Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Jamaica Muslim Center

December 4, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Salaam-alaikum.

Audience: Wa-alaikum-salaam

Mayor: It is such an honor to be with you tonight. I want to thank Dr. Rahman for his leadership, and I want to particularly thank him for agreeing to be part of our clergy advisory council to help us to bring the voices of faith from all over this city together in common purpose – and that is good for all of us. And I would tell you at the outset, when you see faith leaders of all faiths in one room together, because they care for all people and they care for this great city, it reminds you of what’s possible. It reminds you of what we all have in common. It reminds you that this is our common home. The earth is our common home, but for all of us this city is our common home –

[Applause]

– And we cherish it. And part of what has made New York City so great for generations is that we extend a welcome to all peoples. We embrace every kind of people. 

[Applause]

And this community has contributed so much, not only here in Jamaica, not only in Queens, but all over New York City.

[Applause]

So, it is an honor to be here at Jamaica Muslim Center, which has done so much – the growth of this center, the extraordinary work, whether with the youth, with the seniors, everyone, every age in between – this is a place of great success, great accomplishment, and one of the true centers of the community. So, it’s a special honor to be here.

[Applause]

I want to thank – first of all, I really appreciate the warm acknowledgement that has been provided to the members of the NYPD tonight. I want to thank you again captain –

[Applause]

I want to thank the captain. I want thank all the men and women of the 107 Precinct that serve this community so well.

[Applause]

And I want to mention a group of people, some of the leaders of whom are here tonight, but here’s something we need to talk about more in this city. There are 900 good men and women serving our city, protecting all of us in this city – 900 members of the NYPD who serve with distinction. All 900 of them happen to be Muslim Americans.

[Applause]

So, there’s a lot of good news to celebrate. I want to thank all of the leaders here tonight – all of the people who helped to found this tremendous center – the board members and all of the Imams associated with this center. I want to thank the elected officials Council Member Rory Lancman; Council Member Daneek Miller, who I know value this place and are great partners.

[Applause]

And then members of my administration – you already heard Sarah Sayeed mentioned. I want to thank Sarah for he great leadership all over the city.

[Applause]

Charles Fall – you can’t miss Charles Fall anywhere. Thank you Charles, for you great leadership. Now, It was very important for me to bring with me some of the great leaders of our administration who are working on things of concern to the community it’s serving, to everyone here at the center. First, my Commissioner for Community Affairs, Marco Carrion, who has worked deeply with this community all over the city. Thank you, Marco.

[Applause]

Second, a woman who protects the rights of all, and insures that no one is discriminated against in New York City – our chair of the city Commission on Human Right, Carmelyn Malalis. Thank you for your leadership.

[Applause]

And finally, our newest commissioner – and I know that here at the center there are many, many successful small business owners. I know there are many people here who have lived the American dream and have built their business from scratch, and now employ many people in the community, and are doing something that is one of the real foundations of this community and of all of Queens and all of the city. The small business owners mean so much to us. Our new commissioner for Small Business Services, Gregg Bishop, is right here.

[Applause]

So, I have to tell you, this city – this city is a stronger city – this city is a stronger city because every kind of community is here. We are a stronger city because of the contributions of the Muslim community. That is a fact.

[Applause]

But we know – we know as a city government that we have more to do. For the whole city we know we have more to do, but we also have an important mission to deepen the relationship between the Muslim community and the city government. We believe that is important for all. We believe that wasn’t done enough in the past. We know, and I can hear immediately in the appreciation that the leaders of this center for the NYPD, the appreciation that you have for the efforts to protect the community through things like the speed bumps and the one-way street. This is a community that wants to have a close working relationship with the city government. It’s up to us to make sure that we are meeting that, and that we are creating that deep partnership. That’s what we intend to do in all parts of this city. Our Muslim brothers and sisters contribute so much, and the city government should honor that by ever strengthening the bond between City Hall –

[Applause]

Now, we know we are living in a difficult moment in world history. And I want to thank the leadership of this center for the very clear message you send – the strong condemnation of the attack in California – the clear message that this is a religion of peace. That there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world – and who are they? Overwhelmingly, like all other faith communities, overwhelmingly law-abiding, devout, good people.

