Mayor Mamdani Opens Shirley Chisholm Rec Center
Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Good morning, everyone. It is a privilege to be here, to celebrate the opening of the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in East Flatbush. Now, to begin, I want to first acknowledge a few people that I have with me here on this stage. We have our [Department of] Parks commissioner, Tricia Shimamura. We have a man that we all know now as the public advocate, Jumaane Williams. But for today, I think it is important to also acknowledge him as [a] former council member, because this idea has been a long time coming and I am thankful to stand on the stage alongside so many of those who ensured that not only was it dreamt, but that it was also delivered. And I want to also acknowledge Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Council Member Farah Louis, State Senator Kevin Parker, [and] our Assemblymember Monique Chandler-Waterman. And I want to also thank representatives of the Shirley Chisholm and Roy Hastick families.
Now, before we speak about all this extraordinary community space we'll have to offer, I want to first address the lethal cold front that gripped New York City this weekend. This weekend, we saw the winter's coldest and most dangerous temperatures thus far. It was colder in our city than in parts of Antarctica. Since Friday's press conference, one additional New Yorker lost their life on the streets of our city as a result of this cold snap. The total lives lost is now 18. Each life lost is a tragedy, and we will continue to hold their families in our thoughts. I want to thank our dedicated agencies and every city worker who has worked tirelessly through these conditions.
Since Monday, January 19th, we have made approximately 1,400 placements into shelters and safe havens. We have involuntarily transported 33 New Yorkers who were deemed to be a danger to themselves or to others. As of Sunday morning, across Friday and Saturday night, 560 New Yorkers used H+H warming centers, and nearly 300 New Yorkers used a DHS warming vehicle. In preparation for this past weekend, I directed my team to take steps to bolster and extend our efforts to get people inside and off the streets.
And on Friday, I announced an additional 64 hotel rooms of shelter capacity and new partnerships with organizations like ACE and CMS, as well as with DOE school nurses, to expand our outreach. Because of that work, we saw at least 150 additional outreach workers hitting the streets, supplementing and augmenting the efforts of the over 400 DHS outreach workers who had already been working around the clock, and dozens of additional nurses who were assisting our existing city clinical staff. We operated nearly 65 warming centers this weekend, including standing up additional facilities to outages in Brooklyn. And on Saturday, we expanded our capacity. Thanks to [the] partnership between the Department of Social Services and [the] Department of Buildings, we accelerated the opening of 48 additional safe haven shelter units in the Bronx. We also deployed a new tool on LinkNYC kiosks so that New Yorkers in need could find the warming center nearest to them, adding new, bigger signage to warming centers and vehicles, and worked to improve 311 to cut the time that it takes to report a homeless individual in need of help approximately in half.
We have been working hard to keep New Yorkers safe, and we will continue to do so. Because it is not forecast to be above 32 degrees until tomorrow, and 35 degrees is hardly balmy weather. Until temperatures warm up, I ask all of you in this room and outside of it to please continue to take additional precautions. Stay safe, stay indoors, and please, New York, let's keep looking out for one another. We will get through this.
Now, I'd like to turn to why we're gathered here together in East Flatbush today, the opening of the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center. The unbought and unbossed Shirley Chisholm was one of one. She was a proud daughter of Flatbush, a child of Guyanese and Barbadian immigrants. And as we mark Black History Month, what a joy it is to celebrate the first Black woman to serve in the United States Congress. She made history in the halls of Congress, but she was always striving to do more, to help the people of New York and our nation more.
When she announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1972, she was the first woman to ever do so. And she did it on her own terms, without institutional support, endorsements from political kingmakers, or big-dollar donors. Congresswoman Chisholm didn't need billionaire backing, because she was backed by the people of Brooklyn and an unwavering belief that [the] American people were ready for a new kind of politics. Some 52 years later, I am eternally grateful for her example.
And today, we continue to honor her legacy with this tribute, a space that is truly worthy of her name, her works, and the lesson that she left all of us. And looking around, it is easy to imagine the hum of activity that will soon fill these rooms. Teens cycling through these doors to play pickup basketball and volleyball, while children run around the plaza outside. Seniors getting their steps in at [the] pickleball courts, their laps in at the pool, then attending a cooking class in the brand-new teaching kitchen. And of course, men in their 30s, who will start the next great podcast in the state-of-the-art media center, who are always there.
