Council Member Epstein reflects on 9/11, Islamophobia, and youth council transit advocacy

Councilmember Epstein, followed by Hudson.

Thank you.

I just want to welcome all the young people who went back to school today.

I know it's a very exciting day, the first day of school.

I remember every day walking my kids to school and what it really meant.

Well, move a little closer to a somber topic.

I know the Speaker flagged it earlier about 9-11 tomorrow, and I think we'll all be thinking about this tomorrow.

and thinking about it today.

And I reflect on what that was like for me 25 years ago, thinking about, mentioned earlier, dropping my daughter at daycare and looking down First Avenue and seeing a plane hit the tower.

And I was supposed to go to bankruptcy court that morning and I obviously couldn't go to bankruptcy court that morning because

There was nothing to do that morning.

But trying to figure out what we could do and making sure my family was safe and everyone's family was safe and hearing about stories of friends and loved ones who got stuck and died and friends and loved ones who got out.

And, you know, that story means so much to us and it means so much about the history and the fabric of New York.

It means so much about what we need to be doing going forward, but also talks a lot about, you know, hate and Islamophobia and what happened after that in New York and how our Muslim brothers and sisters were treated in this city and in this country.

So I hope when we reflect on that, we think about how we move forward.

I also want to flag a more joyful topic, if I could, just around the youth council that I've had.

And they've worked hard over the last eight years focusing on student access to public transportation.

And in 2018, they really focused on the half-price MetroCard and getting rid of that card where people had to pay $1.35 and change, and then focusing on the full MetroCard and getting more swipes and announcing that.

Mayor Adams in 2024 were some of our colleagues here.

Just a few weeks ago, they released their new report where they interviewed over 700 students, talked about their problems with the existing OmniCard, released a report.

And really, I encourage you all to look at the report and the recommendations to make that better.

We want to inspire the next generation of young people to do more, and I'm proud that they did this.

And I hope everyone has a lovely, happy new year tomorrow, La Santa Tova.

Thank you.