Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Presents the Alvarez Family with the Key to the City to Honor the Late NYPD Detective Luis Alvarez

September 17, 2019

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you, Monsignor Romano. Everyone, please be seated.

We all know the last days have been very difficult. We had the anniversary of September 11th and that day brought back so much for every single one of us. The memorial service at Ground Zero and all over this city, people were brought back, their memories to the loved ones that they’ve lost but also, as Monsignor said, to the suffering of so many who served us then and are still suffering now. And I know for many people it’s particularly tough, for the Alvarez family, the first September 11th without Lou. But even though we’re all feeling a lot, a lot of pain and a lot of sorrow, and a lot of loss, we’re also here gathered to celebrate a truly great life and to honor him in the greatest way that New York City can.

I want to thank all of you for being here. Everyone here is here to honor Lou, to honor his family. And it’s a moment for us to appreciate everyone who puts on their uniform and serves us, all the members of the NYPD, serving us now and the bravery we saw just this morning on Staten Island, and all those who have served us before, and I want to give a special thanks because there were many, many things in his life that Lou cared about and loved and one of them was the unit that he was a proud member of – the Bomb Squad. I just want to offer my thanks and commendation to everyone who has served and does serve in that unit that does so much for us and it takes a special breed, to say the least, to do that crucial work. I also want to thank, for being here on behalf of the entire NYPD, our Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism, John Miller. Thank you, John. I want to thank everyone who has been a part of the effort to support and advocate for our first responders and make sure that they get the fairness and the justice and the support they deserve. And I want to thank representatives from the Detectives Endowment Association who are here with us today.

To the family, to Laine, to Phil, to David, to the entire family, you shared Lou with this city. You shared him in a way that we will never forget. He made this a better place, it’s just a true statement that one person can do so much. And sharing him, I know, was never easy, so we have to thank you and we have to thank you for the love and support you always gave him. We have to thank you for your sacrifices. But I want you to know from the beginning, this is a man who made a huge difference for everyone, and there’s so much to be proud of. He deserves this honor today. We cannot repay you for all he did, but we can honor him in a way that few people have been honored in the history of this city because he belongs in that pantheon. David, you said something powerful in the eulogy – you said that my dad understood that being a public servant meant to be in service of the greater good for all. And that’s how he lived. For his family, for everyone he served with, in the NYPD, for all first responders, for the city. He lived that vision every single day.

So, we talk about what it means to show up. It’s a phrase we use and we use it with honor when someone shows up when it matters. And Lou had an uncanny ability to do just that. And the most powerful example that the nation came to see was June 11th. A beautiful summer day, a day when anyone would have been any place but Washington D.C., and there was Lou. And he should not have had to be there, everyone in this room knows it. He should not have had to be there. No one should have had to explain to the congress what Lou did so bravely. And lord knows no one should have to be facing their 69th round of chemotherapy the next day. But he was there, he showed up. His brothers and sisters needed him, he showed up. And the whole country witnessed the goodness and the strength of this man and it stirred people. You know, even those who in Washington sometimes seemed to have cold hearts, they could not but hear the power of Lou’s words and it made a difference, that testimony made a difference, that testimony broke through, and the fight changed because he showed up. And we all know the day after 9/11, he showed up – he showed up for his brothers and sisters, he was on that pile for three months because that’s who he was.

So, the sacrifice, the bravery, the strength that defines him, but he also was someone who demanded justice and fairness. He was not afraid to go to Washington, speak truth to power, the same impulse that made him great as a police officer made him great as a voice of conscience. And because of his work and so many in this room, and it often looked like a very, very difficult struggle, but then came July 23rd when the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund was permanently funded. Thank God. Permanently funded – and that’s a tribute to Lou. And to all the elected officials in Washington who did hear, our senators and Congress members who actually heard and fought, every single one of them deserves our praise as well.

So, Lou, in the end, changed lives – thousands of people he would never get to meet, but he changed their lives, he made their lives better. And there are families today that did not have to wake up each morning wondering if they could possibly make ends meet, if they can possibly handle the struggle, they now have some security, because Lou showed up. He sent a message, and it’s a beautiful message, one the last things he ever wrote, he said take care of yourselves and each other, because he cared about everyone.

So now, thanks to him, and thanks to so many other good people in this room, our nation is actually going to take care of our first responders and their families. Our nation is going to be doing something, just a little something, as good and as worthy as the example of Lou Alvarez.

So now, it’s time for this city, that he loved, that he served, that loved him back, to honor him in a way that will make him part of our history forever. And I want to call up Laine and the family to receive this honor on behalf of Lou.

[Mayor de Blasio presents the Alvarez family with a Key to the City]

[Applause]

Now, I would like us to hear from Lou’s brother, Phil.

