Transcript: Mayor Adams Hosts Reception Celebrating Lunar New Year

February 6, 2025

Watch video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvDXYDtJpqM

Deputy Commissioner Peter Koo, Community Affairs Unit: So we all know why we are here, right? We celebrate the Lunar New Year. 2025 is the year of the snake. So let me tell you something about the Lunar New Year. When I was small, I was in middle school. Before the Chinese New Year, my mom was walking with me in Hong Kong. We crossed a department store, and I saw a sweater. I said, “Mom, I like that sweater.” My mom said, “Wait, we don't have that much money, right? So maybe you do well in school, I'll buy it for you for the New Year.” 

So New Year comes. My mom really bought me the sweater. So I was so happy then. And I never wore the sweater. I keep it until now, because it's too sentimental to me. So 50, 60 years later, I've been doing the same thing. The tradition, buying things for our children for the New Year. Children and grandchildren. I think most of you do the same thing. So Chinese tradition is you buy new clothes, new shoes, everything new. And today I'm wearing something new. I'm the man in the red, right? 

So before the program, I want to tell you, when we do this function, it takes a lot of time and planning. So I want to thank all of you for showing up despite the weather may not be good, right? So thank you very much for coming. And then I want to thank CAU, which is the Community Affairs Unit, and MOSPCE, which is [the] Mayor's Office of Special Events, for their help in planning this event. 

Next, I want to thank all the food vendors, two food vendors. [Soku Modern Asian Fusion] Restaurant from Great Neck. They are passing out really delicious appetizers. And then we have P.F. Chang's upstairs, [a] very nice Chinese meal. And I also want to thank Diamond Hong for providing wine and beverages. 

Lastly, I want to thank the mayor. The People's mayor. I have been in this office for three years, and I have known the mayor has gone to all kinds of functions. The mayor has done more city town hall meetings, roundtables, community center meetings, parades. He shows up everywhere, and he listens to the people's problems. He's not just only listening. He's solving the problems for them. 

Every time we do town hall, the mayor brings 20 or 30 departments, commissioners, to the same place. And when people complain about a problem, if it's a traffic problem, he lets the commissioner of traffic handle it. If it's Sanitation, he lets the Sanitation commissioner handle it. So he's there to solve people's problems. 

So we are very happy the mayor is here. And I want to say one more thing, right? Besides listening to the people, the mayor does all kinds of policies. Migrants, homeless people, and he's doing a lot of things. He's doing a lot of things for our city. You see crime coming down. Homeless people, not as much as before, right? Migrants are being treated fairly. So let's welcome Eric Adams, mayor of New York City, of the people, for the people, and by the people. Let's give the mayor a big round of applause. Thank you. 

Mayor Eric Adams: Wow, love it. You know, give yourselves a hand. You know, you're coming out, celebrating the rich pride of the community, and celebrating our Lunar New Year. This year is the year of the snake and when you look at the fact that we played a significant role in shedding new skin, how do we reinvent ourselves and we want to uplift our entire community and all those who celebrate the Lunar New Year, and what it represents for not only this city, but all of your particular countries and cultures and celebration. Year 4723. 4,723. That's a couple of years older than me, but it's doing well. 

Listen, this community is so important to New York, on so many levels. Small business owners. You believe in education. You believe in enriching our city with your culture, your art, your dance, your music, the food. You're part of the fabric of our city. And I'm so proud of Peter Koo, not only in the role he did as a councilman, but now in his role here in city government. And when we look at our elected officials who spoke with you earlier, their contributions, what Assemblywoman Rajkumar did by bringing the Diwali holiday, what she did about the SMOKEOUT Act to deal with the illegal cannabis shops that were really saturating our community. You look through this entire city, you see your representation and how important this community is for the people of the City of New York. 

And one of the most important roles is public safety. We know how important public safety is. And I see a few of our police officers that are here. When I think about WenJian Liu, who lost his life defending the city, I know how important public safety is to your community. And we're going to continue to make this a safe city. 

We're seeing a decrease in crime throughout our city. We're seeing increasing employment, more private sector jobs, and the history of the city. We're seeing our police officers remove 20,000 illegal guns off our street. We're building housing. We are showing how small businesses can operate and thrive. And you are very much part of that. So as we move into 4,723 year, we want to shed the skin like a snake and have a new beginning and a new start. Happy, happy Lunar New Year to you. I want to bring Peter Koo back up so we can honor some of our great members of your community. 

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