The Media Lab, in fact, is one of my favorite aspects of this new space. It is named after Dr. Roy A. Hastick - a Grenadian immigrant, [who] was a true pillar of this community. He founded the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, lifting up thousands of business owners who had long been marginalized. Shirley Chisholm liked to say, "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." At this center, thanks to her work, there will be plenty of seats for everyone. This center will remain low-cost to all New Yorkers and free to anyone under the age of 24. So, allow me to correct myself, anyone of any age will be able to start a podcast here.
When I speak of building a more affordable city for New Yorkers, I don't mean only necessities like rent and transportation. Making New York more affordable also means [the] government investing in spaces like this, where New Yorkers can learn, can grow, and can simply enjoy their time together. 41,000 people live a 15-minute walk or transit ride from this space. It is the first-ever recreation center in central Brooklyn and the first built citywide in the last 15 years.
The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center will be a true hub of community, and it will serve as an example of what's possible in New York City. And like its namesake, this center is a trailblazer, opening the door to a new era. After years of stagnation, this is the first of six new recreation centers currently under development by New York City Parks. And it serves as a model for a new kind of build, a commitment to public excellence. Thank you to all of the civil servants, the elected officials [who] are standing here alongside me, as well as those outside of this room, and faith and community leaders who pushed for this project. You fought tooth and nail to see this through, even when it seemed like the odds were against it.
You never wavered in your fight for central Brooklyn, and because of it, thousands of people in this community will have the kind of public infrastructure that makes a tangible difference in their day-to-day lives. So, I want to say, before anything else, thank you to all of you for making this day possible. I also want to thank the Department of Design and Construction for getting this project done.
And finally, I want to thank the Chisholm family themselves. Thank you so much for everything you have given this city and this country. Shirley Chisholm believed in a politics of the people. This space, in its lasting, finished form, will stand as a monument to her legacy. This is only the beginning. There is much more to come, and for that and everything else, I say thank you. And now we will hear from our Parks commissioner, Tricia Shimamura.
Commissioner Tricia Shimamura, Department of Parks and Recreation: Good morning, East Flatbush. I am so thrilled to be with you, to celebrate our beautiful, brand-new recreation center. Walking through this building, it is amazing just how many rooms and resources we were able to put here, from child- and student-only spaces with games and books, to exercise rooms where you can set a new personal record. This rec center has something for everybody of all ages. That's what this center is about, and what we are committed at New York City Parks to you, working for all New Yorkers.
Unfortunately, there are many neighborhoods across this city where resources that all New Yorkers deserve are often held out of reach. Neighborhoods where kids don't have a safe place to go after school, where a mom trying to go for a jog has to run along the sidewalk right next to cars, where a teenager hoping to work a summer job as a lifeguard where they don't have a public pool where they can practice how to swim. We know that it's not a coincidence, that some neighborhoods get these resources, while others do not.
And we at Parks and across City government believe that we have a responsibility to set things straight. This project is an example of some of the best work that [the] City government can do. Coming together across agencies, working with incredible leaders throughout the community, many of whom who are standing right up here, and delivering a welcoming and accessible space for all New Yorkers. At Parks, we take very seriously our responsibility as stewards to this shared resource, and as Parks commissioner, I promise that we will do everything we can, to make Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center a point of pride for a generation of Brooklynites.
I hope that as you get to know this new center, you can see the ways that the community outside these doors is reflected on the inside. It's not just the vibrant colors and all of the allusions to Shirley Chisholm's life as a Brooklyn icon. There's also art throughout this space, which visionary artist Vanessa German co-created with members of the community during a year-long community creative residency. I'd like to thank Vanessa, who's here this morning, as well as our [Department of] Parks' Arts and Antiquities team for making these beautiful installations possible. And I'd also like to thank the leaders across Parks who have made this center a true reflection of Shirley Chisholm's larger-than-life legacy. I want to thank our acting first deputy commissioner, Mark Focht, Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson, Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Marty Maher, Assistant Commissioner Emily Chase, our Senior Architect Adam Anuszkiewicz, and our Chief of Partner Project Management, Laura Pavilonis. And finally, Brooklyn, I hope that you'll give a special shout-out to the woman who helped drive this project the whole way through, our Chief of Brooklyn Recreation, Eileen Dalton. I also want to echo our mayor's appreciation for our partners in elected office. Of course, give everyone up here a round of applause.
