Commissioner Fred Kreizman, Community Affairs Unit: ...European cultural heritage that has woven its way to the fabric of New York City. It's an honor to address you at this event, graciously hosted by our esteemed mayor, who recognizes the importance of embracing and cherishing the diverse tapestry of our great city.
My parents, brave and determined, embarked on an incredible adventure in 1976 when they immigrated to the United States with my brother, who was just five years old at that time. They sought a land of opportunity, a place of dreams could flourish, and they found that in New York City.
Our roots lie deep in the Carpathian Mountains, a region in breathtaking beauty and cultural richness. My brother was born in Leningrad, where my father graduated from medical school. Our family heritage is a fusion of these two extraordinary places, and has shaped our identity in profound ways. Today we honor the resilience, the perseverance, the unwavering spirit that has characterized the Eastern European people throughout history. We celebrate with our traditions, our food, our music, our culture, Eastern European immigrants who arrived to these shores seeking better lives for themselves and their families. They brought with them deep sense of community, strong work ethic, and unyielding determination to succeed. This is a community that prides itself in the importance of education, public safety, and family. Their contributions have shaped the very essence of this great city we call home. Thank you, Mayor Adams, as we celebrate this testament of power of unity and cultural pride.
At this time I want to call up Commissioner Ed Mermelstein, the commissioner of International Affairs. Thank you.
Commissioner Ed Mermelstein, Mayor’s Office of International affairs: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening ambassadors, council generals, and thank you, Fred, for your kind introduction. It is with great joy and pride that I stand before you today as we gather to celebrate the Eastern European Heritage Event at Gracie Mansion.
As commissioner for International Affairs, I'm truly honored to be a part of this administration, working daily to foster relationships that connect our great city to this world. My journey, my journey to this role has been deeply influenced by the opportunities and support that the city has graciously bestowed upon myself.
As a proud Ukrainian-American, I am filled with gratitude for a chance to give back to the place that embraced my family and myself with open arms. Arriving here as a young boy, as refugees, we found a warm and welcoming community that allowed us to rebuild our lives and pursue our dreams.
Today I proudly serve in the Adams administration, working diligently for all New Yorkers, including each and every one of you gathered here today. Our city's strength lies in the diversity, and it's through these events like the one we are here with today, that we come together to celebrate our heritage and shared values.
I want to end by thanking Mayor Adams for his commitment to our great city and for his dedication to serving all of its residents. His leadership inspires us to continue building a new New York that is inclusive, vibrant, and thriving for everyone.
And now, without further ado, it is my distinct honor to introduce the 110th mayor of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams.
Mayor Eric Adams: You could play that a little longer. You know, we love that. Welcome to your house, and really want to thank this community and my amazing electeds who are behind me. They have served so well for so many years, and standing up for your community, and they are the ambassadors, figuratively, and local government fighting on behalf of those issues that are important to you.
And I want to thank our council generals and ambassadors who have also joined us here today. And what's interesting is that this community has such a presence in the city in general, but specifically in the borough of Brooklyn. In the borough of Brooklyn. Brooklyn has some of the largest representatives from this community, and you have provided a real foundation for the community and all the countries who are here. Such a long list, many of them I have visited and have spent time in. Everything from Poland and Krakow, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia — excuse me — Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Moldova, North Macedonia.
So over and over again, you go through the list, and I know I missed some of you, but I just truly want to say how much I appreciate this community for three major reasons. You believe in business and providing a pathway of having good business in the city. You believe in family and education and the importance of a quality education, and you believe in public safety. As we look at the men and women who are here from your community that are part of the police department, let's give them a round of applause to thank them for their service and for their commitment.
And Commissioner Mermelstein from International Affairs, the first Ukrainian to ever hold the position of a commissioner of International Affairs in the City of New York, he has done an amazing job of lifting up the entire Eastern European community, and we just want to give it up for him. This community mirrors the diversity of this city. It mirrors the grit. It mirrors the stay-to-it-ness, the power that we have as a city and how we never surrender and never give up.
Today, at the graduation ceremony, I told the new recruits that are coming to become police officers, I remind them of a line in our national anthem. It states that the rocket red glare of bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. That is who we are. It could be the bombs of COVID, it could be the bombs of economic challenges. It could be the bombs of 91,000 asylum seekers seeking refuge in the city. It could be the bombs of violence and crime. It could be physical bombs and emotional bombs. No matter what happened, the resiliency of this country, those bombs can burst and they can be a red glare. But one thing you could be sure of, proof through the night, our flag will always still be there and will continue to fly high and powerful.
And the reason that flag will always be there, don't lose sight of this, this is so important, the flag would always be there because of the dash. The dash that sits between our cultures. This is the only country on the globe that tells you don't abandon your native land as you embrace your new land. Your land is as important to us as is important here in American. We embrace Polish-American. We embrace Bulgarian-American, Ukrainian-American, African-American, Jewish, Caribbean. We embrace that. We bring all cultures together to create the amazing product of Americanism, and that product is lived out every day in the greatest city on the globe, a city called New York City. That's the diversity we lift up. That's the diversity we know. That's the diversity that we love. You are a contributor to that. And I cannot thank you enough. I cannot thank you for what you do. You mirror the greatness of our city.
And so when you come to Gracie Mansion and you are under this big tent, you are saying the city is the big tent that includes us all, and bringing our city together, a city of hope, a city of prosperity, a city of diversity, a city that never surrenders, that never gives up, that always will push forward to continue to make this city and country the great product that we know it is continue to be the fantastic Eastern European community that contributes to the greatness of New York City. I thank you. I am proud to be the mayor of a great city with a great group of people. Congratulations. Thank you so much.
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