 Where's my boy Ryan? Good morning everyone I am Julissa Ferreira's Copeland Let's give yourselves a round of applause for this amazing day and humble to be able to celebrate with all of you today The reality is that we know that our wonderful Player AG hit 130 homeruns in his career But today I think it's his hundred and thirty first He hit it out of the park today We have a tight program because we want to ensure that we do this ribbon cutting and do Right by the community, but this is really a celebration for all of you community leaders the AG family the Mets family and Many of the elected officials that we're here today to help make today a reality But before that we have a very important welcome to this very important school And that is the wonderful Ryan al tamarino who's going to give us a welcome our student Come to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Tommy the AG edu-edu Edu-edu I want you to move a little closer with campus Today always Celebrate the grand opening of our long-awaited middle school and District 24 We're so thankful to so many of you Who have been supporting My middle school of 419 every step of the way So the oh this they would Finally come my name is Rona out of Toronto, and I'm one out of a hundred and eighty six lucky students attending. Let's go this is September Together we plan out to live out with Tommy AG's Legacy by continuing to give back to our community. We thank you for being with us today We have very many many special guests today here today But prior to acknowledging all of those guests I think we need to do an appropriate welcome as we went through this process You know our principal this is just her first few day her first minutes in their new building So you are her party so welcome to the AG school But understanding that this is really about the community and I'd like to help bring I'd like you to help me bring up Superintendent Chan and principal Montane's Good morning Honorable Mayor Adams borough President Richards District Attorney cats Councilman moya first Deputy Chancellor Weisberg Department of Education staff the amazing Mets The AG family honored guests faculty IS419 students and families this is such a special day as The proud superintendent of this wonderful district. It is always thrilling to open a new school Thank you to the school construction authority who have afforded this district with Magnificent structures for our students and once again. They have certainly come through Buenas yo soy la principal miss Montane's voy a estar traduciendo para superintendente dr. Chan Buenos días honorable a Calde Adams Senador Ramos el asemblista Aubrey Pro president Richards Deputy Chancellor Weisberg District Attorney cats los increíble Mets la familia the AG The agro-comercial The Agro-comercial The The Agro-comercial This school will exemplify everything that Tommy A.G. represented, fortitude, perseverance, and strong values. This school, under the phenomenal leadership of Principal Montañas, will show students how to make their dreams come true. Thank you to our Mayor and our Chancellor for always supporting our efforts and to Assembly Member Aubrey for the recommendation to name IS 419 after the great Tommy A.G. This is such a memorable day for our students, their families, the community, and District 24 because it is filled with hope and bright new beginnings. Thank you all so very much. This school will exemplify everything that Tommy A.G. represented, fortitude, and strong values. This school, under the leadership of Principal Montañas, will show students how to make their dreams come true. Thank you to our Mayor and our Chancellor for their support and to Assembly Member Aubrey for the recommendation to name IS 419 after the great Tommy A.G. This is such a memorable day for our students, their families, the community, and the District 24 because it is filled with hope and bright new beginnings. Thank you all so very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, my turn. Hello, hello. Good morning. Let me just take one minute to take this all in because this is such an amazing gift. Thank you. Hello. My name is Soledad Montañas and I am the proud founding principal of Middle School 419. I am so excited to be here today with incoming students and their families, founding faculty, our elected officials, Mayor Adams, Senator Ramos, Assembly Member Aubrey, Queensborough President Richards, District Attorney Katz, Council Member, I'm sorry, Council Member Amoya, as well as the Department of Education Superintendent Dr. Chan, Deputy Chancellor Weisberg, School Construction Authority, representatives from our co-located District 75 school, the Riverside School, the METS, and the A.G. family. My parents who are in the crowd, please raise your hands. That's right. Mommy, Ipapi immigrated our family from Uruguay shortly after I was born and raised us here in Elmhurst, Queens. It is such a privilege to be opening up a school in the same district that raised me. Our school's building is named after one of the Miracle Mets players of the 1969 World Series, Tommy A.G. I had the privilege of meeting Tommy's wife where we spoke about what