Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Joins NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch to Unveil New 9/11 Memorial
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good morning. It is my deep privilege to join you today at One Police Plaza. It is an immense honor to stand alongside the men and women of the NYPD, the loved ones and families of all who were killed in the horrific terror attacks 25 years ago and in the months and years that followed. I want to acknowledge Police Commissioner Tisch and NYPD leadership for their stewardship of this department and for everything they do to support our officers. I also want to acknowledge the powerful faith leaders who are here with us today: NYPD Co-Chief Chaplains Reverend A.R. Bernard and His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Our partners as well in law enforcement from the FBI, DOJ, State Police, as well as the union leaders that are here with us today, as well as our First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan and our Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Officer John William Perry arrived here at One Police Plaza. Unlike his fellow officers who were pouring themselves a cup of coffee and preparing for the day ahead, Officer Perry was here for something else entirely. He was here to resign, to begin a new career as an attorney. He was in the midst of filing the paperwork when the first plane hit the North Tower. Without hesitation, he asked for his shield back and rushed to the scene. There he was confronted with unimaginable suffering, but he did not stop. With the same immense bravery and courage that was commonplace among so many that day, the kind that has long defined this department, Officer Perry ran into the fire. The last time he was seen, he was helping a woman out of the South Tower before rushing back in to save as many others as he could. Officer Perry and 22 of his fellow officers, each with their own stories, were killed that morning. That includes 14 members of the Emergency Service Unit who were among the first to enter the towers. I had the great honor of visiting ESU Truck 2 yesterday, the same one that Second Grade Detective Joseph Vigiano served with. On September 11th, Detective Vigiano acted with extraordinary valor, and it was not the first time. He, like so many others, did only what they had done many times before: placed themselves in unthinkable danger to protect others. His two sons now carry on his legacy of bravery as valued members of this very department. Every officer present that day embodied the NYPD's creed that the duty to protect is not a job that one clocks out of, but a calling one answers until the very end. In the days and months that followed September 11th, thousands of NYPD officers and staff from across every precinct and every borough heeded that same call. They took on that same heavy and incalculable risk. Day after day, night after night, they searched the pile to recover the bodies of their fallen comrades and the thousands of civilians killed. When that work had finished, they stayed until the rubble and debris had been cleared, all the while continuing to fulfill their duty to serve and protect our city. I know many of you who worked on the pile are here today. I also know that far too many are not. Over the last 25 years, we have lost more than 450 officers to 9/11-related illnesses. They were fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, and they were New Yorkers through and through, in everything they gave to their loved ones, their neighbors, their communities, in the pride they held for this city, and in the sacrifice they made without hesitation. When we say, "Never forget," it is not an empty platitude. It is an obligation to honor all that was given by the men and women of the NYPD and their fellow first responders by tending to those who are sick and by building a city worthy of their sacrifice. Last week, Officer Perry was honored with a street named after him in East Harlem. Today, we honor every NYPD officer who died on or after 9/11, those who gave so much to protect and to serve. In the words of ESU Detective Mike Hanson, who before he passed gave his younger officers a rule to work by: "Do what you can for who you can, with whatever it takes." The men and women of the NYPD did what they could for who they could, with whatever it took 25 years ago, and this department continues to. We will forever be grateful. Thank you.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Joins NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch to Unveil New 9/11 Memorial.