 Thank you everyone and good afternoon, Commissioner Rodriguez, Captain Merchant from the Coast Guard, Borough President Fisela, Assemblymember Cusick, District Attorney Nick Mann, and all of the and of course Bishop O'Hara and Bishop Byrne. Thank you for being here as well as our distinguished leaders and on to guests. Thank you and welcome to the Staten Island for the commissioning of the Dorothy Day ferry boat, which is the third ferry boat of the island. What a beautiful day for commissioning, okay, great. First a couple of housekeeping items, the commissioning and the boat tour, a limited boat tour will follow the ceremony. Just also a quick reminder, the Dorothy Day is not in service yet, so if you're traveling to Manhattan, of course you need to disembark. You won't be going anywhere on that ferry. So to begin our program, I am thrilled to welcome DOT's own Bernadette Harrell to lead us with the National Anthem, Bernadette. Please stand. Please stand. Yes. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early, what's so last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars through this fire were so streaming, a still day spangled banner. Wow, was that beautiful? Thank you, Bernadette. Some of you have been here for the previous two ceremonies we had in the past year. Just over a year ago, we honored Staff Sergeant Michael H. Hollis with the first boat. Michael was a war hero from Newdorp, who gave his life in 2013, saving a fellow soldier in Afghanistan. We are very honored to have Michael's parents here, Bob and Linda Hollis. So please, will you stand so we can acknowledge you? In February of this year, for the first time, the Staten Island ferry honored the history of African Americans on the island, as Mayor Adams joins us to commission the Sandy Ground. The boat was named for one of the first free Black settlements in the country here on Staten Island's own South Shore, which was also a stop on the Underground Railroad. I understand that we are honored to have Julie Moody-Lewis here today from the Sandy Ground Historical Society. I don't see Julie, but we'll give a round of applause for the Sandy Ground. Those two beautiful boats are now out in the water and are really serving thousands of Staten Island passengers a day. So now today we stand beside the third and final new ferry boat, the Dorothy Day. Dorothy Day was also someone who the South Shore called her their very own and who has become a legendary figure known worldwide. But for those who don't know the history, let me quickly explain why Dorothy Day was one of the great Americans of the 20th century. Convert to Catholicism, Dorothy Day was the founder of the Catholic worker movement during the Great Depression. The Catholic worker to this day fights for the poor and hungry of our city. I know we have folks here from the Catholic worker movement. So if you please stand so we can acknowledge you. In fact, just this morning, some of these folks suspense meals at a soup kitchen in the Lower East Side, which is amongst the many houses of hospitality that the Catholic worker movement still operates. So thank you. Dorothy Day was an incredible and prolific writer. She edited a daily newspaper, authored seven books, and even for a while wrote a gardening column in our very own Staten Island advance. We're lucky to have summer for beautiful journal writing on the last page of the program. So if you look here, you'll be able to see that. She was also a brave activist for peace and human rights, unafraid to be arrested at protest. In fact, she was jailed eight separate times over her life. But finally, and most importantly, Dorothy Day was a humble woman of God who attended Mass daily. She was called on to the to the practice of works of mercy. And she did that work for justice and peace. She believed in the God given dignity of us all. And she saw Christ in the least among us. And because of all that good work, never mind all that divine inspiration. God willing, Dorothy Day may someday someday be Saint Dorothy Day. Yeah. Hey. Now, to our first speaker, offering a welcome. As we planned the ceremony, we knew it would be in November. And we were thrilled to learn that it was just around the time of Dorothy Day's birthday. Yes, and not just any birthday next Tuesday, November 8th, will be the one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary of her birth. There's even a special word for the one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary is called Quas Quincentennial. And I will not ask anyone up here to repeat that word. Believe me, I have enough sympathy. I won't ask you to repeat that. And with that, I am so pleased to bring you New York City's commissioner of the Department of Transportation, my boss, Edana Rodriguez, Commissioner Rodriguez strongly supports the operations of the Staten Island Ferry, getting this eighty five million dollar ferry into the harbor is just a small part of that work. The commissioner will later present the plaque honoring Dorothy Day. But for now, we'd love to hear from him. So commissioner, please come