Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at the National Action Network's Annual Christmas Day Toy Give-Away and Community Meal

December 26, 2018

Mayor Bill de Blasio: It is a joy to be with you today. It’s a joy to be here in fellowship and togetherness, and here for each other. And this is something I really appreciate about the National Action Network – all 365 days of the year, the National Action Network is here for the community and here for people who need help. And let’s give some credit – as we end another year, we talk about stability – I’ll tell you who’s stable, I’ll tell you who’s consistent – Reverend Al Sharpton stands up for people in need year-in and year-out. 

Thank you, Rev.

[Applause]

I want to say to all of you, we’re all in this together, aren’t we? We are all in this together. In New York City, we know we’re all in this together. We celebrate that fact. We don’t dwell on our differences, we celebrate something that unites us. We’re all blessed to be New Yorkers, and that’s a beautiful feeling, isn’t it?

[Cheers]

And I want to thank all of the good leaders. We have elected officials, community leaders who are here around me. I want to thank them for all the good work they do throughout the year on behalf of the people of New York City. 

Now, I’ve got to tell you, we have a lot to be thankful for. We need to count our blessings as we end this year, because more than anything we begin with this – we love our families, our friends, our neighborhoods, and that begins with wanting them all to be safe, and we are proud to be the safest big city in America. 

[Applause]

And everyone did that together. Everyone did that together. Communities helped to create a safer New York City. Our police officers did it. Our Cure Violence movement members did it. Everyone together created this safety. We also have something that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it needs to. It’s not perfect, but it is progress – that this is a more harmonious city than it’s been in a long, long time. We always have more work to do but the communities that make up this city feel more mutual respect today than we have in generations past. We don’t shun our brothers and sisters because of who they are. We don’t shun our Muslim brothers and sisters in New York City, we embrace them and respect them; our Jewish brothers and sisters, our Christian brothers and sisters – people of all faiths, we respect in this city.

[Applause] 

And we have learned sometimes through painful experience that we have to work it out. I always tell people, if you need a great example of common humanity, find your way to Crown Heights in Brooklyn, where a few decades ago it was tragically a symbol of everything that was wrong and everything that was broken in our society. And today, people have learned how to respect each other and work with each other and find that common bond. And isn’t that what this day is all about? That common love? That common bond? Something we celebrate this day –

[Applause]

But everyone, as New Yorkers, we do have the special obligation – the Rev’s right, we’re surrounded by some really, really challenging things in this country, some things that are upside down and backwards in Washington D.C. 

[Laughter]

But here, we show people the way to do it right. We show our nation that people could actually understand each other. We show our nation that maybe together we are greater than the sum of all of the parts – that’s what makes New York City so wonderful. We are a beacon at a time when our nation needs it. 

[Applause]

So to everyone, I want to celebrate everybody and all of the people of this city. And I conclude by saying a very Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad.

[Applause]

And tomorrow, a Happy Kwanzaa to all –

[Applause]

And teach your children those Kwanzaa principles because we need them more than ever. And a very, very Happy New Year ahead, a Happy Three Kings Day ahead – all of the things we celebrate together, let us rejoice. 

Happy Holidays to everybody.