 Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage New York City Council member Joanne Ariola that celebrates Americans from Italian descent Italian heritage and Columbus Day descent Culture and the arts and the literature and the architecture and the buildings that came here Please welcome State Senator Joseph Adabo, Jr. And And the Italians in the room, I'm sure any Italians Let's get more specific my parents my grandparents they came from Sicily anybody from Sicily No, I didn't think so body anybody from body Yeah, a couple I Want to wish you all the best as we celebrate not Columbus Day. We celebrate Columbus month This is Italian heritage month. We're stretching this out We're stretching this out. It's Columbus Day, but it's Columbus month. Enjoy everyone. Have a great night. God bless your walls Thank you so much New York City Council member Robert Holden. I was born on the real Columbus Day October 12th before they started messing around with Mondays and stuff So that's not why I'm here my grandmother and grandfather are from a Brutzo anybody from a Brutzo here The cola and Giuliani like the mayor Anyway, it's so great to be here my good friend Tony Nunzi Otto's here and that's all I care about have to talk to him later But thank you so much and let's keep Columbus Day a national holiday. Thank you New York City Council member Justin Brandon Crazy mansion. How we doing? So I got stuck with an Irish last name, but my family's from Naples who is from Naples? For some Naples. So we are here today gathered to celebrate. We had one mayor Fiora LaGuardia Who remembers Fiora LaGuardia? And our second Italian mayor Eric Adams who brings us together tonight So let's have a good time Let's celebrate all the contributions that Italian Americans have made to this city to this state to this country And let's have a great time tonight. Thank you so much and New York City Council minority leader Joseph Borelli This is wonderful. This is wonderful. It's so nice. It's so nice to see a room a room full of all my fellow Republicans My good friend Justin Brandon forgot one of the mayors. It was Rudy Giuliani also can't forget Rudy So I want you all to close your eyes for one second if you grew up in an Italian American household You have some of these two you had photos on the wall You had photos on the wall of that ancestor the couple the mother the father The people who are your great-grandfathers or great-grandmothers or grandfathers and or fathers They were the people who made the journey from Italy to this country. I know you have their pictures on the wall So I want you to imagine yourself looking at their face And I want you to imagine their expression after all their hard work After their journey to this country after like my great-grandfather digging the subway tunnels in this city I want them to imagine Imagine seeing their descendants now at the height of culture and society and power Here in this city that they helped build This is the dream. This is the dream when they came over to this country that you would be successful So tonight you're here you're at the center of power here in New York City. You're at the center of society. You've made it So give a toast give one more drink to those people. Thank you guys and God bless Wow This is great. Oh Ladies and gentlemen, I I wish to thank Thank you. I wish to thank Mayor Eric Adams for these occasions my first occasion Celebrating with you and with the mayor The month of Italian heritage and culture And what can I say I feel so proud today to represent all of you even those who don't know me and Not only the Italian Republic You know, it's a very special month this because Yesterday we celebrated Columbus Day Now we entering a period Plenty with plenty of events Celebrating the Italian culture and heritage, but honestly be in New York It's a Italian cultural heritage day every day Wherever you go, whatever you go. Do you do you just turn around? It's Italy Whatever you say So it's an honor for me to represent Italy and the Italian American community here You know, Italy is very much synonymous with culture and when we talk about UNESCO heritage for instance UNESCO says that 60% of world arts are concentrated in Italy We know this it's a UN saying it is not us boasting about it But this is not enough of course here in in America, New York is the most Italian City in the United States possibly most Italian city outside Italy Italy has synonymous with lifestyle again, we culture art with food with Piacere di vivere. That's what they envy us. We know how to live And he comes natural we don't have to make any effort. So I always repeat a Something I was told by an American friend 100% American friend Or maybe it was Irish Which is makes it even more important. She told me New Yorkers are divided in two categories Those of who have Italian roots and those who would like to have Italian roots Now I miss the mayor. I don't know if this is true, but I'm repeating this joke every day all around New York believe me Now coming to most serious stuff and I'll be I'll be very short There's something I have to sometimes to explain Even yesterday during an interview after the parade people were asking me Why Columbus is so important. It's not even a celebration in Italy and I said yes, of course Columbus in Italy It's just an explorer who discovered America as the beginner of a modern history. That's all nothing more than this But I think it's important to explain and make people Americans and New Yorkers and