Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Signs Executive Orders Related to September 11th and Government Preparedness
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to City Hall. I want to acknowledge leaders throughout our administration that are standing here alongside me. We have our FDNY commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore; we have our FDNY chief of department, John Esposito; we have NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch; our NYCEM commissioner, Christina Farrell; our NYCEM first deputy commissioner, Ben Krakauer; our OTI commissioner, Lisa Gelobter; our DCAS commissioner, Yume Kitasei; we have our budget director, Sherif Soliman; we have our NYC chief service officer, Laura Rog; and our chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem. One week from today, New York City will come together to remember the horrific act of terror that occurred in our city 25 years ago; the thousands that were stolen from us that day and in the years since; and the uncommon courage that countless New Yorkers showed in the aftermath. Over the past weeks, I've had the immense honor of meeting with construction workers who spent months clearing rubble and removing steel; teachers at schools like Stuyvesant near Ground Zero, whose students continue to contend with 9/11-related medical issues; and City workers who made enormous, unseen contributions. And I have visited firehouses where the names of those fallen still line the walls, where the sons entered a life of public service to pay homage to fathers who were killed on that day, and where eternal flames are never allowed to go out. Twenty-five years may have passed, but for the families who still grieve someone who never came home, or who got sick from the toxic air in the years after, the grief remains fresh. The absence remains inescapable. The pain endures. Every New Yorker knows the words "Never forget," and the meaning they carry. It is an obligation to remember those we lost, to live lives that aspire to their selflessness and compassion, and to build a city that they would be proud of. I am proud to be here today as we deepen that commitment by signing two executive orders that honor the sacrifice and the heroism of so many that day. The first executive order establishes an annual day of remembrance and service on Sept. 11, this year and every year that follows. On Sept. 11, 2001, we saw ordinary New Yorkers display an extraordinary level of courage. But most of all, we saw strangers who took the clothes off their back and gave them to New Yorkers who were injured and covered in dust; people who cooked meals or bought supplies and carried them down to the pile, just trying to help in any way that they could. We saw the lines to donate blood that went around the block; the people who lent their services, their tools, their time, their sweat and never sent a bill. If 9/11 was the darkest day in our city's history, then the few glimpses of light came from New Yorkers doing everything they could to help. We will mark this day with the same service toward one another. While there are official observations at the federal and state levels, there is no similar designation here in New York City. That changes today. This executive order will coordinate an annual citywide day of service and remembrance to honor the victims, first responders, survivors, city workers and the families impacted by this tragedy. And it will encourage City agencies to observe the day with moments of silence, memorial ceremonies and other displays of remembrance. I'm also proud to be signing a second executive order updating our city's operational continuity and agency preparedness policies. September 11th was a day without any precedent, a day that demanded City agencies and first responders devise solutions to impossible challenges in the moment. And while our city has taken great steps to increase security measures and prevent any future terror threats, we know that as the greatest city in the world, we will always remain a target. The original continuity of operations policies are nearly 20 years old and in long need of an update. This executive order will establish a new task force to coordinate decision-making across agencies and provide modern expertise and oversight. It will also modernize the City's existing continuity framework to ensure we are prepared to respond to the threats that our city faces today. This is a core part of our plan to protect and prepare for risks to come, and it will be led by the deputy mayor for Operations and supported by the commissioners of NYCEM, DCAS and OTI. If these two executive orders hold a shared message, let it be this: When we say, "Never forget," we do not mean it in the abstract. It is a sacred vow to those we will always mourn, the heroes who ran toward horror so that others could run toward home and to every New Yorker who showed such immeasurable solidarity and courage 25 years ago. Thank you. And with that, I will now bring up our FDNY commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
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