future, he was worried about what was going to happen in our city going forward, and he, from the heart, said something very normal, very natural. He said, will we ever regain our past glory, will New York City ever regain its past glory? And I thought about that a lot. And I said, wait a minute, I respect him, but I think that's the wrong question because there's so many things we love about New York City, so many things we cherish, you love about the Bronx, you love about your neighborhood. So many things that are truly wonderful. And yet we all know about things that need to be better. Even before the pandemic, the cost of housing was too high for too many people. People weren't getting paid what they deserved at too many jobs. There was too much discrimination holding back people of color from their destinies, from their opportunities. There was so much to love about this city before the pandemic, but it was not a perfect city. We need to do better in New York City. We need to do better. 

[Applause] 

And so, the question is not, how do we regain our past glory, the question is, how do we reach our greater glory? 

[Applause] 

How do we become a place that is fair for everyone? Where every immigrant is respected, where people's hard work is rewarded with what they deserve, where a family can live in their own neighborhood, and actually make ends meet. That's the city we have to build, and this crisis has caused pain, but it has also opened the door for transformation. Crises tend to do that. They cause pain, but they also create new possibilities. And no place more than New York City, no place more than the Bronx is poised to grab this moment and make something more of it. And there’s a simple reason why – every one of you. The reason why is every one of you. This is what gets left out of so much of the media coverage. So many of the ways we hear about our society, it leaves out the people too often. You are the difference makers. 

[Applause] 

You are the people who will make New York City greater in this future that we will build together. You fought back the coronavirus and you are fighting it again. You will overcome this dreaded disease and build a city that reflects the values that we believe in. 

[Applause] 

Everyone, I say, thank you. I say, thank you for what you've done already. Thank you for what you will do. Thank you for being New Yorkers. Thank you for your strength. Thank you for your compassion. Thank you for being as great as you are. God bless you, everybody. 

[Applause] 

 

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