 Thank you. Thank you so much, Perez. And again, thank you so much to the Bowling Green Association for their partnership and being able to raise both of our flags in this such historic location. Bowling Green Park is not just an important location for New York, but for the country, as Arthur reminds us every time George Washington himself stood in this very same spot during the U.S. War of Independence. So what better location to honor our Haitian community but here to lift the Haitian flag, a symbol of freedom, equality and liberty. So give it up for the Bowling Green Association and everyone who partners with us here. As many of you know, we have been working to welcome asylum seekers to New York for the past year, including many Haitian brothers and sisters. But we all know that we have been welcoming Haitian migrants for several years, really for several decades. And without the partnership that we have with so many leaders and organizations here, we could not do the work that we do on the ground. So I want to especially thank all the organizations and community leaders who are here today. Thank you on behalf of my office and on behalf of the city of New York. So we'll continue the program. I'll introduce a couple of more leaders and then we'll introduce our mayor of the city of New York for a few citations. So with that, I want to introduce our council member Rita Joseph to share a few words with us. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, commissioner. Thank you, mayor, for your partnership. Bowling Green Association, just a few words. As Haitian American council members, I am committed to honoring the significance of the Haitian flags, advocating for the Haitian American community. But beyond our individual achievements, we must recognize the importance of collective action and shaping our community's future as we celebrate Haitian flag day. Let us commit ourselves to working together across all backgrounds and communities to build a more and just equitable society towards everyone. Let us take the moment to remember the sacrifices of our ancestors and the legacy they have left us. As we look forward to the future, let's carry the spirit of the Haitian flag with us to continue to work towards a better future for ourselves, our children, and future generations. Thank you. Now please welcome our council member, Mary Sadie Narcisse. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm here to raise the flag. What's this flag meant to me and to all of us Haitian descent? It's saying that in a dark moment, in a dark time of the world, Haitian ancestors, my ancestors, our ancestors, said that we have to step above and beyond. We have to fight for freedom, not only for ourselves, but for everyone in the world that's unrest, that's uneasy, that's not wanted. We open our doors. Today, we're raising the flag, but we cannot forget our brothers and sisters that's suffering, hungry, our young children being raped, gangs controlling our streets. But yet, we are the one that talk about freedom. We are the one in 1779, 750 free men came to America to fight against the British. In 1803, in Savannah, we came to fight to make sure that America is America today. Without the purchase of a designer purchase, America would not be so big to welcome so many others, but Haitian have their hands on it. But yet, we're suffering. So now we may wonder what happened because when we're in America, we get an opportunity, we go far. Now the first president of a black woman that's going to be the president of a Harvard university happened to be Josephine Gay, Haitian descent. So many other university happened to have Haitian leading them. So you may wonder what happened. I'm still wondering what happened. America occupied Haiti for so many years, but yet we wonder what happened. So today, I'm going to let that rest and say, let's be united, let's be together, but we cannot forget what Haiti had done for so many. So it is time for us to step above and beyond just like our ancestors did and not hide it. Because the more we hide it, the more we're not talking about history, history is going to repeat itself. Like so many talk about what happened to them. So Haitian, don't be quiet. Talk about the reality of what's going on, and we need all hands on deck to take our brothers and sisters to freedom, just like we took everyone else to freedom. So thank you. Let's raise the flag, and thank you, commissioner, and thank you, mayor, because I know your hand's going to be on deck for us to do better. Thank you so much. God bless you all. Thank you so much, council member, and up next to share a few words with us, district leader Ed Herman. Once again, my name is Ed DuHermelin, and I'm happy to be here today. I'd like to thank the mayor of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, who has been with this community, not when he was mayor, not when he was Brooklyn Borough President, not when he was senator, but when he was a police officer here in New York City. So he has been with this community for a very long time. Let's give him a round of applause, please. Also, I'd like to give special recognition to Commissioner Castro, Deputy Commissioner Mayor Sotos Munoz, and senior manager, lovely Paul Lamont. Let's give them a round of applause. I've been in government for over 20 years. I remember when we had zero elected officials of Haitian descent. I also remembered our first elected official of Haitian descent. Now we have four city council members of Haitian descent. I remember when we didn't have one state elected official, now we have five state elected officials of Haitian descent. Remember when Drake said we started from the bottom, now we're here? I know another rapper said we don't die, but we multiply. So today, on the eve of Haitian Flag Day, I thank you all for coming and supporting this initiative, because we have come a long way. We didn't have a Little Haiti BK, but now we have a Little Haiti BK. We didn't have a Haitian Studies Institute, now we have a Haitian Studies Institute. We didn't have a train station named after Little Haiti, but now we have a train station called Little Haiti BK New Kirk Avenue. We have come a long way. We have the first woman to represent King's County Democratic Party, the first black woman, but also a proud Haitian woman, Rodney Bichard. Not to say that I'm biased or anything. Thank you. It is a pleasure to see all of you coming here to support us on our day on the eve of Haitian Flag Day. Thank you very much. Thank you so much district leader. And now please welcome Commissioner Edward Mirmolstein of the Mayor's Office of International Affairs. Thank you, Commissioner Castro. It's an honor. It's an honor to be speaking with all of you today at this flag-raising event for a beautiful Haiti that I look forward to visiting soon. A country with a rich history and a close relationship to New York City. As many of you know, New York City, particularly Brooklyn, has a vibrant and thriving Haitian community. For decades, Haitian Yorkers have made an invaluable contribution to our city's culture, economy and social fabric. Their presence and influence can be felt in various aspects of our city, from the arts and cuisine to business and academia. The resilience they have shown both here and in their homeland is truly inspiring. Today, as we gather