Great news folks: we hit record-high health care enrollment. 31 million
people now have coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Couldn’t think of
a better person to celebrate this milestone with than President Obama, so I
gave him a call.
pic.twitter.com/QtLeskSNnY
Civil rights champion Congressman John Lewis was buried today. He leaves a remarkable legacy. Watch this.
Civil rights icon John Lewis was laid to rest today, but his legacy — causing “good trouble” and creating a more just America — must live on in all of us. pic.twitter.com/ph4eNQagv7
John Lewis asked The NYT to publish this on the day of his funeral. It is necessary reading. He writes, “When you see something that is not right, you must say something ... Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part.” https://t.co/gNWQDpeAZt
President Barack Obama gave a powerful and meaningful call to action eulogy at today's funeral for Congressman John Lewis.
Obama: "There are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting ... even undermining the postal service in the run up to an election that's gonna be dependent on mail-in ballots so people don't get sick." pic.twitter.com/BJi56G8OyL
The President’s decision to pull the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement is a huge mistake that will cause significant and lasting damage for the U.S. and the world. Climate change is the single greatest threat to humanity. Sticking our heads in the sand and deliberately ignoring the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change will only hasten and worsen the damage that climate change will cause.
“Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement puts the U.S. in the company of Syria and Nicaragua as the only two nations who did not sign the agreement and will significantly harm our country’s standing with the rest of the world. The U.S. should be leading the effort to combat climate change, not standing in the way.
“Pulling out of this deal ignores our country’s moral responsibility to leave a sustainable planet for our children and future generations to come. I remain committed to doing everything I can to combat climate change and will work with my colleagues in Congress to use every tool at our disposal to prevent this Administration from undermining the worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The White House's reckless decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord has devastating repercussions not only for the United States, but for our planet. This administration is abdicating its leadership and taking a backseat to other countries in the global fight against climate change. New York State is committed to meeting the standards set forth in the Paris Accord regardless of Washington's irresponsible actions. We will not ignore the science and reality of climate change, which is why I am also signing an Executive Order confirming New York's leadership role in protecting our citizens, our environment, and our planet."
Governor Cuomo, along with California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., and Washington State Governor Jay R. Inslee, also announced the formation of the United States Climate Alliance, a coalition that will convene U.S. states committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement and taking aggressive action on climate change.
"I’m confident that our states, cities and businesses will step up," Obama responds to Trump's decision to withdraw from Paris Accord pic.twitter.com/oQXJi7ws3X
Roosevelt Island Residents Voting At PS/IS 217 11/8/16
voted in yesterday's Presidential Election as follows:
Clinton 2,229
Trump 331
Stein 70
Johnson 34
Write in 28
These numbers do not include the votes from the Election District 87 (the Octagon Building) which for some reason have not been reported in this tally.
The NY Times reports that Donald Trump received 279 Electoral Votes (270 needed for victory) to Hillary Clinton's 228. Ms. Clinton received more total votes 59,733,960 (47.7%) to Donald Trump's 59,520,324 (47.5%). Arizona's vote is not final yet and is not counted in this tally.
Have you come to terms yet with the results of yesterday's Presidential election? Does the phrase President-Elect Donald Trump fill you with gloom about the future of America, make you happy or just resigned to the next 4 years of President Trump?
The Roosevelt Island Twitterverse reacts to President-Elect Donald Trump today.
I don't think I've ever ridden a subway car that was so full yet so silent
A Roosevelt Island resident known as "The Walrus" recommends this NYU Langone Center Webinar on helping you and your child deal with the election results:
A free 30-minute webinar for parents and caregivers from the Child Study Center, part of Hassenfeld Children's Hospital of New York at NYU Langone.
Whether your emotional reaction to Tuesday nights presidential election results was joy or anger, as a parent you may find yourself in the position to explain and answer questions about politics and the presidential election results to your child....