Our elected leaders here have kept this dream alive for a decade, and we owe so much of today to them. So, we're very grateful to be in partnership with you all. Accessible and affordable shared spaces like this, strengthen the bonds between neighborhoods. They make our lives not just safer, but more dignified and more joyful. I invite you all to join us for free this week to sample everything that this recreation center has to offer. And I also encourage you to join us as rec center members, which gives you access to now 37 recreation centers citywide. So, with that, I'd just like to say, welcome to Shirley Chisholm.
Mayor Mamdani: And now our public advocate, Jumaane Williams.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams: Peace and blessing, love and light, what's up Flatbush? This is pretty amazing. It's an honor to be here. How many people were in some of those early meetings, 13 years ago? Anybody from the community, when we were just thinking about this? It's a long, long time coming. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you to [the Department of] Parks. Thank you to the elected officials who were here. Thank you to the Council Member who finished this, even got the money we won't be able to get. That's pretty dope.
To put the context of what was happening 13 years ago, there was - there's a lot of violence going on, there still is, it's a little bit less now. There's a lot of families here who were impacted by violence. And then we had the killing of Kimani Gray, I don't know if his mom is here. That was a police-involved shooting. And our young people were expressing themselves on Church Avenue. And we were trying to find a way to help them express it a little bit more productively than they were. And I remember being on there with Pastor Monrose. It actually was the birth of God Squad, as we tried to develop how we can respond.
I'm thankful for so many folks who were here, including Council Member Louis, Assemblymember Chandler-Waterman. I see Ernest Skinner was here as well, and other folks who were in the [City] Council then. We were trying to figure out what we can do. And a lot of us started going out, talking to the young people, and we were telling them, "Don't be out here at the nighttime - only bad things happen." And they said, "Well, where do you want us to go?" And we said, "That's a good point." There were no youth centers in East Flatbush, in this part.
There was no place we can actually say, "Hey, why don't you go here and make your lives a little bit more constructive." And so, we said, "That doesn't make any sense." So, we have to be able to provide a space that we're telling them to go to that is constructive and can use their time a little bit better. It was a shame that, as was mentioned, there are some communities that have a plethora of these, and there are some communities that have none. And so, we thought about telling them, "If you can put your trust in us, we will get something done."
At that point, folks may remember, I was having some big arguments with then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg on a variety of issues of how he was responding to our young people. But I want to give credit to him and Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson. I brought him on a tour, showed him what was going on - that's how we got the first $500,000 to do the study to try to figure out if we can get a community center here. I say that because sometimes it takes a long time when you drop a seed to get something done. But it's worth it if you can push it through. It's so exciting, I can't tell you, to actually think about something and walk into a space, and it's actually done.
And I want to give credit also to just the elected officials who are here, our State Senator Kevin Parker, of course, Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte [Hermelyn] and Assemblymember Chandler-Waterman. But I do want to just give a lot of credit to Councilmember Louis for pushing this through, for completing it, for getting even more than we thought we'd be able to get. It's amazing to be able to watch someone complete a vision even more than you expected. I'm going to end this way, though, and it's important because when I thought about it - one, thank you for inviting me, it's awesome to be invited. It's always good to hear your name. But we have to get to a point where it's okay if you don't.
And so, when I dropped the seed to make this happen, I wasn't sure if I would see it happen. I wasn't sure if I'd be invited back to see it happen. I prefer to be invited back to see it happen. But we, as elected officials and leaders, have to get to a point where it is okay for something to be completed, and you may not be there to see it. It just cannot be - it cannot be about the credit of who does a thing, but the fact that the thing gets done. And if we cannot get to that point, our communities will continue to suffer. There's enough light to go around. We can all get the credit we deserve. Let's drop those seeds and push it to fruition so that our community benefits all of the time.