here, let us celebrate and reflect on the strength and vigor of Haitians and Haitian New Yorkers. Their determination and perseverance as a testament to the determined spirit of the Haitian people. As we move forward, it is important that we continue to support and empower our Haitian community. Together, let us chart a great future for all New Yorkers by supporting our Mayor, Eric Adams. Thank you very much. Thank you, Commissioner. Like I said this weekend at our festival in celebration of Haitian culture, the best way we can honor the legacy of those who came before us is to continue their work. And this is why I want to bring up Lovely Polymon from our office. Many of you know her. As many of you know, my office coordinates an initiative to support Haitian organizations in doing their work with Haitian immigrants on the ground. And Lovely, I know has been working with many of you for a couple of years now in support of our community. So I want to thank Lovely for all that she does on behalf of our immigrant communities. And so I also want to thank Mayor Eric Adams for providing those resources to be able to help the organizations here today. So with that, it is a great honor to introduce to you the Mayor of the City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams. Thank you. Thank you so much. And, you know, my relationship again with this amazing community goes back from the days of being in the 100 Blacks and law enforcement who care, fighting on behalf of important issues. That's why Abna Luima reached out when I was running for mayor. He reached out and endorsed me and stated he recalled the days that I was with his family and members of the Haitian communities as we was going through some very difficult and dark periods. And I want to thank all who are here who, off of the sweat and tears and back and work, have become elected officials in this city, from Councilwoman Lewis to Councilwoman Mercedes-Nasis and our representatives on the state level. We're joined also by Debbie Lewis, who's the Brooklyn representative from the Governor's Office. And my brother Edu, what he has done throughout so many campaigns as he lifted people into elected office. And as we talk about the dissemination of dollars, we must be clear that one of the most influential persons in my administration is that decides and balances over a $106 billion budget. Jacques Jiha is a Haitian. He is my top advisor. He's a person that I have grown to respect and understand his commitment and dedication. Each time another person from the Haitian community rises to a level of prominence, it also opened the doors for those who are coming after. And we must do it right. We can't help to get it right. And it's so important. And we will continue to lift that up. And one thing I've learned from the Haitian community is how you must have the patience to ignore those that want to be disruptive to what you're trying to do. You cannot turn around anything you're dealing with. If you can't stay focused, if you can't stay disciplined, and you can't stay encouraged. So we want to make sure that anyone that believes blue and white means one thing, we need to raise the flag and show the many things that blue and white and red stand for as we continue to lift each other up. And let me say this to all of you, that it is crucial, it is crucial that we look at the work we have to do. It's crucial that we stay focused on that as we get in this position. We fought to get here. Last year was the first time this flag was raised here. Although you were in this country and building these countries as nurses, doctors, professionals, engineers, no one saw it fitting to raise the flag here at Bowling Green until you got a mayor that says I love you. I'm part of you. And your flag will raise here. And many other firsts, many other groups who have been ignored for years did not have the opportunity to have their flag raised here. We hear it over and over again. After you became mayor, you made a clear comment that we see every community in the city. And we're going to continue to do that, not only in the symbolic moments of raising a flag, but we're going to see it in the employment. We're going to see it and how we disseminate tax dollars for goods and procurements of services. We're going to see it in the contracts that we signed to lift up civil servants who are employed, many of the Haitian diaspora. We're going to see it everywhere. I did not come here to leave folks outside. I came here to bring people inside who have been ignored for years. So thank you. In the spirit of Tucson overture, you brought the spirit and energy of being fighters. That is who you are. That is who you're going to continue to be. And I enjoy being side by side fighting for you to make this city where we know it can be. Thank you so much. Give it up for Mayor Adams, immigrant communities. And now to present our citations for today. Welcome up. Lovely back on stage to present citations to our leaders today. I want to call up Joanna Bosquet from Metro Plus. I remember when the crisis was happening, she was the first person I reached out to because they had a respite center at Baraka Church and she served over 600 constituents. I texted her all hours of the night. So we're so glad to present this citation to Joanna Bosquet from Metro Plus. Congratulations to you. Thank you so much. I love Joanne Jacques from Hoax and LC at midnight when there's a crisis. I'm like, I need money. I have a family that's stuck and I need money. I need money. So I'm so glad their partnership, right? One day I called her at 9 p.m. She drove to the shelter and just gave the family a check. So I'm so happy. Thank you, Joanna, for serving us. Thank you so much for all your service. Lastly, we have Niela Malvo-Saint from Health First. Her office is located on Fraud Bush Avenue. So you can imagine I'm there 24 hours calling at all the church. I'm like, I need money for Father's Day. I need money for our Mother's Day event. I need money for all the occasions. So she's the one that's always calling Harold. Lovely need money. How can we get funding to do the extra work? So I'm so, so happy and super proud. Thank you so much, Niela, for your service. Thank you. I've been holding it down for a long time. Thank you. Thank you so much. Lovely. Give it up for our leaders. Give it up for the mayor. And now, before we raise our flag, I want to invite back to the stage Ed Merrill-Saint from the Office of International Affairs, who wants to acknowledge someone very special. Just really quickly because the people that work in our offices are what make our offices move. So Christy St.ville, who's from Haiti, her family's from Haiti, I want to acknowledge the people that make our offices move. So thank you, Christy. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you so much. And now, please join us in raising the American flag. Big shout out to Life of Hope. Thank you so much, Perez, and Life of Hope for our partnership and making sure we continue to do this year after year. Also, big shout out to Lewis and Ribbert from our office who also are proud Haitian Americans. And everyone who is here today, thank you so much for everything that you do and for continuing to work together on behalf of Haitian New Yorkers. Thank you. Shout out to the David Lewis from CAU, also Haitian American.