Mayor Bill de Blasio Delivers Remarks at The Opening of The Met Breuer

March 18, 2016

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well thank you so much. Tom this is a very, very exciting day and you have a lot to be proud of. Everyone here has a lot to be proud of. I want to commend all the trustees and supporters of the Met and the staff – everyone who helped make this day possible. And I want to note – I want to give special appreciation to Tom for what he’s achieved.

But just note at the outset, this is a singularly New York moment in that we have taken one of our great institutions and it’s becoming better before our very eyes and a whole new chapter is opening up. And I say that that is a New York moment because that’s the nature of this place. We, to our great credit, don’t rest on our laurels. It would have been perfectly possible for the Met to say everything was as good as it could possibility be – let’s stay where we are and call it a day and do nothing more. But the Met saw an opportunity to bring this space back to life in a new and an extraordinarily exciting fashion. And that is the spirit of New York City – to innovate, and create, and always seek that next vista, that next opportunity, and that is why we are such a great, global capital. So this event today symbolizes of course something great in the next chapter for the Met, but it says something about all of us and about the greatness of this city and the way we are all evolving.

Now, Tom, you have been dedicated since you first got to the Met to the notion of bringing it even more into the 21st century and making all of its treasures more and more available. I want to thank you for all you’ve done to put the great works of art of the Met online and available to the whole world. And opening it up so people could really understand what there is here to appreciate more fully. And that is, from my point of view, another great example of making fine art available to everyone – to every kind of people – and bringing them in to this experience more fully. So let’s thank Tom for all he has done.

[Applause]

Now, there are many folks here who I want to note who really deserve a lot of credit. I want to start of course with my friend Dan Brodsky who’s done amazing work as Chairman. Let’s give him a round of applause.

[Applause]

And I want to thank your wonderful President Daniel Weiss.

[Applause]

Now, I wanted to be the one to welcome back Dan – I mean to welcome back, I’m sorry – Tom Finkelpearl. But you got to do it first.

[Laughter]

So, I’ll do it again. Tom Finkelpearl – I want you to know something. There’s something special about being Cultural Affairs Commissioner of New York City. It’s one of the great roles related to culture of any government anywhere in the world. And people have such a deep appreciation for your work. And such a personal connection to you that while you were away, I was constantly asked the question – when will he come back? And I can say on behalf of all 8.5 million New Yorkers – we’re so glad you’re back. Let’s give Tom another round of applause.

[Applause]

I want to thank the elected officials who have been so supportive of the Met and do so much for this city. I want to thank: Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Senator Liz Krueger, Borough President Gale Brewer.

[Applause]

I want to thank Tom Finkelpearl’s number one fan – is standing next to Tom Finkelpearl – and he has done a fantastic job as Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee in the City Council. Let’s thank Jimmy Van Bramer.

[Applause]

And I want to thank – wait, I’m out of order – I missed – did I say Senator Liz Krueger?

Unknown: Yes.

Mayor: I got you. Okay, I’m sorry. I’m back in order.

Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, thank you so much.

[Applause]

And also from my administration – someone who has worked so hard to bring all the work we do closely to the cultural world and the cultural world more closely to the work of our administration – my Senior Advisor Gabrielle Fialkoff, thank you so much.

[Applause]

So, our identity as a city is caught up in the richness of our cultural life. It’s all of our cultural institutions, but it’s also the fact that we are a cultural capital by any measure. This place sizzles with creativity and energy. And there are artists in every part of this city creating new and dynamic works at all times. And this is who we are and this is who we’ve been for decades upon decades. And you know what, there’s always been an admiration for New York City as a center of arts and culture. But now I think what’s happened more than ever is the world comes here to experience the best from all the ages and the most cutting edge. And the numbers are astounding.

We now have – this year we’re projecting over 59 million tourists coming to New York City. And that is good for all of this. And it’s great for our cultural institutions. And the number one most visited cultural institution in the city is the Met. And it says something that people all over the world want to tap in to the creative capacity of this city. It is who we are. It’s part of our identity in so many ways, because it correlates with the energy and vibrancy of this place in general. It correlates with our belief in celebrating every kind of people – the diversity for which we are so famous – the tolerance, the embrace of all peoples and backgrounds. All the pieces go together. And I would dare say at a moment in national history, in global history, where there are many warning signs – there are many reasons to tightly embrace democracy and free speech at this moment. Nowhere do we find more embrace of free speech, than in our cultural institutions. They undergird our democracy, and they strengthen it and they keep it in continuity. Then remember – that right to speak, that tolerance of all people, that respect for diversity is something we have to earn every day – and our cultural institutions lead the way.

So there’s a lot to be very appreciative of – a lot to be thankful for. We should count those blessings. As I said at the beginning, we should also be thrilled that a great institution like the Met has the ability now to take another great step. And the Met Breuer will be something that I think will add so richly to the cultural capacity of this city. And it will bring in a whole new generation of people who want to experience the richness of all we have to offer.

Now I think it’s another moment to also appreciate all that the cultural sector of this city has done to embrace the notion of getting new audiences in. And I want to thank Tom Finkelpearl again for the extraordinary work that’s been done with IDNYC, our municipal ID card that has really attracted people from every walk of life. But one of the things that people have loved about IDNYC is with it comes a one-year free membership to a variety of cultural institutions. And the Met has been one and has experienced the greatness of bringing in all sorts of new folks.  And the folks who have come have been so appreciative. So as a result of IDNYC, 40,000 more New Yorkers have become members of the Met. And that’s a good thing for everybody.

[Applause]

And now they’ll get to experience the Met Breuer as well. And what’s wonderful to think about is that moment of discovery. I always try and think about the things we do through the eyes of an everyday person. I particularly think about our young people. There’ll be a young person who walks through these doors into the Met Breuer and who will have a revelation. There’ll be a young person who maybe hadn’t yet been turned onto art, hadn’t seen the creativity inside themselves, and in these halls will find it. There’ll be a young person who gets inspired to believe that maybe they can create something great and memorable. And that’s the power of what’s going to be created here. It will have a tremendous multiplier effect in terms of inspiring and energizing a whole new generation of people who maybe never got exposed to anything like this. But from the moment they come through these doors, they’ll never look back. They’ll keep coming back to experience more and more and to deepen the connection to the extraordinary cultural riches of this city.

So I see the Met Breuer as an example of our ability to grow, to embrace, to bring in even more people into the greatness of this city. And I want to congratulate everyone today for this extraordinary accomplishment.

Thank you so much.