So, with that, I'm very glad to be here. It is exciting to be here at the Chisholm Recreation Center. I'm looking forward to working with the other elected officials, if we can, to get another one in the original space that we told the young people that it was going to be in, so they can enjoy it as well. So, this is a celebration with a lot more work to do. Thank you so much, everyone. Peace and blessing. Love and light to you all. Thank you.
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Mamdani: Now our Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn: Good morning, everyone. Are we excited? Yes. Praise God. My name is Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn. I represent the 42nd Assembly District, which is where we are. Welcome to the 42nd Assembly District, Flatbush. I want to thank all my colleagues in government who are here, who you're going to be hearing from, our friends, our family, the Shirley Chisholm Advisory Board, who's here. Let's give them a round of applause. Our Community Board, Community Board 17, we have Chairman Daley, God Squad, let's give them a round of applause. All of our tenant associations like the Flatbush Gardens and everybody else. Let's give them a [round of] applause.
And of course, I would like to acknowledge the members of the Brooklyn Alumni Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. I know we have Madam President Kenya Johnson in the house. I want to thank all of our - and let's also recognize the Hastick family who's here with us this morning, and the Shirley Chisholm family who's here with us this morning. We are very excited to have been working with a number of different agencies, New York City Parks Department as well as Department of Design and Construction. Let's give them a round of applause. I want to thank you.
It's truly a pleasure to be here on this long-awaited opening day of the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center, right here in my district. Finally, a much-needed center that this community deserves named in the honor of a great legend. I want to thank Mayor Zohran Mamdani for bringing this project to completion. This vision began many years ago as an idea, an idea rooted in keeping our children safe and actively combating gun violence. And today, mayor, you made it happen for all of us, for a community that is hurting, for immigrants who look like us, you and I, all of us here on the stage. Especially continuing to confront the challenges of ICE and the pressures our family face every day. So, we thank you.
It began with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Back when he served as a City Council Member, he understood the void in this community and he fought tirelessly to fill it. And he had a team [that] also shared that vision - his Council Member staff at that time, Council Member Farah Louis. And together, they took this vision and carried it forward, transforming it [into] the state-of-the-art structure that we see today. It began with $35 million, remember? And that project soon grew into $141 million. And I do want to give a shout-out to Mayor Bill de Blasio, who, at that time, when they told us no, we could not have a pool, it was too expensive. You know how we felt. Yeah, we're worth it. We're worth the pool. We're worth the state-of-the-art stuff. That's right. Especially in the name of Shirley Chisholm.
And not only that, but we're worth other things, like a basketball court, a track, a wellness center, a youth center, and now also a media center in the name of another great legend: Dr. Roy Hastick. And as you heard, Shirley Chisholm was a Brooklyn's daughter of the Caribbean, a Brooklyn's daughter of Flatbush. And she didn't wait for that opportunity. She demanded representation. She believed government must be visible in people's lives, not only during elections, but in everyday living. Naming this center after her is not symbolic. As a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, an organization founded on public service and now the largest public service sorority, this reminds us that service must produce real results that people can touch, enter, and use.
This recreation center did not appear overnight. It represents years of planning, community input, board meetings, site walkthroughs, design, fighting, fighting, fighting for money. Sometimes it felt very difficult with the conversations around fairness, access, and ensuring that people who live here would truly benefit from what was being built. This is not about a recreation center, about basketball courts or exercise room. It's about prevention. It's about health. It's about safety. When young people have structured programs, mentorship, and community, they gain direction. When seniors have a place to gather, they can gain longevity and dignity.
This center will be more than a location. It will be a hub, a living space for our seniors, our youth, education, mentorship - a place where neighbors meet neighbors and community grow stronger. When families have shared spaces, communities become stronger. This building is more than a brick and steel. It represents patience, advocacy, and persistence from people from this neighborhood who never stop pushing for investment where they live. I want to thank our partners. I want to thank Council Member Farah Louis for really fighting and carrying this on. We thank you. We thank you, Farah, for your hard work, making sure that I was included working with the City Department of Youth and Community Development, Parks and Recreation, and DDC.
