Transcript: Mayor Adams Delivers Remarks at Flag Raising Ceremony for Bulgaria

March 4, 2023

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much. Great to be here. And when we sit here, here at Bowling Green to raise the flag of this great country, Bulgarian citizens and those who are here realize how inclusive we are as a city and as a nation. We look forward to every time we raise a flag because it raises our spirit. It shows the entire globe of how this is a place where you're never asked to abandon your homeland. You are asked to bring your homeland as you're part of the adopted land here of America. It's a combination that makes us great. So I want to thank the consul general that's here, my commissioner, Commissioner Mermelstein, my entire team as we join you together in celebrating the 144th anniversary of the re-establishment… How are you doing?

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Mayor Adams: Thank you. I say this all the time, when we look at each other as older adults, we did not have to go through what our young children are going through today. They are constantly being pulled by outside forces from social media, to what we see… So when you have a beautiful young girl, comes to the mayor of the city, put on this good luck bracelet to wish him well-being, that is our future. It takes the question mark away, are we going to be alright? And we turn it into an exclamation point. We are going to be just fine. Thank you so much.

144 years. And Bulgarians are committed to freedom and democracy, have inspired so many over the years and this is a city of just so many wonderful immigrant groups that come here and make it home. We know what's happening in the war in Ukraine. We know how important it is that we lift up the spirit of Ukrainian people and when we raise the flag today, we're raising the flag for freedom, justice, and equality all over our globe. Thank you for allowing us to celebrate your 144th year of history. Thank you very much.

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