Philip Alvarez: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you to the people of the City of New York for this great honor bestowed on our Lou. Lou Alvarez loved this city. He wore two hats all the time, one was his beloved Bomb Squad NYPD hat, which signified all the men and women he worked with – never took that off unless he put on his New York Yankees Hat, which signified his beloved New York City and baseball team. He would be very honored to receive this award today.

On behalf of the Alvarez family, we’d like to thank you all for the overwhelming support that you have provided us since we lost him. I’d like him to share this award and I know he is up there saying – mentioned Jimmy Zadroga, mentioned Ray Pfeifer, mentioned John McNamara, mention John Feal, who's been doing it for 15 years. There were many Lou Alvarez's that fought for the men and women and the citizens of this city. And as I appreciate this beautiful honorable moment for the Alvarez family, I don't want it to be lost and he wouldn't want it to be lost without honoring, respecting the NYPD, the FDNY, the Port Authority Police Department, and all those souls and bodies that went down there to help that day, those that live there, those that went to school there. 

So, once again, on behalf of my family, thank you very much for this honor.

[Applause]

Mayor: That was beautiful, Phil. Thank you so much. So, this fight went on for a long time in Washington and it's important to recognize how many people put their heart and soul into it, because part of how we honor Lou is to remember that the fight always continues to protect and respect our first responders. There'll always be more work to do. And right by his side in Washington, and for a long time before that was a dynamic duo, and I like to call them up and just thank them on behalf of the people in New York City. 

So, John Feal, Jon Stewart, please come on up.

[Applause]

Mayor: So, here is the dynamic duo. I don't know which one is Batman, which one is Robin, but they're dynamic and they’ve made a huge difference. John Feal – this is the greatest compliment I think I can give him – he strikes fear in the heart of politicians. He strikes fear in the heart of members of Congress who are not doing what they should on behalf of those who have served us. And he will not go away until there's fairness and justice, and that's just something extraordinary. You are a force of nature, my friend, and you're on the side of good. And thank you also for what you do with the FealGood Foundation. 

And Jon Stewart, the highest compliment I can give is, I think he was pretty amazing in his previous work, extraordinary commentator, observer, a comedian, everything he did, but I think he's an even better activist. I think you found your calling and you two would not let Washington turn away. You actually made our democracy function and that's a pretty amazing thing to do. 

Let's thank them both.

[Applause]

Jon Stewart: Phil, you mentioned the beloved hat. Now I use this to remind me of Lou. You know, first of all, it's great to see you guys – and a lot of familiar faces. But, for me, the most incredible thing about Lou is how un-incredible Lou thought Lou was. Like, when we went down to Washington, this is, you know, John Feal and his band of merry pranksters and it's the walking wounded. And I mean, there is every ailment that you could possibly come across between sarcoidosis and cancers and COPD, and oxygen tanks – and amongst them, Lou was the iron man. He was Lou Gehrig. He was going through things that none of us, even those that were facing their own challenges, couldn't possibly imagine enduring. His strength was so inspirational and gave us all such a feeling of resilience that we could continue to do there. But he shrugged it off like it was nothing – like, anybody would go through this. And John, will tell you, you know, when we're down there, these are not shy, withering flowers. This is a loud group. This is a locker room. As we're sitting, you know, in the halls of Congress and the Congressional aides are telling us to please try not to upset people. And Lou would just sit quiet, so when he spoke, his words carried meaning. And I think it was that quiet that when he chose to speak in front of Congress, it's what helped make those words amplify so strongly, because you knew this was a guy of substance who'd been through it. I mean, damn, like undercover narcotics for 15 years – he decides, all right, man, I'm going to take a break and joined the bomb squad –

[Laughter]

And he was a marine, and yet you would talk to him about it and he would just be like, hey, I'm just doing what anybody would do. And you'd be like, Lou, no – I wouldn’t – raise my hand. You're doing what only you would do. And I think what's so incredible about his story, and I think this is a good – and you touched on this – is he considered himself a regular guy and it was an action – he didn't decide to just be hero. It was just a simple blog post he put out on Facebook, letting people know, hey, man, I'm hurting. I got cancer and I just want to let anybody else know who might've been in this position, talk to me. Let me see if we can help each other. Go get help. He just wanted to say – you know, reach out to some people, connect with people, help individuals just with a quiet act of a Facebook post, and suddenly it starts to spiral and people are reaching out and he's saving lives. Before any of us knew of Lou Alvarez and his heroics on television, this guy was saving lives on Facebook, telling his buddies – man, get checked out, get down there. And guys would come back and go, you're not going to believe this, they caught colon cancer. I mean, heroism – quiet. It was, that’s – you know what it is? That's what it is.