In addition to enjoying ourselves this Memorial Day weekend with a day off from work, spending time with friends and family and outdoor barbecues, let's remember the men and women of the United States Military who are currently serving our country, those veterans who have done so in the past, those who gave their lives and their families.
Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer...
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves...
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War." Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars...
If you know a Veteran or see one on the street today, please take a brief moment to thank them for their service to our country. Also, don't just thank them today but do it throughout the year and thank our active duty soldiers as well.
Here's President Barack Obama's Veterans Day Address at the Arlington National Cemetery today
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), the Ranking Democrat on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, today released a new fact sheet outlining the economic challenges for veterans. The report shows that American veterans who served after September 11, 2001, experienced a 50 percent drop in their unemployment rate over the past four years, but the youngest among them still struggle with high unemployment, poverty and homelessness.
“I’m proud to represent 18,481 veterans,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Ranking Member on the JEC. “These men and women have sacrificed their family lives, their health, and their peace of mind to defend democracy and keep the nation safe. They have experienced pain and horrors that the rest of us could never imagine. We owe it to these courageous men and women to ensure they have good jobs when they return home and to protect them from poverty and homelessness. This Veterans Day, we must honor the service and sacrifice of American heroes by committing to address the economic challenges they continue to face.”
Post-9/11 veterans were unemployed at an average rate of 6.0 percent over the past year compared with 12.1 percent in December 2011. They remain unemployed at slightly higher rates than the entire veteran population (4.7 percent), as well as nonveterans (5.3 percent).
But post-9/11 veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 experienced unemployment at an average rate of 16.2 percent in 2014 – more than twice the rate for older veterans and 3.7 percentage points higher than nonveterans their age. More than one in 10 veterans between the ages of 18 and 34 lives in poverty. And young veterans were more than twice as likely to be homeless as their nonveteran counterparts.
Post-9/11 veterans experience other challenges. Over a quarter of them live with a service-related disability. Post-9/11 female veterans have a higher average unemployment rate than their male counterparts, as well as nonveteran females.
Post-9/11 veterans earned about 11 percent more than their non-veteran counterparts with similar demographic characteristics.
The unemployment rate for post-9/11 African American veterans was lower than the unemployment rate for nonveteran African Americans in 2014.
The share of female veterans who served after 9/11 was double the share of females who served before that date.
About 1.5 million veterans and their dependents have used GI Bill benefits to further their educations, and 30 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Another 45 percent have attended some college or earned an associate’s degree.
President Obama announced on Sunday that Mount McKinley was being renamed Denali, using his executive power to restore an Alaska Native name with deep cultural significance to the tallest mountain in North America.
The move came on the eve of Mr. Obama’s trip to Alaska, where he will spend three days promoting aggressive action to combat climate change, and is part of a series of steps he will make there meant to address the concerns of Alaska Native tribes....
The Roosevelt Island Twitterverse asks:
Now that #Denali is resolved can we finally get Roosevelt Island renamed back to Minnehanonck?
... 1637 - Dutch Governor Wouter Van Twiller buys Minnahannock from two Chiefs of the Canarsie tribe. Minnahannock means It's Nice to Be Here or Long Island, the latter readily explained by the dimensions: 107 acres (later expanded to 147), 2 miles long, 800 feet wide at its broadest. It runs North-South, opposite what will become 40 Manhattan blocks from 46th to 86th Streets. The Dutch raise hogs on the island, so it becomes known as Varcken (Hog) Island...
... was originally referred to as Minnehanonck by local Native Americans, who eventually sold it to Wouter van Twiller, the Dutch East Indies employee who succeeded Peter Minuit as Director-General of New Amsterdam. In 1668, Captain John Manning purchased the property. His son-in-law, Robert Blackwell, then acquired the land, which he used for farming. After New York City gained ownership of the island in 1828, construction began on a series of public institutions, including a prison, an almshouse, and several hospitals. Although the penitentiary was eventually moved to Rikers Island in 1935, early inmates quarried stone to build one of the hospitals. Eventually the thin strip of land became known as “Welfare Island” because the prison and the workhouse gained a reputation for overcrowding, violence, and drug trafficking....
NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman interviewed President Barack Obama on the Iranian nuclear agreement yesterday. According to the NY Times:
Only hours after the conclusion of an agreement with Iran to lift oil and financial sanctions in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear capabilities, President Obama is a man who evinces no second thoughts whatsoever about the deal he struck. In a 45-minute interview in the Cabinet Room, the president kept stressing one argument: Don’t judge me on whether this deal transforms Iran, ends Iran’s aggressive behavior toward some of its Arab neighbors or leads to détente between Shiites and Sunnis. Judge me on one thing: Does this deal prevent Iran from breaking out with a nuclear weapon for the next 10 years and is that a better outcome for America, Israel and our Arab allies than any other alternative on the table?...
After countless repeal votes and multiple legal challenges, the Affordable Care Act is still standing strong and helping millions of Americans afford health insurance. Today the court dealt a 6-3 blow to the right wing, proving yet again that the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.
“Congressional Republicans have voted 60 times to destroy the Affordable Care Act. Each time they failed. When they realized that strategy was doomed to fail, they made a desperate attempt for a judicial activist solution.
“As Chief Justice Roberts correctly pointed out, ‘Congress passed the Affordable Care to improve health insurance markets, not destroy them.’ With this decision, millions of people can now rest easy knowing that the health insurance they gained through the Affordable Care Act will not be taken away from them. Maintaining affordable coverage is a key component to this legislation that helps Americans ensure their health and the wellbeing of their families.
As a new generation struggles over race and power in America, President Obama and a host of political figures from both parties came here on Saturday, to the site of one of the most searing days of the civil rights era, to reflect on how far the country has come and how far it still has to go.
Fifty years after peaceful protesters trying to cross a bridge were beaten by police officers with billy clubs, shocking the nation and leading to passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, the nation’s first African-American president led a bipartisan, biracial testimonial to the pioneers whose courage helped pave the way for his own election to the highest office of the land....
... joined Rep. John Lewis (GA-05), civil rights leaders, and more than 100 members of the U.S. House and Senate in Selma, Alabama to mark the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” On March 7, 1965, a group of brave civil rights marchers, including Rep. Lewis, marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on their way to Montgomery to demand that African American citizens be finally given their constitutional right to vote. At the bridge, the marchers were attacked by Alabama State troopers, with billy clubs, cattle prods, and tear gas. Many of the marchers were injured, some of them severely.
“It is an honor to join with civil rights leaders to mark ‘Bloody Sunday’, a dark day in US History but a crucial turning point in the civil rights movement,” said Congresswoman Maloney. “What started as a peaceful march intended as a symbol for full voting rights quickly degraded into a display of horrific brutality. Hundreds of demonstrators were beaten bloody. While we have made great strides since that day, there is still much to be done. Voter suppression is alive and well, and Voter ID laws across the country are an upsetting reality. I hope that our trip to Selma will refocus the country’s attention on the necessity of equal voting rights for all, independent of color, creed, or financial status.”
The images of “Bloody Sunday” galvanized the nation. On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson addressed a Joint Session of Congress, urging Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act. On March 21, Martin Luther King Jr. led a march across the bridge – this time joined by 30,000 people from across the country, including national civil rights leaders like current Congressman John Lewis and Hollywood and other celebrities, and protected by federal troops. On March 25, the marchers reached the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, where Reverend King and the other marchers called for voting rights legislation.
“Five short months after ‘Bloody Sunday,’ President Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act,” Maloney said. “It outlawed discriminatory voting practices, but much of it has unfortunately been weakened by the Supreme Court. Congress must take action to update the Voting Rights Act, and I’ll be fighting to make sure that happens. The heroes of the civil rights movement fought with everything they had to achieve the Voting Rights Act. We cannot not dishonor their sacrifice by letting these landmark protections slip away.”