makes dreams come true. Tommy and his teammates used to say, you've got to believe. And that I do indeed. But to believe, we must be brave. And here we are at Middle School 419 team in the home of the brave Tigers. We are bright. We are resilient. We are adaptable. We are virtuous. And we are empowered to be the change we wish to see in our communities and in the world around us. Parents who are in the crowd. I promise to cultivate a school community that amplifies each individual's student strengths and fosters a love for learning. We will celebrate Tommy's legacy by being brave and believing that we can be impactful and purposeful here in Corona and East Homers and in the world around us. Thank you for being here with us today to celebrate the naming of our school building. I look forward to embarking on this journey together and shaping our futures in partnership. Thank you. Okay, in Espanol. Hola, mi nombre es Soledad Montañez y soy la orgullosa principal de MSC 419. Estoy muy emocionada de estar aquí hoy con los estudiantes y sus familias, los maestros, nosotros oficiales electos, el departamento de educación, representantes de nuestra escuela de distrito 75 Los Mets y la familia de AG. Mis padres que están aquí, por favor, levanten sus manos. Mami y papi emigraron a nuestra familia de Uruguay, poco de después de que yo nací y los niños aquí en Elmhurst Queens. Es un gran privilegio abrir una escuela en ese mismo distrito donde me criaron. El edificio de nuestra escuela lleva el nombre de uno de los jugadores de los Miragros Mets de la Seria Mundial 1969, Tommy AG. Tuve el privilegio de conocer a la esposa, Tommy AG, Miss Maxine, over here. Thank you, raise your hand, Miss. Y hablamos sobre cómo hace realidad los sueños. Tommy y sus compañeros del equipo dirán, tienes que creer. Yo sí creo. Pero para creer debemos ser valiente. Y aquí en MSC 419 es el hogar de los valiente Tigres. Somos brillante, resistente, adaptable, virtuoso y empoderados. Para hacer el cambio que deseamos ver en nuestra comunidad y en el mundo. Padres, prometo cultivar una comunidad escolar que amplifica las portalesas de cada estudiante y el amor por el aprendizaje. Celebramos el legado, Tommy AG, siendo valiente y creando que podemos ser impactantes. Gracias por estar hoy aquí con nosotros para celebrar el nombramiento del edificio de nuestra escuela. Y juntos en este viaje de formalizar nuestra escuela y comunidad. Muchísimas gracias. Aren't we lucky to have Principal Montanez leading this wonderful school. Thank you so much. The amazing Mets are also made by amazing staff, but also owners. And I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Alex Cohen, owner and wife of Steve Cohen. Thank you so much for being here today. We also have Sandy Anderson, Alderson, sorry, and the entire MET family. I think there's several of us if you want to give a big wave. Thank you so much for coming out. We also have First Deputy Chancellor Weisberg and SCA President Nina Kabuda who have joined us and several community leaders. And we'll be highlighting you throughout the program. But the real magic today is if we didn't acknowledge you, you are equally as important as everyone that's being acknowledged. So thank you so much for coming out. And now as we go through with the program, we'd love to call up for remarks. Someone who stood shoulder to shoulder with our AG player who we are here to honor today. I'm so excited. That's why I'm here. If he could come up to speak, help me bring up one of those amazing wonderful Mets, Cleon Jones. Thanks everybody. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I was sitting there looking around and I could see that everybody had a prepared speech. And I had a prepared speech also, but my wife went off and forgot it. So I'm going to wing it. But I'm going to forgive her for that. I'd like to have you meet my wife, Angela Jones. Angela, what's the way over here? To all the city officials and board presidents and all the people connected to this wonderful occasion, we've come full circle. Tommy and Cleon, we were brothers and we met some 68 years ago. That's a long time. And suddenly we did a lot of things together related to athletics and high school. I remember when Tommy first left high school, he signed a grant in aid to go to Xavier University. And just as he got to Xavier, they cut out the athletic program. So he had no place to go. So he had to come back home and face me. It was my senior year in high school. He graduated one year before me. And I said, you're so bad. You went down to Xavier, you run the whole athletic program. How did you do that? But thank God for Gremlin that Xavier just cut out the program all of a sudden. He ended up at Gremlin with President Jones and he became an All-America at Gremlin. He went there to win a scholarship. And you talk about hard work and perseverance and dedication. He had to make the team in order to get a scholarship. On the last day of the cut, President Jones told Tommy, and he called him not AG, but he called him G. G, if you don't do better today, I'm going to have to send you home. He didn't want to come home and face me. That ball game, he