Transcript: Mayor Adams Hosts Annual Reception Celebrating Diwali

October 24, 2024

State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar: [In the] community they actually call him the Hindu mayor, and when I went to him and said, mayor we need to make Diwali a school holiday, he said yes, yes we will and yes we must because anything is possible and your community is possible.

So let me hear it for our great Mayor Eric Adams. Let's make some noise for our Hindu mayor. And when there was a hate crime at our beloved Tulsi Mandir, Mayor Adams stood with us. And he made sure the NYPD classified it as an anti-Hindu hate crime because he is always standing up for our community. Are you happy about that?

When I think of our mayor, he is someone that enjoys his job, loves his job. More than anyone loves his job. He reminds me of Arjuna from the Mahabharata. My dad used to tell me there were five Pandava brothers and they were all asked to shoot a bird. You know the story. But only Arjuna could shoot the bird. And when they asked Arjuna, how did you do it, he said, I saw only the eye of the bird. My dad always told me focus on the eye. Well Mayor Eric Adams is someone who focuses on the eye from morning to night.

He focuses on making lives better here in the City of New York. But on this occasion of Diwali, he also reminds us of Ram, Ram, who had to wage an incredible battle to defeat evil. Ram had to put everything in to achieve victory. And on this Diwali, what do we celebrate? We celebrate Ram's victory when he returns victorious to Ayodhya.

Our mayor is the Ram of New York City, as he works to battle homelessness, as he works to battle crime, as he works to uplift New Yorkers every day. But ladies and gentlemen, Ram cannot defeat Ravana alone. Ram needs Hanuman. Ram needs the army of monkeys and bears. So on this day, let us all pledge to be the mayor's Hanuman. Will you make that pledge with me today? He has always stood with our community. And that is why on this Diwali, the Festival of Lights, we will always stand with him. So please, give a warm welcome to the 110th mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Wow, look at you, look at you on this Diwali celebration. Each year we will continue to do it and our assemblywoman is right. She personifies what it is to come to this amazing country, participate in government, not only for the entire state, but specifically for the community that supported and encouraged her to run.

When she had the vision of making sure that Diwali was a recognized holiday, they told her, it was not possible. We lobbied, we fought, and as she stated, there's nothing more determined than an Indian woman, and she showed that. And today, we celebrate Diwali as a citywide holiday and it's something that we should all acknowledge.

But more than that, what we have done with Dilip and others, and how it took 110 mayors before we were able to have an Indian woman to be a deputy mayor, in Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi. You are continuing to see your political strength. You're continuing to see what you are capable of doing. This is one of the most well-educated communities, business leaders. What you did during COVID with your doctors and medical professionals like other immigrant groups, you kept this city going.

And that is why I want to make sure that you no longer live in the shadows of the American dream, that you empower yourself to be self-determinant on what the future holds for this entire city, if not the entire country.

And don't lose sight that running for president is a woman with Indian and African-American background. You are moving at a rate that no one thought was imaginable. So you can never go back. You can never find yourself back into the shadows of the American dream. You must continue your progress. and as you grace us today here on Gracie Mansion, we owe you as much as you owe this great country, we owe each other.

Let's continue to grow. Let's continue to strengthen ourselves. And I say, as Diwali is the light that moves out darkness, let's displace the hate and the darkness that is pervasive across the globe. It starts here in New York. It starts here on Diwali. It starts here with this great community. I love this community. Keep doing the great things you're doing. Thank you very much.

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