“My name is @MikeBloomberg, and on behalf of all New Yorkers, it’s a pleasure to welcome Twitter to New York City. 

“They’ve had a minor presence in our town for a while, but now they’re making it official by opening their East Coast hub right here at 340 Madison.  Now why not 140 Madison, I don’t know.  But I’ll assume there wasn’t enough room down there for all of this company’s characters. Not easy to write Twitter jokes guys, come on.

“Before we talk about Twitter’s arrival in our city, I do want to say a few words about something that’s no doubt on many peoples’ minds, and that feels especially relevant considering where we are, and that’s the passing of Steve Jobs.

“When we learned last night that Steve had died, I think the sadness was so profound because we all did really understand that a remarkable American journey had just come to a close. In so many areas of the human experience, Steve had pushed the frontiers of what’s possible – and he took all of us along for a ride. This country and this world is a lot better because of it.

“One of the word’s that’s frequently used to describe him has been ‘a visionary,’ but I think it’s fair to say Steve was much more than that. A visionary re-imagines the future – Steve had the energy, passion and business acumen to bring that future to life in the most creative, surprising, and successful ways. And that’s the hallmark of a true entrepreneur. He made technology both exciting and elegant; he revolutionized animation; he put the computer in our pockets and by virtue of that made our lives entirely mobile.

“The iPhone that I carry and the iPad in front of me have both fundamentally changed how I communicate and how I access and store information, and how I conduct business. And that is true for probably everybody in this room. And we use many of these same tools and innovations throughout City government to solve problems and serve New Yorkers more efficiently and more intuitively.

“So I don't think you can overstate or over-appreciate Steve’s impact on technology – how it’s made, how it’s developed, how it’s used, even how it’s marketed. Steve’s legacy, however, will not just be the iPhone and the iPad no more than Edison's legacy is the incandescent bulb, or Da Vinci's is the flying machine – inventions that have long been surpassed.

“Steve’s legacy – a hundred years from now, and a hundred years after that – will be the feeling that life can be made better, that life can be more productive, that life can be more fun. That feeling – felt by each new generation – is really what changes the world.

“That’s what brings us here today. On a happier note, there are but a few companies that have been able to harness the power of technology and change the world in a similarly profound fashion. And of them is the company that we’re so proud to welcome to our city today, and that’s Twitter.”