had three home runs. He had three home runs and he was a star at Gremlin and he was All-America from that point on. And right now he holds most of the records at Gremlin for a freshman. But I said all that to say that he signed with Cleveland. He loved Cleveland and went to the White Sox. And thank God for the Met family that he ended up here in New York. And now we are earning him with a learning center. And I could never foresee that. Tommy was a great, was a good student. And I like to share this with you because it's important. When he got ready to leave high school, he said to me, what are you going to major in? I said, I'm going to major in football. He said, football? I said, hold it. What are you going to major in? He said, I'm going to major in English. I said, you can't spell English. He said, I can and I will major in English. So we come from Gremlin to Cleveland to the White Sox. And Mr. Murphy with the money organization came to me one day and said, how would you like it if we bring Tommy over to play in the outfield with you? I said, if we do that, you wouldn't have to worry about right field because Tommy would help me out in left and he would cover all the right field. That's not knock on Shamsky and Shoboda. They were good outfield. But I said he would take the pressure off of the ball club and we made that deal. We made that deal and Tommy became a New Yorker. He never wanted any parts of Mobile anymore. He loved New York. I remember the last conversation that we had. I think Janelle birthday was that particular day. It was on a Sunday, but he's going to take Janelle. This was in 19-20-2001. Don't forget guys, I'm 80 years old. I can't, but sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. He was taking Janelle to school that particular Monday and we was going to meet and have dinner and she had just turned 13. So I'll never forget that day. Here we are with the school being the honor. In Tommy's honor, this very ground was kind of a playground for me and Tommy. We own a nightclub restaurant on the same property. And suddenly he was dedicated to this area. He loved the people in the area and certainly you've loved him back by giving him this honor. Before I go in the further, I just want to mention the Met Family because I'll talk to the point that the reason that Tommy is here because of the Met Family made a deal to get Tommy here in New York and we all became a family. But I like for Ron's Revolta to stand and I like for Art Champskeet to stand. And I like for Jay Horwich to stand. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's part of the Met Family that sold Tommy on New York. And here we are paying tribute to Tommy. And I don't know what he would be thinking if he was standing here or what he would say. But I know it wouldn't be much because he wasn't that kind of a guy. You could pat him on the back but he would never pat himself on the back. So as a brother and a friend, I feel like my name is going on the side of this building. Yeah. Well you might be right because if it weren't for me, but that might be a Tommy would not for me, that's all. But it's a fun thing when you can create a family that has lasted over 50 years. And I'm talking about not just my friendship but a Met Family that has lasted over 50 years and that we care about one another and we always rally around one another. That's why we were 69 champions until I've been up here too long to micwit. Yeah, but suddenly it's a pleasure for me to honor this man because he was one of a kind. And I just like for everyone now to stand and you can just tell me a standing ovation please. Thank you so very much. And now we will have the AG family come up to speak and address you and share these wonderful words. But before we do that, I want to acknowledge that Assembly Member Aubrey isn't here with us today. The only reason he's not here is because he's recovering from an illness, but he said there's no other reason that he would not be here. So he wants you to know and he understood that everyone that was organizing and planning this, every day he would say, make sure you take care of the AG family. So I hope that you feel his embrace and his love. And I also know that he's been texting and calling every elected official here. So they're all going to bring up a message from him as well. So please help me bring up Miss AG and Janelle AG. Thank you everyone. Thank you. Wow, what a day. I'm really not good at speaking and usually I let Janelle do the talking because either I'll get too nervous or I won't be able to read it at all, but today I am going to try my best. To Mayor Adams, Assemblyman Aubrey, elected officials, principal Montanas, I have practiced her last name for three days. I even called her up to ask her to help me say your name, but you know I love you. Family and friends, what a glorious day. Janelle and I share an abundance of pride, the celebration to open IS 419 as the Tommy AG educational campus. Tommy and I made our home right here in East Elmhurst after we met at his club, dated and married. One of the reasons I love Christmas is because I met Tommy when I was invited to a Christmas party