| Celebrating
New York City’s Rich Ethnic Diversity
by Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg
No
city on earth can match New York’s rich ethnic diversity; we’re
truly the world’s second home. If you need proof of that, let
me tell you about some things I did last week: I walked along
Madison Avenue to commemorate Mexican Independence Day, then
took a trip to Little Italy, where the San Gennaro festival
was celebrated. On Saturday, I was the grand marshal of the
Steuben Day Parade that honored our city’s long and rich German
heritage. And last week, the Minister of Health for the Republic
of Ireland paid a call at City Hall—a reminder of the centuries-old
link between his nation and our city.
Wave
after wave of immigrants have shaped New York, weaving themselves
into the fabric of city life and writing their own American
success stories by working hard and playing by the rules. Today,
some 36% of New Yorkers are immigrants, and that percentage
is growing. Their contributions make us stronger, and they
always have been, and always will be, welcome here.
Last
Wednesday, September 17th was National Citizenship Day. That
same afternoon, it was my privilege to join scores of new citizens—immigrants
from around the world—as they took the oath of citizenship
at a ceremony at the Javits Convention Center. It reminded
me of another ceremony, two weeks ago: the one at the World
Trade Center site commemorating the second anniversary of 9/11.
All morning long that day, children read the names of the nearly
2,800 people from 92 countries who perished in that terrible
attack. There were Haitian kids reading Italian names…Russian
kids reading Hispanic names…Japanese kids reading Greek names.
It was a reminder of what New York is all about. Those kids—and
our new citizens—are New York’s future. They’re what make us
the greatest city in the world.#
Education
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