Lou Alvarez represented the quiet heroism of acting compassionately. Like, that was his heroism and everything else was just a function of that ethos. When he spoke before Congress, when he did all those things, it's what carried such power in his words and why it was so inspirational to all of us. And Ray – the same way. You know, we were in that backroom and you could tell Lou was hurting that day. You know, and we all could tell. I mean, thank God that, that when he got the hospice and they got to do those procedures for his liver and everybody got to spend the last couple of weeks with him as him, you know, that it didn't overtake them and everybody got a chance to talk to them. And it's funny, talking to him – and I was very fortunate to have a nice moment – you know, everybody clear out, because Lou liked to joke around a lot, but I wanted to have a nice moment with him to thank him from my heart for setting this incredibly strong, but humble example of what it's like to be a hero by just being quietly, heroically compassionate and caring. And it's so – he just said, I just want to make sure the job is done for everybody else. And then we tried to figure out if we wanted a chocolate milkshake or vanilla milkshake, because I was causing tremendous problems.

[Laughter]

He's like Ray, you know? He’s like all these guys – he’s like John Feal. These guys – you know, we were talking about this yesterday. We were talking about knowing what they know now, would they still have done what they did? You know, and there's arguments back and forth, and I honestly believe it's just how they're wired. Lou could have known everything about what was going to happen to him, and as tough as it is for those who leaves behind, I don't think he ever could have looked at a situation that he felt he could help in and not help. It's just who he was. And Rob said something to me too that day, because I was nervous, I didn't want to let these guys down. And he said, what did Ray say? Ray said, they're the ones that should be nervous, cause we're right. And that's where the strength comes from for all these guys. 

So, I want to thank John for helping me be involved in a way and meeting all these people and having them be able to impact my life in such a positive way. And thank the Alvarez family for – I mean, you guys are phenomenal. And what a – just a wonderful family that you all have together – the brothers and the sisters, and the mom, everybody. And to Lou, you know, it's funny. It's always next man up, you know – and guys go down and it's always next man up, but they're never gone. That's the thing that has been shocking to me – I think back and I call upon them and all the positive things that they brought to my life all the time. So, I feel like – never gone.

So, thank you guys very much. And I'm so pleased that Lou becomes a part of this city's fabric in a way that – guys like him, they hold it together. So, thank you.

[Applause]

John Feal: I'm still not taller than you on this. Yeah, I didn't want to be here today. Today is the anniversary that I was hurt September 17, 2001. Usually I spend it alone, feeling sorry for myself. Why me? You know, everybody says what you do is amazing, all the work you've done is great. I'd rather have my foot back. I'd rather be productive in society and, to be honest, I'd rather not met any of you, but here we are. So, moving forward, I think now I have a chance to share my anniversary with Lou. So, from now on, on every September 17th, I won’t think of my foot and all my surgeries and I'll think of Lou getting this key, and that means more to me than anything. But also, my heart's full of joy for the Alvarez family, but it's also filled with sorrow, because when we got the bill passed and I said to my team – and three of my team leaders are here and they deserve a round of applause –

[Applause]

I said it's time to go home. You guys are warriors. Put down your swords, go home and be farmers and pick up your rakes and grow something with your families – plant it, grow it, watch it grow and love each other. Lou put down his sword, but he didn't get a chance to pick up a rake.

So Laine, Phil, David, I'm so sorry. I kind of feel selfish that I took them away from you guys so we can get a bill passed. But, looking back, I haven't stopped crying since Ray passed away, and that's two years now. And everybody who congratulates me on padding my resume for getting 13 bills passed and donated millions of dollars – the two best things I've done in 15 years is asking the Mayor to give Ray to Key to the City, and then going on CNN – and I know you're friends with Alisyn Camerota – and going on CNN and asking them to give Luis the Key to the City. And if I never have to do another interview, go on TV again, or go to Washington D.C., I'll be a happy person. But I know all work's not done and when we do go to D.C. or Albany or another state, we're going to wear Luis on our sleeves and in our hearts. So, thank you.

[Applause]

Mayor: Thank you so much, John. Everyone, just to conclude, those words that Lou left us – take care of yourselves, take care of each other. Let's take care of those who served us. These guys proved, Lou proved, so many people in this room proved it can be done. We’ve got to do it every day. And Lou will inspire us – that’s why he belongs in the history of this city, because he's going to inspire us for years to come, decades to come, generations to come, remind people what doing the right thing is. 

So, there's one more thing I want to ask you – to give him a salute they'll be able to hear all the way up in heaven. Please, a standing ovation for Lou Alvarez –

[Applause]

Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and God bless you all.