hosted by Queens College. I didn't know much about baseball then. I know more about it now, but I knew nothing about famous baseball players. The Outfielders' Lounge was at this very site, as Kilian said. It was a place that had good food, great music, great entertainment, and where the community gathered. It was also where he and his friends would leave the golf course, go back to the outfield, and talk trash. Also Tommy's friends from other sports came to the club to unwind, enjoy the entertainment, and shoot the breeze like everyone else. It was great. East Elmhurst is like baseball. Our home was baseball. Our daughter was born in Flushing. She attended dance classes in College Point, and attended middle school in Jackson Heights. As a retired teacher of seventh grade students, I am thrilled that this new building and the opportunities that will be available to the students and the staff at this wonderful school has been realized. When we lost Tommy in 2001, it was our East Elmhurst community that helped us and walked with us every step of the way to keep his legacy alive. Tommy had so many accomplishments as a baseball player, and being the first black player to win a gold glove in both the American and the National Leagues, and being most known for making two of the most memorable catches in World Series history during the 1969 series. Thank you. I'm saying thank you like I do. He also hit the longest homerun... Let me start that again. He also hit the longest homerun recorded in Shea Stadium's history. Even as a member of the Miracle Mets, he was a proud resident of the East Elmhurst community. Tommy would have been so proud to be recognized supporting the educational opportunities for the students here in East Elmhurst, housed in this beautiful state-of-the-art facility. His contributions to New York Mets, to the Queens community, to the city of New York, his family, friends, and foundation is an acknowledgment of Tommy, a gentleman on and off the field. After his passing, we created the Tommy A.G. Foundation, and for 15 years worked in conjunction with the New York Mets to raise over $250,000 to give back to charities that were near and dear to Tommy's heart. Our special thanks is to our dear friend, Assemblyman Jefferyon Aubrey, who initiated this wonderful tribute and who is truly missed today. We would also like to thank the members of his wonderful staff, Diana Hernandez and Lily Piochi. I don't know if I said that right too. They were wonderful. The members of the Queens NAACP, Mayor Adams staff, and everyone who helped in some way to make this day possible. We would like to acknowledge Tommy's nieces, Angela and Nyla, right there. We're so happy that you're here. Our extended friends and family, members of the Tommy A.G. Foundation, fellow members of Alpha Caper, Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Would you just raise your hands, Sarah? Thank you. Also, the links incorporated, would you raise your hands? Thank you. Steve Cohen and his lovely wife, thank you for coming. And especially with our question doubt, Jay Horowitz for everything that you do. Last but never, never, never least, the 1969 World Champion, New York Mets. Our family, who is representing the team today, we can always depend on you for your presence and your love. Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky and Ron Swaboda. In absentia, we would like to acknowledge Paul Afamer, Gil Hodges, who never gave up on Tommy's ability. Again, thank you for this wonderful tribute. Thank you. Good morning. First, I would like to reiterate the gratitude echoed by my mom for all who worked so diligently to make this special day possible and to all those who have gathered here in person to celebrate the naming of this beautiful new school, the Tommy L.A.G. educational campus. My mom and I are overwhelmed with joy that my dad's legacy will remain here in East Elmhurst for generations to come. I can just imagine him being here and saying something like, Chanelle, can you believe this? My dad was such a humble and generous man, he loved this community and he loved bringing people together, which was the inspiration behind my dad and Uncle Cleon opening the Outfielders Lounge on this very street. If it wasn't for this area, I, nor many of you, would probably not be here. So we also have to thank my mom for swooning my dad with those pearly sparkly whites and catching his eye at the bar. Our entire world centered around a five-mile radius around this community. We lived less than a mile down the street on Dittmar's Boulevard on Butler Street. When we traveled to LaGuardia Airport, that was just two miles away. You knew he was traveling when my dad would put on his red silk shirt. You know, baseball players and their superstitions? That was him. And it was a requirement of my mom and I to dress up. And when I mean dress up, we had to wear suits and pants and dress shoots because we were not allowed to wear sweats or sneakers on any plane with Tommy Agee. Shea Stadium, which is just over a mile from here, was his second home. When he wasn't at the house, he was at Shea cutting up with his best friend Jimmy Plummer on