The American people are smart, and they are paying attention. Even if there isn’t legal accountability, there will be political accountability on Election Day.
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THERE IS ONE important point that I want to make for the history books. People ask me all the time, “How did New York reverse the numbers?” or “How did New York turn it around?” The answer is clear and inarguable.
First, the results were solely produced by the people of the state of New York. This was an extraordinary example of social action. It was the actualization of the lofty concepts we talk about; it was democracy in action. It was a diverse group of people forging community. It was individual responsibility and a collective conscience.
The elusive concept of “the people” came to the forefront. It was the sum total of 19.5 million people’s individual actions. The closedown procedures, social distancing practices, and individual precautions were all personal decisions that served the common good. The people had accurate information from a trusted source and acted quickly, responsibly, and collectively. My role was merely that of a public servant, an instrument of the collective. God bless the people of New York.
The second group are the “essential workers”: the term that came to the forefront during this crisis. This battle was not won by the generals. Indeed, the federal generals pointed us in the wrong direction. We never received adequate federal reinforcements, and while we waged the war on the front lines, we were not even provided enough supplies. Nor was this battle won by those our society has deemed “leaders.” There was no financial design or corporate solution; bankers, lawyers, developers, did not save the day.
The heroes who made this happen were the working families of New York. When we were in our moment of need, we called on the blue-collar New Yorkers to show up for everyone. We needed them to come to work and risk their health so that so many of us could stay safely at home. These are the people who have received the fewest rewards from society but from whom we now asked the most. These are the people who would have been most justified in refusing our call. They were not the rich and the well-off. They were not the highly paid. They have not been given anything more than they deserved. They had no obligation to risk their health and the health of their families. But they did it simply because “it was the right thing to do.” But for some that is enough. For some that is everything.
These heroes are the people who live in places like Queens, where I grew up. These are the people working hard to better themselves and their families. These are parents concerned first and foremost with protecting their families, but who still showed up every day as nurses, National Guard members, train operators, bus drivers, hospital workers, police officers, grocery store employees, food delivery drivers. They are Puerto Ricans, Haitians, African Americans, Dominicans, Asians, Guatemalans. These are the immigrants who love America, who make America, and who will fight for it. These are the heroes of this battle. When COVID began, I felt it was unfair to call on them to carry such a heavy burden. I feared I would put them in harm’s way. But we didn’t have an option if society was to function. We needed food, hospitals, and electricity to stay alive.
All through this difficult endeavor there was never a moment when these people refused to show up or leveraged more benefits for themselves. At the beginning of a battle no one knows who will actually survive. Courage is determined by the willingness to enter the field. No one knew that when we started, the infection rate among our essential workers would be no higher than the general community infection rate. They have my undying admiration and the gratitude of every true New Yorker.
And in addition to the heroes here in New York, more than thirty thousand Americans signed up to come help us fight this battle.
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THE GOVERNMENT IS only as good as the people and as strong as a unified, mobilized society. The government is a societal reflection of our collective capacity. Throughout this crisis, I called for unity and optimism, and the people gave me that. In return, we gave them a government that was as good as they are. I said from day one that I couldn’t do anything but what the people can do for themselves. I could give them facts, and I could be empowered by them, but I’m only their instrument. They are the ones who decided to listen to their better angels. They are the ones who decided to come together and support one another. They are the ones who decided to wear masks. They are the ones who decided to close down. They are the ones who agreed to socially distance. They are the ones who agreed to the phased reopening.
I tried to appeal to their best, and they manifested their best.
The virus was a perverse litmus test of what society can do. How do you vanquish the invisible enemy? You do it when you all stand up and decide you’re going to work together as a team. This state has more tensions than most. If you’d asked the people of New York before the pandemic arrived, they’d likely tell you that ours is a fragmented, divided state. We could have had an upstate-versus-downstate split, or a Democrat-versus-Republican split, but that didn’t happen. We could have been derailed by racial or religious tensions or any one of
