Mayor Mamdani Hosts Mayoral Service Recognition Ceremony

Mayor Mamdani Hosts Mayoral Service Recognition Ceremony

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good evening, everyone. Welcome to Gracie Mansion. It is truly a pleasure to join you this evening as we honor a group of New Yorkers who embody the community and compassion that exists across every corner of our city. And I am delighted to be joined here by a number of leaders across our administration. I see we have our deputy mayor, Helen Arteaga, who is here with us. We have our chief service commissioner, Laura Rog, who is here with us. We have so many other distinguished leaders across City government, whether commissioners, whether executive directors. And I also know that City Council Member Yusef Salaam is someone who is part of this event, part of this evening.

As we think about what makes tonight so special, what comes to mind for me is an essay by Zadie Smith, titled “Under the Banner of New York.” She describes watching a group of New Yorkers help a young woman whose stroller wheel fell off as she was crossing the street with her baby. She writes of those who sprang into action, saying, "We were white, Black, Asian, tall, short, male, female, young, very young, and old. Three held the stroller up; one ran after the wheel; two got on their knees and examined the mechanism.” They reassembled the stroller and continued with their busy days. The whole experience lasted all of three minutes.

That sort of matter-of-fact kindness is common here in our city — yeah, it’s worth clapping for. New Yorkers, we sometimes get a bad rep, as having a reputation of being tough or no-nonsense. And the truth is that yes, that’s the case, and also, one of my favorite things about living in this city, about being of this city, is you cannot live here all that long without already experiencing that kind of kindness. That quick, on-the-go — you don’t even know their name, and they’re there to help you out, and they’re gone before you know it.

And what is rarer, frankly though, in this city, is the kinds of people that we are here to celebrate this evening. Those who dedicate the entirety of their daily lives to help their fellow New Yorkers. These few make a life of that kind of kindness. They volunteer for their little pocket of New York, they identify community-specific problems that need solving, and they get to work on doing just that. It is that spirit of daily, continued service that we are here to celebrate tonight with the recipients of the Service Impact Awards.

We honor these exemplary New Yorkers with both recognition and a $1000 gift so that they may continue their good works, knowing they are both appreciated and supported by the city that they love. These winners were chosen through a public vote. We recognize them this evening because their work made a difference in the lives of New Yorkers across all five boroughs. Now, the New Yorkers that we are here to celebrate, they serve different parts of our city, they meet different needs in our city, but each of tonight’s honorees have helped to shape this city in very real ways. They have done everything from [helping] to provide nutritious meals for those suffering from long-term illness, to starting a rock-climbing club for brown and Black girls, to launching community gardens in neighborhoods affected by food insecurity.

Now my co-presenter, Chief Service Officer Laura Rog, will get into the details of the incredible work each of these honorees have done. Before she does that, I do want to just take a moment to recognize each of them by name. Eric Ragone — we can have a round of applause for each of these. Brittany Leavitt, Angria Messam, Abby Pochiraju, Iman Mergen, Mutashma Shaaf, Aalia Rehman, Nafisa Qadri, and last but not least, Huda Ali.

Now, on behalf of New York City, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you. Thank you for taking your love of this city and making it into something that is truly tangible, material, heartfelt. Because that is what we are truly celebrating this evening. A love of this place that we all know as our home, a commitment to ensure that everyone else who lives here can lead a life of dignity. And the ambition and excellence that you have shown every and every day, it’s an inspiration to every single New Yorker, including those of us at City Hall. And I cannot thank you enough. Now, before we end this evening, we have to ensure that we actually give them their awards. So, I will pass it to Laura, who will present the five awards of this evening.

April 21, 2026