the field or mentoring young players on the team. Now, having an English teacher and a former baseball player's parents was a unique combination. My education was extremely important to them. It's where I learned the importance of attending a historically black college and university as they both attended North Carolina Central University and Grambling State University. Those talks eventually led me to Spelman College. But when I was in middle school, and they weren't in the mood to help me tackle new math, they sent in reinforcements. My godbrother, Jonathan Plummer, would take the bus from the other side of Queens and he would come and tutor me. Those tutoring sessions turned into torturing sessions. But every week he came, my dad gave him something extra on the side just because he had to deal with me. True? True. Our favorite restaurant for all those familiar with East Elmhurst was La Des Tantes, which is about two miles away from our house. But on those nights we went out, we really, on any day we were traveling, we had to tack on an extra 30 minutes, not to make sure we were dressed, not to make sure we were going to make it on time, but because my dad had to speak to every single person. In the wintertime, all the young boys in the neighborhood wanted to come shovel our driveway first. One, so maybe they could get an autograph. And two, because my dad paid top dollar to get his driveway and sidewalks clean. During Halloween, everyone came to our house because my dad didn't give out candy. He gave out money. That's just the type of guy he was. He believed in generosity. He knew his impact on the community and he knew how much his fans loved him as a New York Met. Whether they imitated him when they patted his glove like he did or mimicking his batting stance. He listened to every single story, signed every card, every bat, and every t-shirt. What I personally treasure is the mornings I would spend with him before school. He cooked for me every morning. But it was the same thing. Jimmy deemed sausages and homemade potatoes with onions. And when he didn't cook, we headed down the street on Astoria Boulevard to pick Donald's. While he was a native of Mobile, Alabama, it was East Elmhurst that he called home. And he wasn't the only celebrity who lived here. Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Mays, Malcolm X, Louis Armstrong, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and his former teammate Ed Charles all lived right here in this neighborhood. My dad didn't just give back to this community. He loved his hometown of Mobile. He started a golf tournament there to make money to build a new wing at a local hospital. East Elmhurst is where we called home, and now it's where the Tommy L.A.G. educational campus will call home, too. We are so thankful to Assemblyman Geoffrey on Aubrey to have my dad's name immortalized on this building. To have my dad's name immortalized on this building in East Elmhurst, where he lived for over 30 years, it's just an honor. Something I'm sure he wouldn't have imagined. Thank you again to the city, this amazing community for honoring his work and dedication to enhancing the lives of others. Thank you so much. I think that's deserving of one more round of applause as we dry our tears. I also want to acknowledge some of the leaders in this community that wrote letters of support and helped support our assembly member to get this school renaming and many of the elected officials here. We have George Dixon, president of the NAACP local council, Saida Dunston, CEO of Elmcore, Loretta Hooks, president of Corona East Elmhurst Civic Association, Frank Taylor, chairman of Community Board 3, and many, many others. I wanted to take this opportunity now as we pivot to acknowledge also we've been joined by Assemblymember David Weprin. As I told you, Jeff called many people to be here and Daniel Bontheus from Congressmember Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who's also here with us. So thank you so much for joining us. And now we will hear remarks, very brief, lovely remarks from Borough President Richards, followed by our district attorney, Melinda Katz. Everybody must remember our opening day at Cityfield. But good morning, everyone. Do we have any METS fans in the house? All righty, all righty. And it's great to be here to celebrate this, and let me acknowledge my brother who could not be here but who hit a home run for our borough today, Assemblymember Jeff Aubrey. Let's give him a round of applause. In many ways, Tommy A.G. represented the best of Queens. And yes, his on-the-field talent was a big reason why the Miracle Mets won the 1969 World Series. But he was also the hardest worker in the room, and his talent was matched only by his grit and determination. That's exactly who we are as a borough. The kids in this community exemplify those characteristics, too. Maybe that's why Tommy called this neighborhood home long after his playing career ended. And let me just say, he was for us and biased. We call folks like Tommy Fubu. Tommy died 21 years ago, but his legacy will live on in this borough and at this school which we're opening up this