Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation

November 26, 2014

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good evening, everyone. This is a – this is a great New York City experience. It’s a little – a little inclement weather right now but it doesn’t matter. It is an amazing thing to watch the Macy’s Parade start to come to life. It is an honor to be here with Terry Lundgren, the CEO of Macy’s and Amy Kule – title?

Amy Kule, Executive Producer, Macy’s Parade: Executive producer.

Mayor: Executive producer of the parade, who’ve I worked with for a while and appreciate the great work she does for everyone in this city. And our –

Unknown: The umbrella.

Mayor: The umbrella – let’s get rid of the umbrella. Okay, there you go. Thank you. Hey you know, we’ll all work together right now.  And our commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management, Joe Esposito, who is doing a great job as we coordinate all sorts of events and activities in this city, and make sure everyone is safe. But I just want to say at the outset, I first went to the parade as a child. I was in awe. I retain my childlike wonder at what it takes to do this parade and what it means to so many New Yorkers and so many people all over the country. I’ve never had a chance to actually see the balloons being blown up. And it’s an amazing, amazing thing.

I want to just say to everyone at Macy’s and everyone from the city who works with them, this is an extraordinary logistical accomplishment. And they do it every year and they make it look graceful. And I just want to thank you guys for the great work you do and let you know how much it means to everyone. I also want to wish everyone, all our friends in the media, and everyone who’s here a very happy Thanksgiving. A little rain, a little wind will not stop us from having a great Thanksgiving. And the Macy’s parade is such a fundamental part of what makes New York City great and what makes Thanksgiving special for all of us.

The amazing thing is that tomorrow, even with the weather, upwards of 3.5 million people will attend the parade – 50 million people watching on TV. As Terry told me, on a really nice night, you can get well over a million people coming just to the event here to blow up the balloons. That’s amazing. This holiday means so much to all of us. It represents what we feel as Americans – our thanks that we feel – our appreciation for our families – for all the bounties of life in this country and our desire to see everyone be a part of it and benefit. So, it’s a holiday that means so much to us. We feel so deeply and this is a big, big part of it. This is something that – for so many us, the parade is something we look forward to each year. I know my kids have loved it growing up. And I just think it’s something that is a real blessing for this city.

Let me hasten to add – it’s been 88 years, correct? 

Unknown: Correct, 88 years.

Mayor: 88 years – Macy’s knows a thing or two about doing this. The NYPD knows a thing or two about making sure it goes smoothly and we expect a great day tomorrow. With that, I want you to hear from a guy who does a great job leading Macy’s, but also ensuring that Macy’s is a partner with New York City all year long, whether its parade, the fireworks, and so many other wonderful things that Macy’s does on our behalf. CEO Terry Lundgren.

[Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren Speaks]

Mayor: Excellent. Thank you so much, Terry. And Amy is going to come up here and I’ve watched Amy do her work. She’s an extraordinary leader and professional and she makes it sound easy. So, now you’re going to hear a little bit about all that’s going in to putting this extraordinary event together. Amy Kule.

[Macy’s Parade Executive Producer Amy Kule Speaks]

Mayor: Thank you so much. We really appreciate what you do for this city. Let’s see if there are any questions about the parade. Questions – Amy in particular can answer. Details you never even knew to ask. Amy, where are the balloons actually fabricated?

Amy Kule: We build and design all – we build and design all of the balloons at our parade studio in Moonachie and we use an offsite facility to cut and seal all of the balloon fabric.

Mayor: Do you want to say where? Or is it controversy? 

Amy Kule: We keep that to ourselves.

Mayor: It’s in a secret location. [Laughter] Next? Now the question is, what did Terry know and when did he know it? [Laughter]

Terry Lundgren: I didn’t know it – so secret.

Mayor: So secret even he doesn’t know. Alright, any questions before we shut it down? Hearing none – a very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Have a great day tomorrow. Take care.