Here's remarks from Congressman John Lewis
and President Barack Obama
from the March 7 Selma Bloody Sunday commemoration.
President Obama chose confrontation over conciliation on Thursday as he asserted the powers of the Oval Office to reshape the nation’s immigration system and all but dared members of next year’s Republican-controlled Congress to reverse his actions on behalf of millions of immigrants.
In a 15-minute address from the East Room of the White House that sought to appeal to a nation’s compassion, Mr. Obama told Americans that deporting millions is “not who we are” and cited Scripture, saying, “We shall not oppress a stranger for we know the heart of a stranger — we were strangers once, too.”...
... For more than 200 years, our tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world has given us a tremendous advantage over other nations. It’s kept us youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. It has shaped our character as a people with limitless possibilities –- people not trapped by our past, but able to remake ourselves as we choose.
But today, our immigration system is broken -- and everybody knows it.
Families who enter our country the right way and play by the rules watch others flout the rules. Business owners who offer their workers good wages and benefits see the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by paying them far less. All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America. And undocumented immigrants who desperately want to embrace those responsibilities see little option but to remain in the shadows, or risk their families being torn apart
It’s been this way for decades. And for decades, we haven’t done much about it....
... First, we’ll build on our progress at the border with additional resources for our law enforcement personnel so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings, and speed the return of those who do cross over.
Second, I’ll make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy, as so many business leaders have proposed.
Third, we’ll take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country.
I want to say more about this third issue, because it generates the most passion and controversy. Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we’re also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable -– especially those who may be dangerous. That’s why, over the past six years, deportations of criminals are up 80 percent. And that’s why we’re going to keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. Felons, not families. Criminals, not children. Gang members, not a mom who’s working hard to provide for her kids. We’ll prioritize, just like law enforcement does every day.
But even as we focus on deporting criminals, the fact is, millions of immigrants in every state, of every race and nationality still live here illegally. And let’s be honest -– tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn’t realistic. Anyone who suggests otherwise isn’t being straight with you. It’s also not who we are as Americans. After all, most of these immigrants have been here a long time. They work hard, often in tough, low-paying jobs. They support their families. They worship at our churches. Many of their kids are American-born or spent most of their lives here, and their hopes, dreams, and patriotism are just like ours. As my predecessor, President Bush, once put it: “They are a part of American life.”
Now here’s the thing: We expect people who live in this country to play by the rules. We expect that those who cut the line will not be unfairly rewarded. So we’re going to offer the following deal: If you’ve been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you’re willing to pay your fair share of taxes -- you’ll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. That’s what this deal is....
Click here for the full text of President Obama's Immigration remarks last night and here's video of the speech.
Roosevelt Island's elected officials praised President Obama's Immigration executive action. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney issued this statement:
It has been 511 days since the Senate passed a bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. House Republicans haven’t allowed a vote, and haven’t proposed an alternative. Where they have failed, the President has acted just as Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush did.
This executive action will help keep families together. It will boost our economy and generate new tax revenue. It will help end the daily fear, distress and heartbreak that is unnecessarily inflicted on millions of undocumented immigrants, over 800,000 of whom live in New York.
Those who complain about this executive action were given ample time to propose and pass an alternative plan to fix our broken immigration system. The American people by wide margins support comprehensive reforms. They are tired of the obstruction and ready for both sides to work together on immigration. Perhaps tonight’s announcement will incentivize House Republicans to become partners in that effort.
America is a nation of immigrants, from the pilgrims to today. We have always welcomed 'your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free' from all over the world to our nation of opportunity. We must continue to give our newest residents an equal opportunity to achieve the American dream. I am glad that this nation, that once provided safe harbor for refugees from Anti-Semitism, like my wife and grandparents, will become a safe haven once again.