year. This is a borough, and this is a school district that has perennially been overcrowded in our city. And that makes today even more important as we welcome hundreds of new school seats to the communities that need it the most, and I encourage SCA to keep building. So as future students study here, hopefully they will be inspired by Tommy's success and his commitment to the community. While they do, I'll keep fighting for even more investment to my colleagues and to the schools of this community because no matter what your zip code is, your ethnicity, or where your family come from, you deserve the highest quality education, and we know Tommy shared that goal. Thank you to Tommy's wife, Maxine. That was so beautiful. And to Janelle, thank you for sharing Tommy with our borough and with all the Queens residents. Let us continue to do all we can to make sure Tommy, AG's legacy of achievements live on and will never be forgotten. And of course, to Alex and to Steve, let's go mess. Let's bring that chip home this year, like 1969. Former council member says we got to move this along. Let's go. So I'm Elinda Katz. I'm the district attorney of Queens County, former borough president. It's good to see everybody. I want to thank the borough president for his comments. I want to just say thank you on behalf of Assemblyman Geoffrey on Aubrey. I want you to know you all know I was the borough president before I'm now the DEA. It almost took me threatening security so that he didn't come here today. Just so that he stayed and got better and he's getting better every single day and we'll see him in the community, I'm sure much sooner than he should be. But he will be out and about. He wanted me to thank everyone here for the work that they did in order to make this happen. I'd also like to give a special thank you to the New York Mets. Alex Cohn is here, owner of the Mets. We also like your husband Steve. But we appreciate, Alex, we appreciate the Mets and the way that they've embraced this great borough of Queens County. Thank you for that to Sully, who always does community outreach and is always there. To Mrs. Agee, I got to tell you, you can speak for me anytime. So it was great. Look, I wanted to just say we need seats for Queens County. It is the reason that Assemblyman Aubrey was so intense on trying to get this school here and naming it after someone else who had an equal love for this great borough of Queens County for East Elmhurst and for the New York Mets. But it was the kids that was important. It was making sure that in a county that it's underserved in our junior high school that we have one more built for our children here in the borough of Queens County. It is the reason Assemblyman Aubrey's son is with us today, Matthew Aubrey. I just want to acknowledge him. And, you know, it does take a village and we can't do this alone. We need our corporate partners. We need our civic leaders. We need our elected officials. Look at Francisco. He's got the Mets hat with the matching blue suits. Jessica Ramos is wearing orange, you know, our borough president. Everybody loves, you know, the Mets. So we're all good. But we're here today because Mr. Aegee had a dedication to this borough that went beyond baseball. And we know that as family members you give up a lot when your spouse and your father are public figures. So we thank you for being here when we do this dedication because we know that you were with Tommy the entire time. So congratulations to you today. It is now my great honor to bring up Assemblyman Aubrey's partner, Carmariah, and she is on her way up here to also give the Assemblyman's remarks and also her love for the borough. Thank you. Thank you. I know I'm quite shorter than what everyone anticipated seeing today. However, please know he sends his love. He wished he could be here as the DA cat said if he could have escaped, he would have, but he's on the men and doing well. On behalf of him, I would just like to thank the Aegee family and Tommy for being a model for us all and for the legacy that we'll live on as we educate and shape the minds of the future generations here in Queens. Congratulations to the Aegee family again and on behalf of Assemblymember Aubrey and the greater East Elmhurst community at large. Thank you. Thank you very much. I also see that we've been joined by Giovanna Reed, the district manager of Community Board 3. Nice to see you, Giovanna. And as you mentioned, Janelle, many of us grew up in this neighborhood and these two amazing elected officials did also. And I'd like for all of you to help me bring up Senator Ramos, followed by Councilmember Moya. Thank you, Julissa. And good morning to everybody. Yeah, almost afternoon. It's true, you know, as the daughter of Colombian immigrants growing up in this corner of Queens, you don't always grow up with baseball and baseball history as part of your life. But I do remember being taken to a Mets game by my dad as a little girl and seeing the marker at Shea Stadium, just how far that home run that Tommy Aegee hit had gone. And it was inevitable, by then I had fallen in love with baseball and it was inevitable, of course, I wanted