Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams Thanks the Frontline Heroes of the Sunset Park Subway Attack

April 15, 2022

Video available at: https://youtu.be/qlZAOutTwzY

Chaplin Dr. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Chief Advisor to the Mayor: Good morning and welcome. It's indeed an honor for me to be here as we honor our heroes. My name is Chaplain Dr. Ingrid P. Lewis-Martin. I am the Chief Advisor to our Mayor Eric Adams. Without any further ado, it's indeed an honor and pleasure for me to introduce to you and present to many, my brother, my partner in government, who we all know and love as our 110th Mayor of New York City Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much. Thank you, Ingrid, and our entire team, and it's good to see my good friend, Janet who's here, also Lieber, his coordination, his support, and how the immediate response from your entire team. Janno, I cannot thank you enough for how your team responded and how you utilized all of the manpower as well as TWU to really take a dark moment and showed a light of hope for all New Yorkers in your response. This week, New York City showed the entire globe what our city is and has always been about, courage, heroism, quick thinking and decisive action. As I looked on some of the videos and watched how passengers and employees responded, it clearly showed why this is a special place that we call New York. And most of all, what I saw the most is that we are a community, one community, one city, and we respond during the moment of tragedy.

Mayor Adams: New York has looked out for each other and transit workers, as always, looked out for us. That's why we are here today. When our city was attacked Tuesday morning, you risked real danger to save the lives of everyday New Yorkers. I want you to thank every single MTA employee for their entire commitment, dedication and service. I want to also say in this time of crisis, you kept the trains, the buses and the ferries moving. You got people safely to their destination and you continue to deliver the service that we expected. Today, I want to thank some of the heroes who were there on the scene, and we're going to continue to acknowledge those in the upcoming days for the actions that they took during this difficult time. I want to acknowledge today, Joseph Franchi, the R train operator. Dayron Williams, the R train conductor. David Artis, the N train operator. Raven Hayes, the N train conductor, Michael Catalano, the R train operator. Willy Sanchez, the R train conductor. Parla Mejia, the B37 bus operator.

Mayor Adams: Your actions are indicative of what's great about the service that you deliver every day in general, more specifically the service you deliver during times of crises. As a former transit police officer, I witnessed throughout the years, how often you rise to the occasion during difficult times. You all personified what's great about our subway system and our MTA system overall. I want to thank you for your service to your city and your bravery on that morning. When bullets were flying, 33 to be exact, you stayed calm, stayed focused, and you saved lives. Calm, focused, and you saved lives. Thanks to you, no passenger was left behind. No lives were lost. Thanks to you, our city keeps running every day, day after day.

Mayor Adams: I'd also like to thank all New Yorkers, how we responded, how the city quickly mobilized. There's so many different levels, from the principals to the educators, the teachers, E-9-11 operators, police officers, doctors, nurses, first responders, local storekeepers and owners. New York has stepped up and we showed who we are as a city. I want to thank those civilians who rushed to the aid of their fellow passengers until EMS arrived, lives were saved based on their actions. And thanks to EMS, our hospitals and healthcare workers, our teachers and staffs, we cannot continue to overlook in the midst of a crisis, how we look by responding accordingly to that crisis. And I also want to have a special acknowledgement to the men and women over at the emergency management center. City services had a smooth and coordinated response included the rapid release of the wireless emergency alert that identified the person of interest in the attack. That coordination was crucial for our entire response. And thanks to the sharp eyes and actions of everyday New Yorkers to calling tips to our hotlines and information that assisted in the apprehension and thanks to the NYPD.

Mayor Adams: Their calm and responsive actions piecing together the pieces of the puzzle that allowed us to identify the face that closed in on our suspect and led to the apprehension. Tuesday, April 12th could have been one of the darkest days of our city, and instead we responded and because of each and every New Yorker, each and every one of you, was a day we are proud to call ourselves New Yorkers. In the moment we will present each of you with a proclamation that will mark your contribution to this city. And I want to say on behalf of 8.8 million New Yorkers, I want to say, thank you. Thank you for defining who we are as a city, the entire nation watched for our response. And once again, we showed them what makes the city special. Thank you very much.

