That's how we all rise together.
Public safety is a prerequisite for the thriving neighborhoods that create opportunity in this city. So is respect for civil liberties. The two are not mutually exclusive; in fact we must have both.
We must work to promote a real partnership between the best police force in the world and the communities they protect from danger -- be it local or global.
New Yorkers on both sides of the badge understand this. We're all hungry for an approach that acknowledges we are stronger and safer as a city when police and residents work hand-in-hand.
That's how we all rise together.
Opportunity in New York springs from strong neighborhoods. When we demand that big developers build affordable housing, and fight to keep our hospitals from becoming luxury condos, it's not to punish the real estate industry.
We do these things so the everyday, hardworking people who anchor our neighborhoods can live and work and be healthy in the communities they love.
That's how we all rise together.
New York is no stranger to big challenges. We've faced the depths of the Depression, we've stared down the hateful destruction of terrorists, we've endured the ferocity of gale force winds and surging tides, and each and every time, New Yorkers have faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles with grit and determination and an unyielding commitment to one another and we have -- always -- prevailed.
The challenge before us today is different from any we've faced before: it has no distinct or dramatic catalyst, no insidious face, no electronic image on a radar map. The growing inequality we see, the crisis of affordability we face, it has been decades in the making. But its slow creep upon this city cannot weaken our resolve.
And it won't.
The people of our city come from so many different places, with so many different stories. By our nature, we are clear eyed and realistic. Yet we stand united -- united by a shared hope, a shared optimism, a shared faith that there's no problem bigger than our city, no adversity more powerful than the might of our collective ideas and action.
New York's resilience is legendary; our toughness is unmatched; and our will is unbreakable.
So I say to you tonight:
The road ahead will be difficult, but it will be traveled;
Progressive changes won't happen overnight, but they will happen;
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