Mayor’s 100 Days Speech Sees City As Progressive Beacon

Mayor Bil De Blasio spoke at the Great Hall at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art of Science yesterday, giving the hallowed hall its due referencing one of the hall’s earliest and greatest orators, Abraham Lincoln, who spoke against slavery at the East Village auditorium many score and many years ago.  The Mayor used the occasion to speak of the city as one where a progressive vision is what its people have been craving and asking for.  Rather than Pacino’s “palace” speech in the movie City Hall, De Blasio’s address reflected the “Tale of Two Cities” theme of the campaign, focusing on creating opportunity and the government getting input from New Yorkers from all walks of life.

“That’s what we believe in – the grassroots, the people’s voice. That’s what animates us. That’s what gives me hope. That’s what gives me strength. That’s what gives me and all of us a renewed sense of purpose each day.”

Touching on public housing, public safety, transportation and economic opportnity, the policy area touched on most in the speech was education and schooling, reflecting a policy area that has dominated media coverage of the Mayor since taking office.  The Mayor spoke of an experience in the Bronx (the Mayor at MS 331, above) to highlight his vision for education in the city, enabling all New Yorkers from the earliest age to have opportunity to be scholars. (Photos c/o The Office of the Mayor)

“I recently visited an afterschool program at MS 331 in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. There they go – Bronx is in the house.  I went with Chancellor Fariña and we were both entranced by what we saw.  It is a wonderful program – offered everything from homework help to arts and culture. And we saw a group of middle school girls and they were doing a dance routine. And they were precise and they were focused and they were energetic and they were helping each other. They were critiquing each other. They were working to get better with every attempt.  And I started talking to them and they talked about each other and how one had been shy until they got into the after-school program, how one didn’t participate in class until they got into the after-school program. One of them said she didn’t do her homework as much until she got into the after-school program.These were children full of energy and life and purpose and hope, and they were safe. And they were getting better every day. And that is what after school is about.”

 

 

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