[Applause]

And the few in any community who have chosen a negative path and a violent path do not define the rest of us.

[Applause]

But all of us, when we see an attack, as we saw in San Bernardino, when we see an attack as we saw in Paris, we know those moments bring out so much emotion, and they always bring out some voices that say we cannot possibly live together. You can depend on it, sadly. When those moments of crisis occur, there will always be some voices telling us that the dream of an inclusive, respectful society can’t possible work. We reject the notion that we will be torn apart. In fact, we believe –

[Applause]

We believe after each moment of tragedy, even more that we must attain the dream of an inclusive society where all walk together in harmony, in equality.

[Applause]

We reject hatred in all its forms. And we need to be clear that the cycle of hatred is such a dangerous one. Incidents occur, and they are tragic, and they are awful, and some people are tempted to lash out. And we know that members of the Muslim community are deeply concerned. Innocent people, law abiding people, going about their lives, feeding their families, taking care of their community – they know that they can be victimized because of the anger and frustration that wells up in others. We are here to say that with every tool we have as a city, and with all of the capacity of the greatest police department on earth, we will protect this community.

[Applause]

We reject in New York City hate crimes of all kinds. We take them very seriously against any community, against any kind of person. And the NYPD again deserves tremendous praise, because it has set a gold standard that if there is an incident of hate, if there is an act of violence against someone because of who they are, the NYPD pursues that perpetrator and makes clear that there will be consequences. And that has set a standard in this city that has helped to stop those kinds of horrible incidents. So if someone –

[Applause]

If someone walks down the street in this city and simply expresses their culture, their tradition, their faith – if a woman wears a headscarf, she needs to know that she will not be the victim of discrimination, or bias, or a hate crime, just for being [inaudible]

[Applause]

And in that vein, we ask of everyone here to be our partners, because the NYPD is as good as you help it be. We can only stop hate crimes if they are reported and if we have the full support of the community in pursuing those who have done these acts of hate. The NYPD needs you to be the partner to stop these acts of discrimination. And we know something else, and it’s important to say it loud – this community – this Muslim community of New York City is an ally in the fight against terror.

[Applause]

We need to be clear. The people in this community desire peace and harmony, and understand a sad fact – when acts of terror occur, all communities suffer. We know this is not simply rhetoric. This is fact. We knew it on 9-11. The Muslims who were lost, the New York City residents – the Muslim-Americans who were lost side-by-side with their Christian and Jewish and other brothers and sisters of all faiths. It was a tragic non-discriminatory dynamic that day. Innocent people of all faiths died together, and we know in terror attacks as we’ve seen in Paris and elsewhere, those who propagate the violence are so indiscriminate. They don’t care if they kill a man or a woman, a Muslim, a Jew, or a Christian. They simply want to kill, and that is against everyone’s interest. That is against every family’s interest.

[Applause]

The last thing terrorists want to see is respect for all peoples. The last thing terrorists want to see inclusion. The last thing terrorists want to see is democracy and respect for human rights. Their entire construct is based on division, but it’s incumbent upon us in a free and democratic society to therefore live up to our best ideals so that every member of the community knows this society fully is available. All aspects of this society are available. All the good of the society is for you. All the opportunities are for you, like every other of our brothers and sisters.

[Applause]

Now, a truly inclusive society works every day at achieving equality and inclusion. And I have to tell you, in the provisional concepts of this republic, we talk about creating a more perfect union – it’s a beautiful phrase. It acknowledges as human beings this work is always something we have to strive for, something we have to redouble our efforts for to create a more perfect union. And that means working for greater equality in many ways. When we talk about the Eid holidays, that’s about respecting the equality among all the great faiths.