even Italian American youngster understand Why Columbus is so important for all of you? Well, at least for most of you. Okay, let's put it like this and This is about telling the story of the Italian Americans here recalling why President Harrison Created the Columbus Day in 1892 was after the biggest Lynching in American history, which was against the Italians by the way and Why we say so because Columbus still today He's very much a symbol of pride of integration For your community, which I'm proud to represent here feel to represent Because it's only through sacrifices hard work and Facing prejudices bias hatred racial hatreds That the Italian Americans have got their path through this country and got integration You have to recall this to all the other communities And since I'm a diplomat I to be politically correct. I would say Celebrated Columbus is not against any community Italian American heritage is not must not be exclusive or Antithetic or alternative to any other heritage notably the indigenous people heritage America is great because of its diversity So I think it's time that people get together again and understand each other position Without claiming to have the absolute truth or the absolute historical truth So I had to come here in New York and the United States to understand better What Columbus represents for the Italian American have plenty of respect for Columbus much more than before and for all of you Thank you. Thank you very much. Please welcome first deputy mayor Lorraine Grillo Thank you. Good evening everyone I'm so privileged and and honored to be here today I just want to give you a little idea of what kind of a friend our mayor is to the Italian American community I had the privilege of being one of the grand marshals for the Brooklyn Columbus Day Parade and So as we were winding down the mayor showed up and I looked at him and I said wow Thank you so much for coming. He said Lorraine. I'm here every year He is a true friend of the Italian American community And I want to take the moment to introduce our mayor Eric Adams. Thank you, Lorraine one of the One of these saddest days of my life and I can remember like it was yesterday My my mother sat me down She says baby. I need to be honest with you You're not to sell you this This community You do the analysis You do the analysis I Got more votes From the Italian American community than any candidate that was running and the friendship over the years of My Italian American New Yorkers and beyond The friendships have been so deep Look at Arthur over there. I know Rosanna is somewhere in the crowd You know, you think about my chief of staff Frank Carone Italian my first deputy mayor Lorraine Grillo Italian You think about Ingrid Martin who wants to be Italian Peter Valone I can go through the room and you are not just Knowledgeable people in the city you have been deep friends and during the most difficult times of my time as well president Of my times in office. You have just sent me communications You have stood by me because good friends walk in the room when others walk out and This community has continuously walked in the room You have walked in the room over and over and over again and just stated that Eric We're with you Because we have a commonality We believe in families We believe in business We believe in a safe city We believe in protected innocent people This is not a difficult Relationship that we have developed because we are eye-to-eye on what's expected in our city and what we expected from our city And when we come here under this big tent We are saying that we can live under a big tent That is why this Celebration was so important That is why I enjoyed every moment of walking up Fifth Avenue Celebrating this rich heritage and you're not new You didn't just discover New York City The first person that occupied Gracie mansion was one of the greatest mayors we had in history Mayor LaGuardia blue collar Hard-working Every time I think of what type of may I want to be I think about to his commitment and dedication To every day New York is and how to create the city that we wanted to be But let me say this to you and I told the group the other day every night. I make an entry in my journal Think about this for a moment If the only entries I made in my journal Was what was bad that happened to me? Then I would define myself by the roast parts of my day but I write the totality of my day and Overwhelmingly my day is full filled with good moments and great things even in the small amount of things that could have been better We can't define our city by his darkest moments We have to define our city by our great moments Yes, we must deal with the six felony crimes that happen on our subway every day But we have to celebrate the 3.5 million people that ride that subway every day and get to their place of Destination with no problems at all if you take the worst crime and Highlight it then you are defining our entire transportation system, and that is not who we are Yes, we have to deal with those number of people who are carrying guns and make sure they go to jail and stay in jail But you got 8.8 million people in the city. That's not carrying a gun That's opening their shops that makes sure business goes on We got to celebrate that 91% of the hotel occupancies are back up and operated We lead the 25 major markets New York is not coming back. New York is back You got to go to Times Square at night and walk through the thousands of people that come from all over