Transcript: Governor Cuomo Delivers Remarks at Dominican Republic Prayer Vigil
The Dominican community is part of the family of New York. They are our brothers and sisters, and New York City would not be New York City without the Dominican community, and we have always worked together as a family.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, today attended a prayer vigil honoring the victims of the Dominican Republic nightclub ceiling collapse. He was joined by numerous elected officials, including Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia, and other elected officials and community leaders.
Cuomo delivered remarks and offered his condolences to the families of lost loved ones. The event was hosted by Rev. Rubén Díaz Sr., Founder of the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization and Christina Contreras, CEO of NY Health + Hospitals Lincoln Hospital.
A transcript of his remarks appears below:
Christina Contreras and Lincoln Hospital. Thank you very much. Not just for this convening, but thank you for what you do for the entire community every day. Let's give them a round of applause. To Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who is a tremendous public servant. He has been for many years. He is also a man of history and destiny, and leadership for the Dominican community nationwide. Congressman, it is an honor to be with you. Let's give the congressman a round of applause. To all the elected officials who are here today, to Reverend Diaz, to all the members of the clergy. Thank you very much for your thoughts and thank you for your prayer.
The Dominican community is part of the family of New York. They are our brothers and sisters, and New York City would not be New York City without the Dominican community, and we have always worked together as a family. The Reverend mentions when Puerto Rico had trouble after Hurricane Maria, but also with the Dominican Republic when there were natural disasters, Flight 587, after natural disasters like Hurricane Georges, New Yorkers came together, contributed work. We got on planes, we went down, we helped. And in that ability to help, there was a sense of relief. You could do something today, you say, what can we do? What can we do? How do we solve the situation? How do we offer help? We can, can offer thoughts, we can offer our prayers. We can offer our best wishes. We can pray that the families find peace through this senseless tragedy.
But I hope the families feel the love that has come together and that the families feel the solidarity, not just within the Dominican Republic, not just in New York, but all across the country. And I hope that feeling of love when the family comes together and that solidarity helps bring peace to the families for this senseless tragedy, and we hope that it helps them recover. We all pray that nothing like this happens again. We pray that there is hope that there are more recoveries. We pray that the families recover and that the country recovers.
Watch Video of Governor Cuomo's Remarks Here
Photos from Prayer Vigil Available Here
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