in. Let's give Rosanna another big round of applause. Right. She is the best commissioner, right? That I have and I don't say in each world. So it's the best one that we have, you know, like I think that I want everyone to. Think on what we are today as a nation and know that sometime we celebrate what other people have done it. But, you know, there's so many history stories that we have in our faces in our family. And I feel that as we're going to be celebrating, you know, someone that find a way of how to make her own contribution, we all have the opportunity to keep fighting on her legacy. Now, this nation only had two hundred forty six years of independence. You know, we know most of us have taken a lot of pages to the left, right? And we know so many places full of history knowing who they are for five thousand years for four thousand years, right? And we also, we know that a few decades ago, you know, centuries ago, Irish, Italians, Jewish, women, Latino, black, right? We all been discriminated. So in twenty twenty two, it's not enough for us to say we are putting the name on the this great leader. At this moment, we have to think about it. What is how we're going to be living our life? You know, what is the legacy that we will leave when we're gone? And for me, I said before, only New York City, someone that, as I told my team, my cabinet meeting, many of them, the great men and women that I have or any agency may have, right? I believe Iraq, Colombia, NYU, you know, CUNY, Naime, MIT. And here's the result of CUNY, right? And the kid that came here to wash dishes. And now the story of many of those who are professionals that have a father or grandfather who had a story that I have. So there's a lot, right? You can be part of a successful family, but it was a grandmother or granddad that worked hard that came here, escaping, you know, different things that was going on in different parts of the world. And we have shown that only New York City, as your family, as my family, that came here at the age of 18 to wash dishes, our old Henry restaurant. And my second job was working in the cafeteria at the 40th floor, 55 Waters Street, where now I lead the largest transportation department in the whole country. So if we had done it, as I told the bishop, I'm the result of Catholic Church. You know, my youngest brother is doing great job right now. Captain for JetBlue, director of governmental relations for Tandy, Napoli. I prepared them for them to do the first communion. But as I did it, it was my oldest sister who graduated in 1977 following the same idea of authority knowing that there's a way of how we find God is fighting to make our neighborhood better for the present and the future generation. So that's that's the way on how we need to celebrate it. You know, at this moment in our nation or so much hate coming in different direction, there's a lot of work that we got to do. We don't go backward. We can disagree, but respectfully. We can have different opinions. And in the difference, we had a strength. And we had to celebrate that. And I hope again that again, as we go into this important ceremony, we'll leave this moment. No, and that is not enough to do this event. Let's leave this place committed that we will continue making New York City the best city, a city full of opportunity for everyone. So let's show the love to each other and let's be sure that regardless where the hate comes from, that we push them back. And we move this nation and we move the city to a better place for us and for the future generation. On behalf of Mayor Eric Adams, you know, I want to acknowledge all the honorary guests here. You know, Mr. Board President and the rest of the elected officials, you know, the DA and Rosanne, she will, you know, identify and call all of you to say a few words. You know, Rosanne said getting three new ferries built and operating is a task for hundreds of people. I want to acknowledge first all of the people of the Eastern Shipbuilding. They did it. And they built it. They both at the time where they had to deal with Kobe, they had to deal with Hurricane Fi, Karagori, Michael and regardless of all those challenges, they got it done. So thank you for your contribution for all to have this ferry. By securing hundreds of millions of dollars in fund to build this new boat, take a vision or a measure, take a commitment or a lot of great men and women that we have a D.O.T. And I want to acknowledge Elizabeth Franklin, Joges Sanvi, who work in the Grand Team, you know, Joey Barre-Haring, who used to be our Deputy Commissioner, Paulie Tromber, my previous commissioner. Now now we say the Deputy Secretary of Transportation in D.C. She also made great contribution. I understand also we have guests from the U.S. D.O.T. here, Steven Gouldman and Robert A. Ford from the Federal Transit Administration above here. So thank you, Steven Boeb, not only for how much you support in this, but also on how you keep supporting New York City D.O.T. to continue getting all the federal grants that we need. The elected officials. The elected officials