the globe And say they want to experience New York City the hundred and seventy five thousand jobs that we started Since January back to the city leave it leading the tech industry All that we're doing We got to celebrate New York and we have to understand that in the city of this size Yes We have a scar on our face But remember we have a face If you draw my portrait, don't draw it emphasizing the scar Draw it emphasizing the face New York is still the greatest city on the globe period period and the reason it is is Because we thought we have the largest Italian-American community in New York City From little Italy to the Arizona bridge to building the subway system to putting on a police uniform and protecting our city To the judges to the lawyers to the bar Association everywhere you look and you find success you find the Italian-American community your contribution to the city is Amazing throughout the years and I personally thank you. I Thank you because of the foundation of this community I was out in Queens when I was running for office and I stopped at a small deli in Queens called of Re-rehearsed Small Italian deli still has the Sausages hanging from the ceiling generation Generations first and second and third generation working aside the deli and you just saw that family appeal But when I go out and sit down and we have dinner together And sit around the table and we hear the generations of families and really embracing the love of the family and the grandmothers and the mothers You were the foundation of our city And I thank you for your contribution and what you represent to the city of New York We have a lot to do We have a lot to overcome But I know this city and you know this city You know that we're resilient well invincible. This is New York and the way goes New York We'll go the entire country The country depends on the success of New York City And as we move through these next few months and continue to wrestle back the city that we know and we love I Need you more than ever Because you will set the tone of the certainty and the resiliency of our city I know that and so I thank you as we celebrate the rich Heritage of the Italian American community. Let's continue to lift it up Let's continue to show the greatness of our city. Thank you very very much And we will Okay Okay Ladies and gentlemen just a moment, please We want to recognize Few people in the audience today. We are we are We have a proclamation for the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York and Nancy and Delacato will be accepting on behalf of the organization Joseph Shami our president and chair Myself and the rest of the committee several of whom are here this evening We want to thank you for this special recognition For over 46 years our committee has been presenting Promoting and preserving Italian heritage and culture and every year we select a theme in which events revolve This year is no exception and we have a wonderful theme this year. It is celebrating Italian and Italian American Nobel Prize winners and since its exception in 1901 the Nobel Prize over the years has given that award that recognition to 26 Italian Italian Americans and Just few days ago. They announced a 27th winner a woman from Stanford University Who is going to receive the award in chemistry? So so we're very proud by our annual theme so in that spirit. I say thank you Okay so our next award goes to lieutenant Lieutenant-detective Joseph Petruzzano association in America and Robert Bob Fenty is accepting on behalf of the organization Let's hear it for the mayor by the way He said he's not Italian But we're adopting him tonight. What do you say? We're very fortunate To be recognized today and a very fortunate to have with us today our International delegation from Padula led by Vincenzo Lamana. Thank you so very much for Vincenzo The Lieutenant-Joseph Petruzzano associates started many years ago under another great leader Under another great leader and a dear friend of the family a dear friend of the city of New York I'm talking about speaker one Peter F belong. Let's hear it for Peter He started us 22 years ago. We're very fortunate We're very grateful for two of the Petruzzano association international here in here in the United States and a dear friend and father to the Italian-American Community a friend and mentor. We said his Peter belong Lieutenant-Joseph Petruzzano association in his international and Padula are humbled to receive this proclamation from one of the New York City police department to another Icon in the NYPD. I'm talking about Joe Petruzzano and our mayor here Thank you so very much and for this honor today. Remember we have a great we have a great city We have a museum coming out and next year. We have I want to thank Angela Vibalon, Columbus Citizens Foundation for all their hard work Let's hear it for our parade Thank you so very much, and this is our brother tonight and forever. Thank you again Also, we want to present you with the first frame poster of our Italian Heritage and Culture Committee theme this year And again, it is celebrating the Italian and the Italian-American Nobel Prize winners the motto of the Nobel Prize is For the greatest benefit of mankind and in that spirit I believe all of those people here in this room and government office and those of us who are involved in Italian Heritage and Culture. We keep that dear to us in our spirit and our hearts. So in that spirit I want to give you this poster Joy and even grace in you all