REMARKS
Council Member Kalman Yeger's farewell speech to the New York City Council
1:16:57
·
3 min
Council Member Kalman Yeger delivers a heartfelt farewell speech to the New York City Council, reflecting on his time in office and the significance of the City Hall building. He emphasizes the importance of working together despite differences and standing up for constituents.
- Yeger shares personal anecdotes about his history with City Hall, from visiting as a child to working there as a teenager.
- He stresses the importance of finding common ground with colleagues, even when disagreeing on certain issues.
- The council member concludes by encouraging his colleagues to always vote their convictions and represent their constituents' interests.
UNKNOWN
1:16:57
I appreciate those words very much.
1:17:00
And so now that the end is near and I face my final curtain, as Frank said, you know, I think a lot about this building, and it's a building that I cherish since I was a little kid.
1:17:08
And I was, in my single digits, used to come here, sit on the steps, and hope have an ice cream while my father worked across the street and hope that mayor Koch would come out and say hi to me.
1:17:19
And I came here to work here as a teenager for a freshman member to council who learned as I learned and, taught me, when speaker Villon was a speaker.
1:17:29
And this is a building where giants walked.
1:17:32
I talk about that all the time before us.
1:17:34
People who were far greater than we are, but who had great aspirations for what would come after them.
1:17:40
This is the building where Fiorello LaGuardia ran the city.
1:17:44
This is a building where my mentor Fernando Ferrer worked in this chamber and in the chamber across the whole in the board of Estimate Chamber.
1:17:50
This is a building where, Lou Fiddler, was in this room.
1:17:55
Their names I'm not gonna mention.
1:17:56
There are so many others, but this is the place where it gets done for the people.
1:18:00
And you know what?
1:18:02
I'm sure people notice I I look at the ceiling a lot.
1:18:05
When I was talking about President Lincoln last time, but you look at the seal of the city and the seal that's on the ceiling, it has the Dutchman and the Native American looking at each other.
1:18:14
It's not the same seal that you have on your business card.
1:18:16
It's a seal that they're talking to each other.
1:18:19
People who differ in opinion should be able to talk to each other.
1:18:22
It's what I've always tried to do.
1:18:24
And I appreciate that from time to time I've had different opinions possibly from some members of this body.
1:18:31
And, although I'm shocked to find out that, my popularity was in question minority leader.
1:18:39
We'll talk about that later.
1:18:41
But I I I do believe that, you should be able to talk to people who don't agree with you on a 100% of the time.
1:18:48
If you can find an ally on 20%, then that's your 20% ally, not your 80% enemy.
1:18:55
And if you can find an ally on 80%, then that's your 80% ally and not your 20% enemy.
1:19:00
You should find somebody and people who you can work with on every single thing, and there are members of this body.
1:19:05
And I'm looking at them who know that we have worked together on things that others may not know about, but we've done it together for the service of the people of New York.
1:19:13
Councilman.
1:19:14
And I will I will wrap up very quickly.
1:19:15
I will just remind the chair, madam chair, that when councilman Brandon is, I'm sorry.
1:19:20
I think when when the gentleman who sat behind me, left, he got 6 minutes.
1:19:26
I'm not last asking for the same thing.
1:19:29
I will just be very brief, and I will wrap up.
1:19:32
The and then you don't have to do it anymore with me, so it'll be okay for everybody.
Amanda Farias
1:19:36
Doing okay
UNKNOWN
1:19:36
for you.
1:19:37
The the, the thoughts of of what we are sent here to do.
1:19:41
Right?
1:19:42
It's to stand up for our neighbors.
1:19:43
That's what I have done.
1:19:44
And I've done it in a way that I hope that they have found that they've gotten their money's worth.
1:19:50
What we should be doing every single day is thinking about the 180,000 or so people who sent us here and only them and nothing else.
1:19:59
If you vote for your conviction, it doesn't you don't have to agree with me.
1:20:03
But vote how you feel in your head, the people who gave you that megaphone want you to act.
1:20:08
You'll be okay, and you will every single time.
1:20:11
And that's what I've tried to do, and I hope I've done it well.
1:20:15
And, and as Frank said, the record shows I took the blows, but I did it my way.
1:20:20
And I appreciate you all, and thank you very
Julie Won
1:20:26
much.