also have a big time, you know, Majority Leader Schumer, Senator Gillibrand. And I also want to acknowledge, you know, the former Major and a building velocity also in his administration for helping us to bring all those resources here. And of course, I want to thank the staff at D.O.T., you know, like this is the largest transportation system in the whole nation, right? And and and only, you know, having great leadership in the agency, allow commissioners to go out and be in ribbon cutting and go through meeting because we are the great team. So they are D.O.T. As you know, I have, you know, a great chief star, Ryan Lynch, you know, Margaret Fugioni, further commission of Polo Chor, you know, Julie Beryl, who is also in charge of many divisions, but they're pressing in everyone, the men and women, you know, who work so hard. They're the one and among the group I want to acknowledge. People say, do you take a lot of pressure because I used to be a council member for two years before being a commissioner? And I say, I don't take so much pressure because when it comes to starting Alan Ferry, I had John Garbrey. So thank you, John, for being, you know, the leaders and running our ferry. So that that's what it takes, you know, for a leader to be sure that we are surrounded with great group of individuals. As someone, you know, I want to just say if you work out to what, you know, runs or some say about, you know, Dorothy Day. It was no easy right for her. It is more easy now. He decades later that we celebrate, but we know that someone like her during her time to do the job that she did, not only a great journalist, but also someone who find a way as many of the leaders in the Catholic Church does is about going outside, you know, the temple, the churches to help those individuals, the homeless, you know, those that doesn't have any resources, it takes a different way of how we find a way on how to find Jesus. So she was a leader in her time at the time that I know that she was pushed back for by by so many other people, but she never gave up. And because of the hard work, we have built the society that we have today. A society that is not perfect, but a society that has made a lot of advancement and we all celebrate and benefit from that. As someone that has been arrested, myself, you know, in many occasions, all of them, all of them peacefully, you know, like never breaking the law. And I can say that I identified with all the arrests that, you know, a Dorothy did it went through because she always, you know, fought for the good cause. And, you know, I believe in in the code in the fight that she did, learned that Dorothy Day was nearly 80 years old when she was arrested for the eighth and final time. She was arrested in California with the farm workers. You know, not here in New York City. Yes, to the West, you know, together with the great Latino leader, Cesar Chavez, you know, defending the farm workers. And she did it at that time. Still, we had to do a lot of work to do to defend the farm workers in Austin, New York, so and the cause continue being the same. And it's not easy to hand cover grandmother, right? But she had the strength and the dedication to move forward. But as Dorothy herself believed her faith inspired her to afflict the comfortable and comfort, the afflicted. You know, that's that's that's what it is. You know, let's be sure that we are there supporting. You know, we have a lot of immigrants. They come from Ukraine. They come from Latin America. They need our help and we should be there ready to support it. If we want to recognize and celebrate Dorothy Day. She became best known for social justice campaigns in the fans of the poor for shaking hungry and homeless. She exposed nonviolence and hospitality for the poor. Her fight for human rights and workers' rights are especially relevant today as we are celebrating this moment when the labor movement is showing new power and signs of growth. And I will be remiss here if I did not mention and honor the OTS on union workforce. My agency is in fact powered by unionized employees across the agency. Paving roads, maintenance bridges and repair sidewalks. This coming Sunday, John, we have to be here in the city. Being sure that we're taking care of 25 individuals taking the ferry early in the morning from Manhattan to a starting island to start running the marathon. Fifteen thousand running will be in New York City. And that's going to be a great day for all of us. However, today is the day we must thank the incredible workers on the starting island ferry who I know have faced serious challenges through the pandemic. Can we please give them a big round of applause? And maybe on your trip back, those of us who have to go back to Manhattan, we all can honor Dorothy Day's experience by offering those workers a personal word of thank you for the great job that they do. Hoy, nosotros estamos aquí un día muy importante celebrando a una persona, una leader, Dorothy Day, que hizo sus contribuciones buscando a Cristo, practicando su religión, dedicándose a trabajar para que la sociedad sea lugares de buenas oportunidades para todos, especialmente para la persona más pobres. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. I am now happy to bring up the Borough President of Staten Island, Vito Ficella. The Borough President has always been an advocate for the operations of this ferry, which is the lifeline, really, of our borough. He showed that leadership during his time in the halls of the city council and the halls of Congress. It's my pleasure to bring up Mr. Borough President. Thank you. Thank you, Ro. Hello, everybody. Thank you all for coming out and Commissioner Rodriguez, thank you for those words. And you talked about disagreements, but I think we're all in agreement. You're right. We do have the best borough commissioner in Ro, Carolina. Thank you. And her team, they're wonderful to work with. And it's all about doing the right thing for the people of Staten Island, which really is what today is all about as well, right? We're here to honor Dorothy Day. But we've got to remember what's behind us is it's a lifeline for thousands of people a day who find their way to Manhattan for whatever reason. Most of them are people who go to work and earning a living and then coming back to their families here. And we also know it's an iconic symbol around the world. Staten Island ferry. If you ever take it, you always know coming back from Manhattan. Don't sit on the outside because that's where all the tourists sit as they take a photo of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. And that's a wonderful thing, right? So thank you all. As I walked up on the stage here, I saw Bishop Byrne and Bishop O'Hara. And I said, we have two bishops. I'll be the pawn in this game. So thank you all for coming out. And Commissioner Rodriguez, I was listening to your words and you're right. We're here to dedicate a new ferry. You thanked rightfully the people who make this ferry run reliably every single day. And we also have to remember that safety is an issue as well. So we thank the Coast Guard, the men and women of Coast Guard are here who keep us safe on the seas. But we also know what's behind me is the backdrop of the United States American flag. And to this day, people from all over the world, all walks of life, no matter what you look like or who you are, you still come to these shores for an opportunity and the blessing that you can live in the greatest country in the world, and that's still reflected and represented by the flag. So I hope in your words that we may disagree from time to time, but we put all of those differences aside for the common good. And in a way, Dorothy Day was about that, right? She talked about the dignity of every life, talked about hope and gratitude. And the little way of love was her words, the little way of love. And wouldn't it the world be a much better place if more people exercise that little, little thing about a little way of love, making your neighbor a little more happy, making somebody who needs help a little, given the food they need, the shelter they may need. And I think that's what was was emblematic of her life and her legacy. 125 years ago from her birth. And finally, this, as you mentioned, was is the last of this series of boats, right? And there is a common denominator among those three. Sandy ground, as Ro mentioned, was a stop on the Underground Railroad. It was a way to give people who were freeing, fleeing slavery a chance of freedom. And they were those people who dedicated their lives then of sacrifice and service to help those in need. And Bob and Linda Hollis, who are here today, would acknowledge rightfully as well earlier, gave their son to us of sacrifice and service, young Michael Hollis. And he will never be forgotten. And in a very similar way, Dorothy Day did the same thing. Sacrifice and service. And the more we remember what those two things are, the better we will be and the better this country will be. So thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. President. And I'd also like to mention something I found out today that Michael Hollis and Dorothy Day are both buried in Resurrection Cemetery. So that's something to be said. Yes. Thank you, Mr. President, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan sends his regrets today. Cardinal Dolan has spoken eloquently for Dorothy Day's case for canonization. I know we have several guests from the Archdiocese with us today. So can those folks please stand and be acknowledged? Those from the Archdiocese, Joe, there you go. Here we go. Thank you. Thank you very much. And today in the Eminence, in his Eminence of Steed, we are pleased to bring up Bishop O'Hara to say a few words. Have we ever stopped to reflect on how our Staten Island ferries bring us all together? Folks from all walks of life, of every ethnicity and faith tradition. The young with their dreams for the future. Those in the fullness of years graced with lifelong experiences beyond measure. The successful, the struggling, white collar, blue collar, those on top of the world, those just trying to get