... said Friday that President Obama was “damaging the presidency itself” by using his executive authority to prevent the deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants.
Mr. Boehner said that the House would act to counter the president, but he declined to be specific.
“With this action, the president has chosen to deliberately sabotage any chance of enacting bipartisan reforms that he claims to seek,” Mr. Boehner told reporters. “And as I told him yesterday, he’s damaging the presidency itself.”
Not known at this time if the President's Executive Order on immigration applies to any Roosevelt Island residents.
UPDATE 11/22 - State Senator Serrano adds:
I have always been a vocal supporter and ally to immigrant communities across New York State and beyond. I applaud President Obama for taking these courageous and necessary actions to put an end to the unjust deportations that plague our Nation and result in too many broken families and shattered communities. Yesterday's major announcement will go down as a great day in American history.
During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe....
... is a member of a Congressional Delegation headed for Normandy to honor the sacrifices made by American troops during the D-Day Invasion 70 years ago. On Friday, June 6, the delegation will take part in observances of the anniversary at Omaha Beach and Sword Beach, in which U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande will participate.
“It is an honor to join my colleagues, and several New York veterans to honor the tremendous sacrifices made at the Normandy Beaches 70 years ago,” said Maloney. “During the Normandy landings, members of the American military and Allied Forces descended on the shores of France ready to die in order to rid France and the world of the genocidal imperialism of the Nazi occupiers. Many of the men who stormed the beaches of Juno, Gold, Omaha and Sword paid the ultimate price. As we reflect on the freedom France and the rest of the world won as a result of D-Day, I am so grateful for the sacrifice and the bravery of the men who fought that fight and are still with us today. It is a privilege to stand with them and celebrate their service.”
Several New York veterans will also take part in the observances:
Mr. Leo Cohen, New York, NY
Mr. Lawrence Friedland, New York, NY
Mr. John Trzaskos, Amsterdam, NY
Mr. Richard Baily, Johnson City, NY
Mr. Arnold Franco, New York
Mr. Jack Read, Brooklyn, New York
Mr. Stephen Weiss, Brooklyn, New York
On Tuesday, Maloney held an emotional ceremony at the VA Hospital in Manhattan to honor the bravery and service of veterans of World War II and those who stormed the beaches at Normandy in the fight to liberate France from Nazi occupation. Maloney, joined by NYC Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs Commissioner Terrance Holliday, awarded two veterans with Congressional Certificates and presented a number of military medals to one service member.
Congresswoman Maloney recognized local World War II and D-Day veterans, including Rocco Moretto, an Astoria native who fought at Normandy.
Rocco Moretto was in the U.S. Army Company C, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, better known as “The Big Red One.” As a 19-year-old soldier, the Normandy invasion was the first action he saw, as part of the second wave of troops to storm Omaha Beach. He is one of just two men in his company who survived the war from Normandy until the Czechoslovakian liberation in 1945 without being killed, wounded or captured. Mr. Moretto also fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Rep. Maloney also presented a certificate to Commissioner Holliday in honor of his late father, Roderick Holliday, who was a Corporal in the U.S. Navy and was present at the invasion of Normandy.
Rep. Maloney also presented service medals to Gerald Alperstein, a constituent and Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. He was presented with the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon and the Combat Action Ribbon. Mr. Alperstein is past legislative chair of the Jewish War Veterans and edits the organization’s publication.
Here's photo of Congresswoman Maloney and Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs Commissioner Terrance Holliday (standing 2nd from left) joined by WWII veteran and Astoria resident, Rocco Moretto (seated) and other veterans at the Manhattan VA Hospital in commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of D-Day.
In addition to enjoying ourselves this Memorial Day weekend with a day off from work, friends, family and outdoor barbecues, let's also take a moment to remember the men and women of the United States Military who are currently serving our country, those veterans who have done so in the past and those who gave their lives.
Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer...
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves...