to read and learn more about who this player was with an amazing batting average and who had broken records for us here in Queens. And quite frankly, it was so heartening to learn that as much as we cheered for the Mets, as loud as we cheered for the Mets, Tommy Aegee was cheering for us the whole time, too. And though I will never have the opportunity to meet him, it has been an incredible honor to meet you, Mrs. Aegee and you, Janelle, because I know his legacy lives through you and we can only hope that, of course, his spirit, his care for education, his love for our community will live on in this school. And it is an excellent school to be able to exemplify these virtues for our kids as our neighborhood has changed so much, has become one of the most diverse places on planet Earth. And having Tommy Aegee as our role model, when we are deeply in need of more black role models, of more people of color to look up to, is an incredible treat for our community. So I want to thank everyone in the Education Department who has played a role here. I want to thank the Mets. I want to thank, of course, my colleague, the big guy, Jeff Aubrey, who has been an incredible partner for me in Albany for bringing this to us and making sure that it was done because, quite frankly, this school should now stand as a model for every school. Every single public school should be fully funded in New York City. Every single public school should have enough seats. Every single public school should have enough guidance counselors and making sure that we're serving our children as a whole beyond the classroom. So thank you all. This is a special treat for everybody from Queens. Let's go, Mets. Good afternoon or good morning, everyone. I'm Council Member Francisco Moya and it's such an honor to be here with all of you. I want to thank, first, the mayor. I want to thank the AG family, the Mets organization, and all the community leaders that really fought for this and my colleagues in government, in particular, Jeff Aubrey, Jeff who's been a true champion for this community here, has been fighting to make sure that we could get the AG name on a brand new school in this district and his dream has become a reality. And to the family, thank you so much for everything that you've done to make sure that we continue to remember and honor such a great man. As Jessica had mentioned, we're both born here in, well, I was born in Corona, Queens, but I grew up in the shadows of Shea Stadium. I'm a son of Ecuadorian immigrant parents who are first love of football soccer as it is here. But there was nowhere to play, so we played baseball. And I played at field 11 in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which has a great view of Shea Stadium. And my baseball coach, now when you're in Little League, if you play the outfield, you're not that good. So I started out in the outfield a little bit, but made it a third base because I was more of a soccer player than I was a baseball player, but made it into third base. And Coach Pinetti had this great picture of Tommy Agey. And he told everybody, do you know who this man is? And we're like, no, not really. Like, you know, who is this guy? You know, at the time, you know, our love was for that good and Darryl Strawberry, things like that, players like that. And he said, this is one of the greatest meds of all time who lived in this community, who gave back to this community, who you all should get to know and appreciate what this man meant. And as a kid growing up, you're like, okay, you listen to your coach and you find out more about what he did. And my brother actually got a Tommy Agey signed baseball at one of the events that we're here. We have it in the office as well, and I wish I could have brought it here to show everyone. But it's about the meaning and impact that he has on the community and the younger generation of people that are growing up here. And I think that's what's going to happen when we open the doors to this beautiful school, is the education that we're going to be giving to the students that will be coming to this school right here. But we'll always look and say that I go to the Tommy Agey school and know who that man is. And the new generation of New Yorkers, of Queensites, of Corona East Elmhurst community will continue to live in that legacy that Tommy Agey always had, which was about giving back to his community. And so I just couldn't be prouder to be standing here with all of you today on such a great day, again to the Agey family. Thank you so much for everything. Thank you for letting us be part of a wonderful man who gave so much and his name and his legacy will live on forever. Thank you so much. Thank you very much, Council Member Moya and Senator Ramos, for all your support. And today we've been talking about many people that have made today possible. But in reality, the best partner to have to make today happen, and without further ado, help me with a very big round of applause to bring up our illustrious Mayor, Mayor Adams. One rule I live by for my days of policing, you do not stand for me, I stand for you. I'm here to serve you. This is, if you only