by. Those who are poor, forgotten, lonely, those whom our society has ignored, marginalized, cast aside. A wounded humanity. Successes and failures. Sometimes triumphant, sometimes tragic, all in one place. On one vessel, moving forward, striving to move on and yet begin again. A common humanity, each with their own story. Not merely crossing New York Harbor, but also navigating the treacherous currents, never changing tides of life. How appropriate that this splendid vessel will enshrine the name of Dorothy Day, a woman ahead of her time, a woman of vision, a vision that extended well beyond the confines of the borough she called home. Ever dedicated to building bridges of communication, bringing people together, tirelessly working for social and economic justice, speaking truth to power, disturbing the comfortable and comforting the disturbed. Dorothy Day recognized the sacredness, radiance and goodness of every human person created in the divine image from the powerful moment when the spark of life ignites, begins to the moment of natural death. Oh, how she celebrated the preciousness of life. How she labored to ensure that every person's worth and dignity would be recognized and celebrated, that there would be a place at the table for all who share a common humanity. She recognized the presence of Christ in every single person. She saw every person as a brother or a sister. Well, may her witness an example inspire us to be stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks that we might strive as she did to meet the challenges of our times, to bring people together, to celebrate the greatness of our common humanity and to embrace as she did the sacredness and dignity of every human being, to celebrate the great gift of life. This vessel bearing her name reminds us. Of the values and principles that were anchored in the deep recesses of our heart and soul, may the prophetic witness of Dorothy Day, whose voice and example has spread from Staten Island to the four corners of our world, resonate in our hearts and souls this day and always. Dorothy Day, servant of God, a Staten Islander, a prophet for our times. Thank you, Bishop. That was magnificent. I'd like to at this point ask Commissioner Rodriguez to please come back to the podium to present the plaque. So. Dorothy Day, November 8, 1897, November 29, 1980. Dorothy Day was a journalist and radical convert to Catholicism. They co-founded the Catholic Workers Movement and spent 50 years caring for New York City's poor and homeless. During the Cold War, she spoke out against preparation for nuclear war by leading protests during air raid drills. Nameless servants of God by Catholic Church, they was praised by Pope Francis in his 2015 speech to the US Congress for her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed. A frequent traveler on the Staten Island ferry from the 1920s through 1970s, she loved Staten Island and her south shore cutter retreat. This ferry boat proudly sheer her name and was dedicated to her memory on November 4, 2022. Thank you, Commissioner. Now I'm musical interlude. I am pleased to bring up Anthony Donovan and a group of musicians, some from the Catholic Worker Movement, for short musical interlude. And we heard them practicing. They're fantastic. Anthony was a crucial member of our ceremony planning committee. While they sit up, can I have can I ask other members of the event planning committee to please stand up today? The ceremony, the plaque, the beautiful program would not have been possible with them all. So thank you to everyone on our committee. Now back to Anthony. He told us he had a band inspired, but what is perhaps Dorothy Day's most famous quote? Just to be clear, when I started, I should have mentioned that Dorothy Day was a woman who broke no foolishness, spoke her mind and did so very directly, kind of reminds me of myself. As she once said, and I quote, our problem stem from our acceptance of this filthy rotten system. Well, Anthony is joined here today with at least a couple of the members of the filthy rotten system band. Anthony, the stage is yours. Thank you so much. All right. So thank you all very much for being here. It's an honor. And Chris Brown would a great job pulling us all together and all the DOT really. So the leader of the filthy rotten system band is Bud Courtney, who's getting his guitar together. That's as far as it goes. And we're joined by Janine Otis of St. Mark's Church, the musical director and Amanda Deliocio of the Catholic Worker. Master console has to console. We say that we stand better when you sing. So if you recognize this song, please sing along. Sing it in the morning. I'd sing it in the I'd sing out. I'd sing out if I had a ferry. I'd ride it in the morning. I'd ride it in the. It's the ferry of justice. It's the ferry of free. Thank you so much to the filthy rotten system band. Finally, it is my honor to bring you Martha Hennessey, Dorothy Day's granddaughter. You actually have a picture of Martha in your program on page two. If you squint a little bit, you will see her right there. Holding