We all stayed at the table long enough to see this vision through. Projects like this do not happen because of one office or one agency, as you heard from Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. They happen because people commit to collaboration, like Senator Kevin Parker and Assembly member Monique Chandler-Waterman. So today, as we cut this ribbon, we understand what it truly means. This community now has a place that belongs to them. It is my honor to celebrate this milestone with all of you. May the center be filled with laughter, learning, [and] opportunity for generations of Brooklyn families. And again, lastly, we thank Mayor Zohran Mamdani for seeing this through. Thank you.
Mayor Mamdani: We've heard her name, and now it's time to hear from her herself. Councilwoman Farah Louis.
Council Member Farah Louis: Grace and peace, grace and peace, East Flatbush, grace and peace. I just want to start with this. Today is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Before anything, I'm a woman of God, and I'm so grateful to God for allowing me to lead this project. I'm Council Member Farah Louis. It's an honor to join everyone here today inside this immaculate facility, the namesake of our hometown hero, the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center. This place is indeed an answered prayer. For every young person who cried, "Don't shoot, I want to grow up." For every senior seeking a place for leisure instead of loneliness. For every resident seeking a place for wellness, this is yours.
Today is a powerful reminder that when a community stays committed, organized, and relentless, change is possible. This has been a long journey, and we finally made it. What we celebrate today did not happen overnight. It took years of advocacy - thank you, public advocate - persistence, and neighbors refusing to give up on a vision for this community. We are gathered here to celebrate the realization of a dream and the culmination of years of collective effort. The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center stands as a testament to what happens when community members, advocates, and public servants work together with purpose. I thank Zohran Mamdani, our new mayor, and our new parks commissioner for recognizing this accomplishment and for joining us today and for leading this effort today.
It is impossible to talk about this moment without honoring the life, work, and legacy of our honorable, magnificent Shirley Chisholm, a Brooklyn icon, a daughter of African diaspora with Barbados and Guyanese roots, a trailblazer who was unbought, unbossed, unapologetic in her commitment to justice. She taught us that when doors are closed and seats are denied, we do not wait for permission, we build our own. This center will house gymnasiums, pools, walking tracks, business media labs - the Hastick family is here - classrooms, and tools that will help shape the next generation of leaders. Perhaps one day, another national leader will emerge from this very neighborhood and proudly say they were shaped by this here Shirley Chisholm Rec Center. None of this would have been possible without the tireless work of community members who showed up, spoke out, and never accepted no as the final answer.
And I want to recognize the East Flatbush residents, advocates, leaders, stakeholders who fought for this space, including Ms. Linda Turner, give her a round of applause; Jackie Williams; Bernadine Simon; Fitzlynn Noel; Paula Bailey; Carla Baker; Sophia Francis; George Tate; Ronette Cox; Joan Bakiriddin; Allyson Martinez; Kwame Afreh; Pastor Straker; Reverend Al Cockfield; Aaron Caldwell-Ampra; Joan Bacradine; former Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Speaker Cory Johnson, Mr. Skinner, the Shirley Chisholm family, the Hastick family, and my staff.
[Crosstalk.]
And my staff, Daniel Heredia, Sabrina Dieujuste, my former staffers, Avrohom, Blake, Samuel Pierre, and the countless community members who have driven this process forward, as well as - those who turned this vision into reality. And Sherif Fraser from Community Board 17, she didn't allow me to get there yet, but give her props. Cheryl McKissick, Steven Sommer, for building this beautiful space. Thank you. I am deeply proud to have helped led this effort alongside my partners, public advocate Jumaane Williams. This was initially his vision, and I enhanced it by the grace of God. Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn, thank you both for your support, for also helping me secure this $141 million. I'm so grateful to Mayor Bill de Blasio for this investment, which was an honor to our community, a vision rooted in dignity, equity, and opportunity, and investing in our residents.
This journey also carries the memory of Kimani Gray, whose life was lost in this community. We continue to inspire our commitment to safe spaces, opportunity, and hope for our young people. This center stands not only as a tribute to Shirley Chisholm, but also as a promise to every child and family in this neighborhood that they matter, and that their future is worth fighting for. East Flatbush, we did this together. Together, we built something enduring, a space where generations will thrive, grow, and is here for decades to come. Public advocate, I heard you earlier about doing something in the northern part of East Flatbush. I would love to do it with you - and I look forward to your support. Thank you again, Mayor Mamdani.