Thanks to @BenKallos for taking part in our Memorial Day ceremony. Here w Dennis Rodriguez, Park Ranger and Veteran. pic.twitter.com/Ml6bdYD9Yv
— Four Freedoms Park (@4FreedomsPark) May 26, 2014
President Barack Obama returned to Brooklyn today visiting P-Tech High School in Crown Heights. He praised the school as being a model for math, science and technology education and noted that:
"When I was living here, Brooklyn was cool, but not this cool." —President Obama at P-TECH High School
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 25, 2013
Here's a report on President Obama's Brooklyn visit from ABC Channel 7 news
President Obama also visited Juniors for some cheesecake with Democratic Mayoral Candidate Bill DeBlasio. (More Pictures of President Obama in Brooklyn from Buzzfeed)
@BarackObama - So cool seeing the helicopters flying over Roosevelt Island just now. I told my son you were in one - I hope that was true!
— Rhonda Pringle (@RhondaPringle) October 25, 2013
Perhaps President Obama will visit Roosevelt Island to see the new technology center being created here with Cornell NYC Tech. Wouldn't that be something!!!!
In addition to enjoying ourselves this Memorial Day weekend with a day off from work, friends, family and outdoor barbecues, let's also take a moment to remember the men and women of the United States Military who are currently serving our country, those veterans who have done so in the past and those who gave their lives.
Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer...
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves...
Did you know there was a Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony today at Roosevelt Island's FDR Four Freedoms Park? Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and singer Carole King knew.
On Monday, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY12) led a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony Monday at Roosevelt Island’s Four Freedoms Park.
“I am so thrilled to be here for the very first Memorial Day Celebration and remembrance in this beautiful new park. My father served in World War II. My husband served in peacetime, in the Navy. And my brother was a veteran of the Vietnam War. So I know, firsthand, about the sacrifice that they and their families have made for our country. That is why we gather today, to express the thanks of a grateful nation,” said Congresswoman Maloney.
The wreath-laying ceremony was held to honor the military men and women who have bravely served the country, and to mark the first Memorial Day in Four Freedoms Park. The new park was developed, in part, with a $500,000 federal grant that Congresswoman Maloney secured. Congresswoman Maloney spoke near a large bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and praised President Roosevelt’s commitment to veterans.
“President Roosevelt understood how important it is to help the courageous men and women who return from war reintegrate into society, help them recover from the war, and earn a living. Those priorities are just as important today, with thousands of men and women returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan,” she said.
The park, which Congresswoman Maloney helped open in October 2012, is named after Roosevelt’s famous Four Freedoms Speech: The Freedom of Speech, the Freedom of Worship, the Freedom from Want and the Freedom from Fear.
Before giving the keynote address, Congresswoman Maloney was introduced by her close friend, music legend Carole King, who recently became the first woman to receive the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. “If you’re a woman, if you’re a first responder, or a veteran. If you’re a consumer or an investor. If you’re a survivor of Superstorm Sandy, or human-trafficking, or one of the many constituents she helps each and every day, you have a friend in Carolyn Maloney, and I am proud to say that she has a friend in me,” said King, before embracing Congresswoman Maloney.
Before resting a ceremonial wreath near the Roosevelt monument, Congresswoman Maloney thanked Sally Minard, Gina Pollara, and Ambassador Bill vanden Heuvel for all their work to develop and open the park. She also lauded the work of designer Louis Kahn.
... Our prayers are with the injured, so many wounded, some gravely. From their beds, some are surely watching us gather here today. And if you are, know this: As you begin this long journey of recovery, your city is with you. Your commonwealth is with you. Your country is with you. We will all be with you as you learn to stand and walk and, yes, run again. Of that I have no doubt. You will run again. You will run again because that's what the people of Boston are made of.
Your resolve is the greatest rebuke to whoever committed this heinous act....
... The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.
And for more than two hundred years, we have.
Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges to train our workers.
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise, our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation and one people.
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