a book in her hand called The Mrs. Ladybug. So yep, that's Martha. So Martha has continued her grandmother's proud legacy of activism. And we are so pleased to have her here today representing Dorothy Day's entire family. So Martha, please come up to the podium. Thank you. Thank you all for being here. A beautiful day. Beautiful day. Thank you for that song. Thank you all for all the hard work you've done to put this together. I understand it's quite a feat of organizational skills. Well, Dorothy Day is famous. Pope Francis told the US Congress that along with Abe Lincoln and Dr. King and the monk Thomas Merton that my grandmother serves as a true model for faithful American Christians. Last December, Cardinal Dolan and the Guild with the help of hundreds of volunteers and the support of Catholic workers in over 100 communities across the United States and around the world sent off a mountain of evidence that supports her sainthood. And here in New York, people agree that Dorothy Day's life of practicing the gospel teachings just might balance out our multitude of sins. And now we join here from across New York to dedicate a ferry boat that carries people on the same route as Dorothy took countless times between the Manhattan House of Hospitality and Soup Kitchen and her beloved cottage on Staten Island. My daughter remembers her first ride on the Staten Island ferry, her sense of joy, the freeness and the delight of this city set in glorious nature. Today is cause for celebration and all of us who love Dorothy are grateful. She would probably have something to say about resource allocation, but I think she would be pleased and that being for one very big reason. She was born in Brooklyn and she returned to New York in 1917. She loved New York. She loved our city's homeless, poor and thrown away people. And she loved the women and men who came to help at the Catholic worker. Some for a few days and some for a lifetime. She loved her many friends on various New York margins, many who shared her dreams and disappointments. Dorothy was a New Yorker and this was her city. When she was young, she loved its bars and theaters. She always loved its opera and bookstores and feisty labor unions and city squares where her co-worker Peter Moran could join other dissenters in inspiring the rest of us. And she loved out of the way churches and the quiet strangers who worshipped with her. And yes, she loved Staten Island where she spent happy days with the man she loved, where they conceived a child and at considerable sacrifice found her way into the church. She is now buried on Staten Island. It was love like that for humanity and for God who made and loved us that inspired her vocation. The practice of the work of mercy, her journalism to expose poverty and injustice, the formation of community in city and countryside, trying to build a new society in which it is easier to live and through her nonviolent civil resistance to war, the most destructive abandonment of love. Dorothy Day's love for New York embraced those she met each day and poured forth to all people everywhere, especially those who suffer and are thus closest to our loving God. Be assured today that her radical challenges to both church and state, her intense determination to resist so many of our unjust practices, they all arose from love, including love for New York and its people and the city's rivers and seas and skies and indeed the ferry and most of all from her love for her neighbors, which includes all of us. It is no small thing to know that here today, the city Dorothy Day loved says, at least for a moment, Dorothy, we love you back. Thank you. Thank you, Martha. That was beautiful. And I think we saw today that New York City indeed did love and still loves Dorothy Day. Finally, Bishop Peter Byrne. I know Bishop Byrne ministers to some of the people on Staten Island, who are the poorest of our borough, and he is with us today to close our ceremony with the blessing for this ferry. So may I ask Bishop Byrne to please come to the podium. In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord Jesus who calm the seas guide and protect always all those who work on and ride this ferry. May he give us all protection and strength. May he may the prayers of Mary, the star of the sea and Dorothy Day and all the saints guide us at last to the peace of our eternal harbor. And may God, the Almighty Father, may we God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit bless this ferry and all those who ride it now and forever. Amen. Thank you, Bishop Byrne. This concludes our ceremony. The folks on stage can start to make their way to the boat. I would like to ask everyone in the audience to please wait a couple of moments. You will follow them, but please remain off the boat until the honored guests unveil the Dorothy Day sign sections of the boat will then be open to tour. And we will have Martha Hennessey smash a bottle of bubbly at this time. I'd like to ask Bernadette to please sing us out. Thank you all for being here. It was my great honor to host us. Thank you.