Mayor Mamdani: And now, our State Senator, Kevin Parker.
State Senator Kevin Parker: Words I never thought I'd be saying: Thank you, Mayor Mamdani. Protocol being established, I'm State Senator Kevin Parker. I represent the 21st District of Brooklyn, - which you're at - Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Flatlands, Marine Park, Bergen Beach - all those places, right?
You know, we're at the part of the program where everything's been said, everybody just hasn't said it. But let me just reemphasize that teamwork makes the dream work. And you don't know, again, the struggle that this took. And so, again, congratulations to Jumanne and Council Member Farah Louis - who, you know, worked like a champ - Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, [and] Monique Chandler-Waterman. You know that it is a difficult process when I am the voice of reason in the meeting. Let me just say that, right? And so, there's kind of a lot going on. But let me just say this: Let truth be told on this important day. I wasn't for this project when it first started, right? And I'll tell you exactly why. Because for me, it's not about the building; it's about the services. And the services still need to be provided all over, not just this district and our community, but the city. And so, in this moment in which we celebrate this place, this time, and this Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center, let's not forget the other communities, even in this area, that still need help.
And we have done universal pre-K. Under the leadership of Mayor Mamdani, we are now taking our first steps, and it looks like we're going to get universal daycare done. The next step, Mr. Mayor, is universal afterschool. And we're not going to be able to build an unlimited number of $140 million facilities. But we do have school buildings all over the city that are underutilized. We have community school projects. I like the Beacon School model, myself, pioneered by Geoff Canada in Harlem. But we need to provide those kinds of programs throughout our city.
And so, today, let this be a commencement. Not of just serving this community and inaugurating this building but rededicating ourselves to making sure every single child in the city of New York has the services and makes sure every single community has the kind of protection that this building is going to provide our great community. Thank you so much.
Assembly Member Monique Chandler-Waterman: I guess last but not least, I am New York State Assemblywoman Monique Chandler-Waterman, representing right up the block, Assembly District 58 in Brooklyn, covering East Flatbush, parts of Canarsie, Brownsville, and Crown Heights. And yes, I am also from the D9 community, Sigma Gamma Rho, since we're shouting it out, right? As we celebrate 100 years of Black history, it is fitting that we are here today at the opening of the Shirley Chisholm Recreational Center, named after a Black, Caribbean historian with Bayesian and Guyanese roots who represented us in the Congress and [was] a former Assemblywoman like myself.
This is a moment of great pride where we, as leaders, need to continue her legacy to embody her motto, "Unbought and unbossed," like you see on this shirt. This facility has been a long-standing need to provide our youth with a secure alternative to the streets. I'm especially honored to have been involved in the initial planning stages before my election. Additionally, many others were instrumental in the initial planning and fought to get the center when they said no, including families impacted by gun violence, along with EFV, Enough and God Squad. Natasha, Christopher and Maxine Lewis, who's here today, just raise your hand. And just to let you know, [inaudible] and Deshaun and Mr. Skinner was out there on the night of Kimani Gray's unfortunate situation just to get Jumanne, because he was out where he wasn't supposed to be. Okay? Our youth, our friends of Tilden Park, let's give it up for them, clergy, older adults, and my neighbors.
Since taking office, I created Assembly District 58 Public Safety Task Force that continues to advocate for more resources to invest in public health. I want to thank the public advocate, Jumanne Williams, as you heard from everybody today, for laying the foundation and leadership on this project, and to Mr. Mayor Mamdani. We went through about, what, four mayors to get to this point? But, you know - New York City Parks Commissioner and Team DDC, Hasek Family, Community Board 17, and my colleagues, Council Member Louis, thank you so much for your leadership, and Assembly member, my sister, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, and Senator Parker, for bringing this project to the finish line, and for their commitment to investing in our community and our youth so that we have resources that we need to live healthy and productive lives. This is a perfect example that it's not a I-ting, it's a we-ting. Thank you.
