Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: You know, I have to push back on something that Dilpreet said, because when I was running for mayor, I would use a call and response at many of our rallies. And what many people forget is that the fourth thing that I would say is, "Host the," and then people would say, "U20 Summit." And we did it everywhere. We did it everywhere. New Yorkers, they would just see me on the street, they'd say, "U20 Summit!" [I'd say], "Yes! It's coming!"
But it is truly, truly a pleasure, and we can now answer the question - to Nadeem's point - of what does it feel like to go from the greatest city in the world to London?
And we come to this moment right now having spent a bit of time together over the past few days. And we shared experiences like being jointly blinded by camera flashes in the photo line. The mayors of Paris, Manchester and Amsterdam helped New Yorkers with one of our city's most dreaded traditions: Moving Day.
The mayors of Helsinki, Barcelona and Rome accompanied me on a visit to one of the best views of New York City, which is also described as a Wastewater Treatment Plant in Hunts Point. And Mayor Gualtieri also took some time out of his day to graciously listen to my forgettable rendition of "Bella Ciao."
Together, we have discussed some of the most pressing issues facing our cities today: the challenges of the affordability crisis that make it so much harder for the people we serve to afford homes, childcare and groceries; the climate crisis that we experience in floods that grow more intense with each passing year, temperatures that climb to unforeseen level and parts of our city that are, frankly, no longer inhabitable in the way that they once were. The question of how to make our cities more affordable and resilient for both newcomers and the millions who have long called them home.
And we have ratified a communiqué that lays out the steps for a future where we, the leaders of local government, those who spend our days serving New Yorkers, Joburgers, Parisians, Rotterdammers and so many more, have the tools and resources we need to rebuild people's trust in effective governance.
It has truly been a lovely weekend. To quote a wise New Yorker, Larry David, "Do you mind if I use the familiar tú form with you instead of usted?" My friends, if there is one thing we have learned from this weekend, it is that.
Progress requires familiarity. The deeply necessary work of international cooperation cannot be done effectively without it. Familiarity allows us to communicate effectively and openly. It facilitates the lending of policy, the sharing of lessons learned, the exchange of ideas.
A transit win in one city informs a newfound ambition in another. A public health success here becomes a blueprint there. That is what familiarity can do. That is the practice of solidarity in action.
And I began this weekend with a statement: Global challenges cannot be faced in isolation. The vision of coexistence that our cities so proudly model is evidence of that very point.
When people around the world imagine what humanity is capable of, they look to us, to the music in our streets, to the art on our walls, to the discoveries made in our labs. They look to our cities to see whether the hardest problems can be solved, and they look to us to show them how.
When we each return home, we will not find a world any less divided, any less unequal, but we will return with more tools, more knowledge, more familiarity to overcome these obstacles, to set new standards for greatness. And in doing so, we will endeavor on this shared work of earning back people's trust that democratic governance can, in fact, deliver for them.
Before I close, I would like to recognize the C40 Cities, United Cities and Local Governments and the Mayors Migration Council for convening this summit. We know that an international conference such as this does not happen on a whim, and we want to say thank you as well to all of the staff here at Civic Hall for hosting us; all of the teams who have come together to put this on; and frankly, to everyone who has worked to make this weekend a success, whether you have been preparing for this for months in the setting up of this room and in the setting up of the conference, or arriving at 1:30 in the morning and still persevering through.
We want to thank all of you for traveling from so many continents and countries, for taking the time to leave your cities to spend a few days and hours. It has been an immense honor, truly, for me, both personally and politically, to host so many of my fellow local leaders from across the world here in New York City.
And I hope that beyond this summit, you will take time to explore everything that our five boroughs have to offer. Because if anything, in any place, embodies the work of this weekend, we do believe that it is our city, the world's city.
And when we inevitably cross paths again, I sincerely hope that we can start exactly where we left off, with using the tú form instead of the usted. Thank you so much.
