Video, Photos & Transcript: Governor Cuomo and Vice President Biden Join Participants of 9/11 Memorial Ride

Statement

Thank you. Thank you very much.

First, let's give a big round of applause to Rabbi Schneier for his inspiring words. To Pat Lynch, a great leader of the NYPD, and all of the NYPD who we owe such a great debt of gratitude to for keeping this city safe and enforcing the law. Pat Lynch has been extraordinary for the PBA. Let's give him a round of applause. And to Steve Cassidy, who is the head of the firefighters. We remember them this day. We thank them, we appreciate them, we respect them, and Steve has been an outstanding leader. He has been a great friend to me. He has brought the firefighters forward. Let's give him a round of applause -- Steve Cassidy.

And a really, really great New Yorker who I have the honor of calling a friend. He is always there when New York needs him. He's a New York sun, he's an international star. But whenever New York has a time of need, Billy Joel is the first person to be there. Let's give him a round of applause. You think he can sing -- you have to see him ride a motorcycle -- he has a really, really beautiful collection of bikes, and I will get to our special guests in a moment.

There are two words to remember today. And they're on the material you've been given, they're on the scarves, they're on the bandanas. The first word is remember. Remember. That is what today is about -- remember. Remember there are families who are crying today because they still miss the loved ones who they lost. Yes, 14 years is a long time. But when it was your father, or your wife, or your son, or your daughter, 14 years ago was like yesterday.

They say time heals. I'm not so sure that time heals. Maybe time dulls. But it doesn't heal. And when you lose a loved one, especially the way they were lost that day -- they walked out of the house in the morning and said "goodbye honey, I'll see you tonight,' and then they were just gone. Without the conversations, without the warning, without the time to say goodbye.

We were just at Rescue 1 and the families show up every year and the families cry every year. And it's not just the families of the NYPD and the firefighters, it's the families of all the people we lost at 9/11. So we remember them.

We remember that the threat is not over. It didn't end on 9/11. And just because we rebuilt 9/11 and now we can say it was a pit and we rebuilt it and god bless and we rebuilt better than before, don't kid yourself that the threat is gone. The threat is worse than it was 14 years ago.

The threat of -- terrorism -- has metastasized like a cancer does that in the body. And now all different groups -- Hezbollah, ISIL -- stronger, recruiting more, more virulent than ever before. So remember that freedom isn't free and the threat that we faced on 9/11 -- which we had faced before in this country; '93 on the same site -- is only getting worse and we have to be ready and prepared and don't lull ourselves into a false sense of security.

Remember that there are people, as Pat Lynch said, who are home today, sick because of what they did on 9/11 and suffering because of what they did on 9/11. Because they didn't ask the questions. Because they didn't wait for the equipment, they didn't wait for the masks. They just went and did the right thing. They deserve our support and we will not forget them. That is the Zadroga Bill and as the Governor of the state of New York I will not rest until that Zadroga Bill is reissued time and time again.

The first word was remember. The second word was honor. We honor those firefighters and those policemen who went to the site that day. Today we are going to retrace the ride of Rescue 1. All of you who have come from all over the state, god bless you. From as far away as Buffalo, from Montauk Point, you've ridden hours on motorcycles which are the great symbol of freedom, to be here today, to make that sacrifice -- give yourselves a round of applause.

But we are going to recreate the ride that Rescue 1 took that day. From the Rescue 1 firehouse down to the World Trade Center. When you make that ride, the symbolism is -- just imagine what was going through their head that day. They knew what they were going into. This was their job, this was their profession. Any firefighter who headed south, any policeman who headed south knew exactly where they were going. Everybody else was running north. They saw the smoke, they saw the fire. This was the World Trade Center. You had never seen a crisis like this.

Just imagine every cell in their body had to be saying protect yourself. Be afraid. Run away. That is the human instinct, to protect yourself. Fear is a human response. It's not that they didn't feel afraid. They felt the fear. They overcame the fear. And they said I'm going into the face of danger because that is my job and I think I can help.

I believe they were on the firetruck, I believe they were in those police cars, and they had time to think. They were thinking about the loved ones they were leaving behind. They were thinking about the children who they may never see again and the baseball games they would never go to. They were thinking about the conversations they wish they had before they left the house, and they were thinking about the silly arguments they had and how they wished they could resolve them. But nobody got off that truck -- not a one of them. Nobody said this isn't for me. Nobody said I need to go back.

When we talk about honor, that's what we're talking about. We use the word hero, hero, hero -- that's what heroism is all about. You felt the fear. You knew what you were doing. You had time to think about it. And you said I'm putting my duty and my obligation first even if it's going to cost me my life. God bless -- each one of us thinks, what would we do if we were in that situation?

And we love to say we wouldn't get off that truck either. But you know what? You don't know until that moment comes. You do know that every member we lost stayed on that truck and stayed in that car. That's why we honor them today. We pray for them. We wish their families well. We admire them and we hope if the call ever comes for us, we show half the courage that they showed that day, because they are true American heroes and true New York heroes. Let's give them a round of applause.

And now it's my pleasure to introduce a friend, a man I've worked with for many, many years. But forget the politics, because today is not about politics. Today is about human beings and character. This is a man who is authentic. This is a man who is genuine. This is a man who has the courage of his convictions. When he's with you, he looks you in the eye and he tells you he is with you. When he's not with you, he looks you in the eye and he tells you he's not with you. And that's about this. And this is how I judge a person. He's all heart. He's here to do the right thing. He's a friend in good days and bad days. I said to him yesterday he's so good, that as Governor of this state, one day, I might make him an honorary New Yorker. Ladies and gentlemen, give a big round of applause for the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden.

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