Question: You're up here with a lot of state lawmakers and [inaudible] this week. Can you give us any specifics on the conversations with state lawmakers ahead of that [inaudible] these state lawmakers have been interfacing with you. Have you met with them? Can you give us any details about what Jahmila Edwards has been up to? We know that you've been talking to the governor, but we want to get details about conversations with state lawmakers.
Mayor Mamdani: Yes, absolutely. It is, frankly, a pleasure to be standing here alongside so many of my former colleagues who I served with in the State Assembly, and also who served in the additional chamber of the State Senate. And the conversations that we have had over the course, not just of the campaign, but even just in lead-up and now in this moment of governing, are conversations about how can we take care of the very New Yorkers who have so often been overlooked. I'll tell you one thing. When I speak about how we need to reset the city's relationship to the state, when I speak about how we need to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers - people who make a million dollars or more - by 2 percent, I'm often told about the prospect of people leaving this city, this idea of capital flight. And I push back with the facts, but also what I think about is the fact that we don't talk that much about the actual exodus that's already taking place.
We have seen an exodus disproportionately of Black New Yorkers over the last few years. From 2010 to 2019, we saw a decline of our city's population of black children and teenagers by 19 percent. So, the conversations I have with my colleagues who are up here are also conversations about how the city and the state can be stepping up to make this an easier city to keep calling your home. And that's why today means so much, because these elected officials, these faith leaders, these community leaders, have done everything they can to make this a place where young people can come to and find a sense of self, where older adults can find, I think as Councilwoman Louis had said, leisure, not loneliness. And these are a lot of the conversations we're having, because what we want to build is a city government that can deliver on the needs of working class New Yorkers, and some of those working class New Yorkers are the ones in this very neighborhood that have been overlooked for far too long.
Question: I know that this is a historic day. You're celebrating the opening of this Center. On Friday, you were speaking at the interfaith breakfast [inaudible] event. But I'm wondering why you chose not to attend the installation of Cardinal Hicks. It's also a historic event. It probably won't happen again for seventeen years [inaudible].
Mayor Mamdani: I wasn't able to make that event, but I do look forward to sitting down with the Cardinal, and I'm so excited, frankly, at his leadership in this city. And what we see so often, frankly, is that New Yorkers do not actually turn to elected officials in moments of need. They are turning to their faith leaders. They are turning to those who they have long trusted to help them make sense of a senseless world. And his predecessor was a man who did just that. I know that he will be the same, and I'm looking forward to the work we can do together to continue to not only know of the words of the scripture, but to live the scripture as well.
Question: You announced that there was an additional death over the weekend, and you've mentioned that several of these people have had interactions with the city as far as, like, outreach workers. I'm curious, were any of these interactions with these people like immediately leading up to and during the storm? I guess I'm wondering, were any of the folks who passed away approached by an outreach worker; they said, "I'm good"; the outreach worker left; and then they later died.
Mayor Mamdani: So I will get back to you. Actually, you know what? We have Erin who is here with us from our team. Before I pass it over, I think one thing I want to share is that when the city goes into below freezing weather, we enact something called Code Blue. Code Blue then creates new protocols for how the city engages with New Yorkers at large and also specifically homeless New Yorkers. And as part of Code Blue, which we have been in as a city since January 19th, we have had city workers conduct a relentless amount of outreach. And what they have been able to do is make more than 1,400 placements into safe haven sites and shelters. And I have had the privilege of visiting drop-in sites, safe haven sites, H+H warming centers, and I have told these city workers directly that they are doing the work that saves New Yorkers' lives. They are keeping people indoors in a moment of the kind of cold that you simply cannot imagine. And I'll just pass it over for this specific question.
Erin Kelly: Hi, [I'm] Erin Kelly, the Deputy Chief of Staff in the HHS portfolio. To our knowledge, none of the deaths were immediately following an interaction. Those interactions had happened - could be a couple weeks, could be a couple years ago, but nothing immediately prior.
https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/02/transcript--mayor-mamdani-announces-opening-of-shirley-chisholm-.html
View Original | AusPol.co Disclaimer