Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at the Memorial for Larry Hanley, the Former International President of Amalgamated Transit Union

May 14, 2019

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Everybody, I want to tell you, I have been thinking a lot, I’ve been thinking a lot about Larry Hanley these last days. And there are –

[Inaudible]

I’ve been thinking a lot about Larry Hanley and what an amazing presence he was in our lives on so many levels. I just want to share for a moment but I first want to offer my condolences to his entire family, to Thelma, Monica, Larry Jr – Monica, I had the great pleasure of working with so many different times, all of you were the glue for him, his brother, his sister who are here. Everything about Larry’s life came from his love of his family and he was always, everyone knows Larry was grounded in the real world and his family was the beginning and the end of all things. So I’m here to express my love to this family and condolences of all of the people of this city because Larry served us all, he really did. He loved this union, he loved the ATU with all his heart. Starting with [inaudible] –

[Applause]

And I got to say, you know I remember the day that Larry said he was going to run for international president, and I was thinking like only in America is that possible.

[Laughter]

I met him in 1989 and I met him shoulder to shoulder in that election with David Dinkins and Bill Lynch and all the – but when I first met Larry I met a man who was just willing to take on any good fight, courageous, undaunted, and I say that side to him in that election and then the more I got to know him and he talked about the union and you could just tell how deep it was in his soul, what he felt for the men and women of the union, what he felt for the people who did the work. And I have met very few people in my entire life who felt so deeply for the lives of the people that they led and serve. He felt it every single day. And that was why Larry was so powerful and so special when he spoke, he spoke from the heart, he spoke with integrity. He was only there for one reason, he was there for good. I had never saw a moment, literally never saw a moment, knowing him all these decades where Larry Hanley said I want something for me. That was not part of his vocabulary. He always wanted something for his members, he cared deeply about Staten Island, he cared deeply about New York City, he cared about other people always. And he loved his family and all of his priorities came from what he felt about other people. And he was selfless and he was tireless. And he – you know, another thing you loved about this guy, he was one of the great optimists you will ever meet in your life and also one of the most jaded people you will ever meet in your life right?

[Laughter]

He could be cynical, he could be tough, he could wisecrack, but he always believed there was something better that could be achieved. He also believed there was justice and fairness out there somewhere if we fought hard enough for it. And I was just inspired all the time. I spent time with Larry and I would say I don’t know how he does it. And he would tell me, oh I’m driving from one state to another state to another state, and I’m like Larry, when do you stop, when do you take a break, how do you do it? But there was something in his heart that made him really special.

Unknown: Macaroni and cheese.

Mayor: Macaroni and cheese –

[Laughter]

That’s another way of saying it. But, and so many times, and I think a lot of people in this room know this feeling. You would sit down with Larry to lay out a strategy and you watch that mind at work and you would see that he would see things other people wouldn’t see. He would see possibilities, he would see ideas because he always had hope. Because he never wanted to give up the fight and we all know, we’ve all had moments along the way, you get tired, you know sometimes you face a set back and you feel it, sometimes you think is this worth trying again? I never heard discouragement, I heard anger, I heard frustration, Larry could be pissed off but a very noble way, but I never heard a man discouraged, I always heard someone who was looking for the next door that would open.

So I just want to say to everyone, and I look around this room and so many old friends and so many people, we’ve all fought shoulder to shoulder, he loved all of you, he really did. And you gave him strength and this extraordinary life – he’s gone too soon, he’s gone too soon. But you’re not going to find a person who got more life into their life than Larry Hanley. You are not going to find a person who did more with the time they had, who gave back more, who inspired people more. There’s a generation of people in this local and the international who are protégés, children of the Larry Hanley idea, who came up understanding what was possible because of Larry. There’s a generation of activists and fighters for justice who got inspired by Larry. Many, many a time it was a conversation with Larry that kept me going, kept me believing. So we all know that that physical moment in life ends but this is someone who’s inspiration for all us is going to continue, his lessons are going to continue. We are going to remember him and remember how to do things the right way. We are going to remember him and remember what it really is to reach for the things that maybe other people thought were impossible. This is a guy who was so many times told what he could not do. So many times told to stand back and step back, went all the way to international president of the ATU.

[Applause]

So I’ll just say he loved all of you, he loves Staten Island. He always fought to make it place that he hoped would live up to its best ideals. He loved this union. Most of all he loved his family and we are just blessed that we knew him. Today we have to feel blessed. They don’t make a lot of people like Larry Hanley but we got to know this one, we got to know this Larry Hanley.

[Applause]

All I ask is whenever you get to that fork in the road, whenever you feel a little tired, whenever you’re hope may be waning, whenever you wonder do you have a little more in the tank, just think of Larry Hanley, do what Larry would do, go that extra mile for the working man and woman, go the extra mile for the truth, go that extra mile for justice. That’s how we will remember him and honor him. We miss you brother but we are going to carry on the mission.