Dr. Lewis-Martin: Thank you, Mayor Adams for your wonderful remarks. Without any further ado, it is indeed an honor for me to introduce to many of you and present to even more of you, a good friend to our administration for many years and a staple in our community. He's the treasurer and secretary of TWU, Transportation Worker Union 100, Earl Phillips.

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Dr. Lewis-Martin: Thank you, Earl. And now, without any further ado, it is a pleasure for me to present chair and CEO of the MTA Janno Lieber.

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Dr. Lewis-Martin: Thank you. It's indeed an honor for me to introduce to many of you, a partner in government that I've just recently met. And the mayor with his brilliance knew that in his absence, he would need a partner who could stand in his stead appropriately. And he selected a woman who has many years in government, who many in this room may know. It's a pleasure for me to introduce to you our First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo.

First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo: Thank you so much, Ingrid. It's such a pleasure to be here, to read to you the text of the proclamation that will be given to these heroes. Whereas, New York city rises on the foundation of vital public servants who power the five boroughs, support our diverse population, and forge our bright future. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the metropolitan transportation authority, conductors, crew members and operators who not only work tirelessly each day to help our 8.8 million New Yorkers travel across the five boroughs and move our city forward, but also go to great lengths to ensure that they feel safe in our city. These individuals put their lives on the line and acted bravely in the face of unknown danger to protect their fellow New Yorkers on our city's subways. Whereas today I am immediately proud and honored to applaud our heroes for their bravery, humanity, and quick thinking when a potentially lethal situation unfolded within our subway system.

Deputy Mayor Grillo: Public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity and a fundamental requirement of good government. These transit employees serve their city and fellow New Yorkers with distinguished honor acting swiftly and decisively to evacuate passengers from the scene of a dangerous attack. Despite the enormous risk to their own safety, they rose to the occasion and performed commendable acts of humanity and service, efficiently packing their buses and trains while maintaining order during a crisis to move traumatized passengers away towards safety.

Deputy Mayor Grillo: Whereas there is no greater example of resilience that defines our diverse residents than the kindness, strength, and valor shown by these courageous individuals. They embody the very best of our great city, that our great city has to offer and possess a bottomless well of compassion for those they serve. Their generous spirit, incredible heroism and unshakable strength of character will inspire their fellow New Yorkers for years to come. Together, we will work to end senseless gun violence, continue our mission to guarantee justice and safety and build a better brighter and safer New York city for all. Now, therefore I, Eric Adams, Mayor of the city of New York do hereby proclaim Friday, April 15th, 2022 in the city of New York as, and I will say it... and each and every one of the heroes will be named on their proclamation that it will be their day. Thank you.

Dr. Lewis-Martin: So without further ado, First Deputy Mayor Grillo, and I will on behalf of the mayor present the proclamations to all of our heroes, deputy mayor.

Deputy Mayor Grillo: Yes, of course. It's Dayron Williams day.

Dr. Lewis-Martin: Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Grillo: It's also David Artis day.

Deputy Mayor Grillo: It is Joseph Franchi day.

Deputy Mayor Grillo: And it is Parla Mejia day.

Deputy Mayor Grillo: And finally it is Raven Haynes day.

Dr. Lewis-Martin: So we thank all of you for joining with us today. Technology is an awesome thing because although we didn't have our mayor in person, we did have him on the teleprompter. And there's one thing that's a common thread with TWU workers, 911, we had the TWU workers, when COVID-19 hit, they were our unsung heroes. Many of you were forgotten about, but when our mayor was the ball president, he didn't forget about you. He was there with you. And now once again, April 12th, TWU has always been a mainstay in our community when it comes to heroism. So we sincerely thank each and every last one of you and all of the other heroes from our infamous day who worked at MTA and put their lives on the line on April 12th. They may not be here, but we know that you were there for us and we love you as well. Blessings. Thank you.

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