know what this moment means for me. Yes, we can look at the Hall of Fame career. Yes, we can talk about that amazing year, going the year previous, only winning a small number of games and being in ninth place. Yes, we can look at his record, 26 homers, 96 runs batted in. Yes, we can look at the energy he brought to the field and how much it meant for those of us who sat in the shadows of other teams. We can look at all of that. Being able to have a school name after you is so significant, but the great Hall of Famer, Tommy Agee, played the role on the young men who grew up during that era. I was nine years old at that time, and we were in dark places as children of South Jamaica Queens, thinking about the impossible, what we couldn't do, and how we were really just relegated to a position of never really having a role in this city. And then the Miracle Mets came along, Ron Swavoda, Ed Cranepool, the good-looking Cleon Jones, you know, the... and that whole team. And we saw black men that were dignified. We started not only to believe in the game of baseball, but we started to believe in themselves. And I was a nine-year-old child, dyslexic, trying to figure out why I couldn't learn. I was a nine-year-old child living on a verge of homelessness, a nine-year-old child that was just really trying to figure out where was my place in this city. And all those nine-year-old boys that grew up in South Jamaica Queens grew up here in Corona, grew up in the South Bronx. When we saw that team, when we saw them play, it meant so much to us. And the mess were counted out. People thought that they would never be able to, you know, win a championship. They were an expansion team, eight years out. The first expansion team to win a royal series in such a short period of time. And we see the naming of this school today. I think it's a symbolic moment because it's significant to all those young people who believe they're counted out right now. We need a miracle again, but they believed. They believed. And I don't care who you are and where you're from. I know there's a lot of cities in America, but trust me, just like you should never count out to Mets, you better never count out New York City. We're resilient. We are invincible. We lead the way in comebacks. And so when these children walk through the door, they should just see the name Tommy Agee. Part of the lesson plan should be, let me tell you who he is and what he represents and why each one of those students have a Tommy Agee inside them. And they also have inside them many of our Latino ball players that really carve the weight of what we're seeing today. When these children are allowed to see the sports figures, they know what it is to get moved. They know what it is to be in a slump. They know what it is to strike out. They know what it is to leave players on deck. They know what it is not to win all the time, but a fallback is really your step forward. And so I'm so proud to be here today. Tommy Agee meant so much to me. And all of those players of the 69 Mets meant so much to me. They took a young man that was dyslexic, arrested, rejected. Now he's elected. He's the mayor of the city of New York. And so congratulations to all those who participated in ensuring that we are naming a school after my childhood hero, Tommy Agee, Hall of Famer, leader, a great person, one of the greatest members of the greatest race alive. And that's the human race. Thank you so much. So on behalf of the people of the city of New York, whereas as New Yorkers, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Tommy Agee, whose legacy lives on through his beloved family and the enduring impact he made in business, sports, and his community. Throughout his career and post retirement, he displayed a steadfast commitment to improving the game of baseball, mentoring young players, and creating spaces where New Yorkers of all backgrounds could gather, bond, and build lasting connections. His enormous contribution to the five boroughs cannot be overstated. As you gather at the former site of the Outfielders Lounge, I am immensely proud to honor the life and achievement of Tommy Agee and join in celebrating the ribbon-cutting of Tommy L. Agee Middle School. Therefore, I, Eric Adams, mayor of the city of New York to hereby proclaim Friday, August 26, 2022, in the city of New York, Tommy Lee Agee Day. Please don't go far. We have some flowers that are going to be presented to the family from the Greater Queens Chapter of the Links. They're making their way here. Thank you again. Another big round of applause to all of our electives to yourself for coming today. And to the Metz family, again, let's go Metz. We're so excited. We have All Timers Day, which will be tomorrow. So this also coincides with a very special game, which will be tomorrow. Thank you so very much. We are going to make our way to the front of the building. If we can just give these amazing elected officials another really big round of applause. Thank you. We can go exit to my left, your right, to join us in the front of the building where we will have the ribbon-cutting. Muchísimas gracias. Todo por estar aquí hoy. Gracias.