[Applause]

And there are so many other areas – and I will be brief because there’s obviously people who have come here to worship and have had long days and long weeks, but I’ll make it simple – our vision is to reach every part of the human family, so we know that people need good schools for their children, and we’re so proud of the pre-k programs that you have started here.

[Applause]

And we know people need affordable housing, and we are committed to the biggest affordable housing program in the history of the city, and that will benefit this community too, so people can live in the neighborhoods they love and have done so much to build. And we know that people need to be healthy. Families need access to healthcare. You can’t have a truly equal society if something as fundamental as healthcare is available to those who have resources, but not to those who don’t. We’ve made some strides in this country in recent years by making sure that healthcare is available to more people, but, let’s be honest, that has been primarily about physical healthcare, not about the other part of the human reality, which is mental healthcare. And there is a stigma in our society, and it is in every in of communities, that we have to overcome, because everyone as human beings knows mental health challenges are part of all neighborhoods, all communities. We now in the city are trying to bring to the fore new opportunities for people, to make sure their loved ones, if they need access to mental healthcare, can get it, in every community, in every language. 

[Applause]

And I want to emphasize, in every language, in every culture, in ever tradition, making sure that the help we provide fits what a community actually needs, what will actually be effective. Our plan is called Thrive NYC and I want you to know about it, you will be hearing a lot more about it in the coming weeks and months. It was created, by the way, with feedback from communities all over the city, with ideas from communities all over the city, including from the Muslim community, helping us perfect an approach that could really serve all, so that you will simply need to make a phone call if you know someone who needs mental health services – they will be available. And we know that there is one piece of this that particularly needs to be talked about openly and honestly, and that is for people we honor in some ways most in our society, the mothers. The mothers of our society who we ask so much of, but who have to deal with mental health challenges too. And one of the things my wife Chirlane as our first lady has worked on is maternal depression – a very serious issue, and issue that doesn’t get the attention it deserves, it doesn’t get the dialogue it deserves. But we know many, many women work so hard and yet suffer from an illness, like any other illness, and deserve support and help, and this administration will make sure they get the deserve.

[Applause]

Finally, I said to you a few moments ago that in this community there is an extraordinary tradition of business success, of creating businesses that have thrived, and of building something for the next generation to benefit from. But we also know that this city government over the years wasn’t always as good to small business as it should have been. And this is something that – again, if we want something will unite all New Yorkers, whether they are Muslim, whether they are Christian, whether they are Jewish, whether they are in the Bronx, Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn or Manhattan – if you are a small business owner, you know the city government has often been too hard on small businesses – too many fines, too many arbitrary rules, too many burdens. I see some nodding heads around the room.

[Laughter]

Well, I know the council members agree with me on this, and we have now worked over the past two years, and I’m proud to say we have cut the fines on small business in half – 50 percent less fines.

[Applause]

And with our new commissioner, Greg Bishop, leading the way, we’re going to go out to small businesses all over the city. We’re going to work with a very simple idea – we don’t want to punish, we don’t want to fine, we want you to succeed. There are of course as with any society, any city, any government, there’s going to be rules, there’s going to be regulations to protect health, to protect safety – those are fair. But we don’t want to punish. We want people to succeed at achieving compliance with those rules. So we’re going to teach people, we’re going to educate them. Not coming first like a bill collector –

[Laughter]

– Coming first as a teacher to say, here’s how we can do things better. And not just in English, in Bengali, in Arabic, in Spanish, in all languages that people need information in.

[Applause]

The simple way to summarize it – we want you to thrive, we want you to succeed. When your small businesses succeed, the community at large succeeds, the city succeeds. Your success is our success, and we will help to achieve it.

[Applause]

I conclude by saying it has been a tremendous honor to be with you. This city, this blessed place, this beacon to the world has succeeded because it is the city for everyone. And we will ensure that we will pass to the next generation that tremendous tradition of inclusion, tolerance, understanding, and unity. It is my honor to be with you. Thank you, and God bless you all.