Campaign Celebrates What Makes NYC Great and Empowers New Yorkers to Show their Love by Getting Involved
Governor Hochul: "This is our chance in this post-pandemic world for us to be defined about how we meet this moment. This campaign, it's not just words. Although, they look fabulous. It's not just a slogan, it's not a logo - it's a spirit. It's a spirit that needs to come alive through every one of us and how we treat each other, the public service that we can all be capable of."
Hochul: "I Love New York was a message to the rest of the world; We Love New York City is a message to all of you. To the people who have stayed here, who never gave up, who do believe that New York City's greatest days do lie ahead. And we are there, my friends. Let's make it happen."
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, and the Partnership for New York City launched "We ♥ NYC," a civic campaign to showcase the city's strengths and mobilize New Yorkers in every community to help ensure that New York remains the greatest city in the world and inspire New York City's post-pandemic resurgence. The citywide campaign will kick-off with a celebration of New Yorkers who are making a difference through community service and will identify volunteer opportunities that everyone can contribute to.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Anybody here love New York City? Oh, we sure do, we sure do. Yes, you can borrow the State's logo. You are part of New York State. Enjoy it. But I'll be introducing our Mayor in just a minute, but I want to thank Steve and Kathy at the Partnership for having the vision to say, "Yes, this is our moment to declare we are back, but to celebrate who we are." And I also want to thank Janno Lieber. I'll be talking about an initiative we're doing at the MTA shortly. Thank you, Janno, for being part of almost all the way back to pre-COVID ridership. We need a few more people to take the subway. We can do this; we can get there. We're making great progress. Hope Knight is also the Commissioner of Empire State Development.
Listen, everybody, 1970s, most of you don't even remember it. Okay, that's fine. But look in your history books. This city was under siege. They couldn't even keep the lights on. Literally, the power was going out nonstop. There was talk about a bankruptcy. People didn't come here, people left here. Crime was at record levels and a couple of people, one of them, a State employee who worked for the Department of Commerce, came up with an idea. What if we had a logo, a campaign that celebrated the love people have for this state? Remind of what there is to love about New York. And so, the I Love New York campaign was launched.
And I want to thank William Doyle and his family. I don't know if William Doyle is still with us, but he and Milton Glaser came up with the I Love New York iconic symbol that says to the rest of the world, "We are the coolest place on the planet to live." I think that's pretty much well known. But also, it's a way to remind people what our $85 billion tourism industry is all about. People come here for that connection with other people, the finest restaurants in the world, the electricity, what Broadway's all about. I was here Thursday night seeing the opening of Parade. My God, it took me an hour to get out down the street. It was so crowded here. I loved it. I loved it. The energy is back.
But also, we're also getting safer and thank you, Mayor, for working with us and working with the NYPD. This the safest big city in America. Check the facts. It's true, but we're not finished yet. And so many small businesses and restaurants that were just slammed during the pandemic, they are back. But it's up to all of us to embrace this moment. Just as they seized the moment in the seventies, or after 9/11, when you're knocked down so hard. People met the moment. My friends, this is our chance in this post-pandemic world for us to be defined about how we meet this moment. This campaign, it's not just words. Although, they look fabulous. It's not just a slogan, it's not a logo - it's a spirit. It's a spirit that needs to come alive through every one of us and how we treat each other, the public service that we can all be capable of, the civil service, how we can take care of parks, how we can help each other, how we can volunteer again. Show what we're really all about.
And I'm so excited to announce that this campaign has been launched, but also what we're doing with the MTA - it's all about music too. We love our music here. And when we're in our subways, I think a little bit of music lifts the spirit, am I right about that? We need to hear some music in the subways? I want to thank Janno Lieber and everybody for launching Music Under New York. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Music Under New York. And going to let the riders - that's why you have to take the subway. You have a chance to vote on the music that you'll be hearing. So, we'll be launching information about that as well. And deciding which artists actually perform in the subways, let's leave it up to the people who are affected the most. Let's do that. We're partnering also to create videos and so there's a lot going on. It's a little chilly today. I'm from Buffalo. I don't really think it's that cold, but some of you tell me it's cold. But I love this city, the rest of the world loves this city. So, let's show our love for this city.
So, there's no question that this spirit is here. I Love New York was a message to the rest of the world; We Love New York is a message to all of you. To the people who have stayed here, who never gave up, who do believe that New York City's greatest days do lie ahead. And we are there, my friends. Let's make it happen. And with that, let me introduce you to the leader of the greatest city on this planet, Mayor Eric Adams.