On this Independence Day, America turns 250 years old.
As our nation marks this extraordinary milestone, I have never been more proud to be an American and to call Staten Island home.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of extraordinary men pledged to each other “their Lives, their Fortunes and their sacred Honor” and boldly declared that all people are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights — among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Those words changed the course of human history.
For a quarter millennium, America has been far more than a place on a map. It has been a beacon of hope — a shining example to people across the globe that freedom, self-government, and opportunity are not merely aspirations, but achievable realities. For generations, millions have come to these shores believing that in America, your future is not determined by where you were born, but by how hard you are willing to work and how boldly you are willing to dream.
And nowhere is that uniquely American promise more alive than here on Staten Island.
Our borough’s ties to the nation’s founding run deep. It was here, at the Conference House in Tottenville, that Benjamin Franklin and John Adams met with British officials in one final attempt to avoid a long and bloody war for independence. Although peace was not achieved, the meeting reminds us that Staten Island has been connected to the American story since its very beginning.
In many ways, our borough is a microcosm of this great nation. We are a community of neighborhoods and traditions, of old families and new arrivals. We are fiercely independent, deeply patriotic, and proud of our diversity and resilience.
This small island has produced innovators, inventors, artists, and entrepreneurs who changed our country and the world. From Cornelius Vanderbilt and Antonio Meucci to Alice Austen and the Wu-Tang Clan, Staten Islanders have proven time and again that greatness can emerge from our shores.
But our story is also one of service and sacrifice.
Staten Island is one of only a handful of communities in America to have produced three Medal of Honor recipients: Private First Class Joseph F. Merrell Jr., Father Vincent Capodanno, and Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis. Their courage spans generations, but their stories tell the same timeless truth: when freedom calls, Staten Islanders answer.
We have also endured together. We lost more residents on September 11th than any community in America, and we rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy devastated entire neighborhoods. Each time we have been tested, Staten Islanders have responded as Americans always do — with courage, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to one another.
Serving as your District Attorney for the past ten years has been the honor of my lifetime because I have had a front-row seat to that spirit.
I have witnessed police officers running toward danger, firefighters and EMTs answering calls at all hours, and prosecutors dedicating their careers to protecting the vulnerable and seeking justice. Their commitment to service and the rule of law has helped make Staten Island the safest community of its size in America.
Their example reminds us that freedom is not self-sustaining. It requires sacrifice, vigilance, and a shared commitment to preserving the institutions that make our democracy possible.
I know this not only as your District Attorney, but as the son of the American dream.
My father, a young man from upstate New York, served his country in the United States State Department in the years following World War II while stationed in Eastern Bavaria. It was there that he met my mother, a young German woman who had endured the hardships of war and dreamed of a better life.
Together, they came to America, settled in the Stapleton neighborhood of Staten Island, and raised seven children. They worked hard, sacrificed often, and believed deeply in the promise of this country — that if you put in the effort and play by the rules, your children could build lives greater than your own.
Because this is America.
Here, a young man from New York and a young woman from Germany could build a family on Staten Island. Here, one of their sons could grow up to become a City Councilman, a Congressman, and now the District Attorney of this remarkable borough of more than half a million people.
That story is not extraordinary because it happened to me. It is extraordinary because, in America, it can happen to anyone.
As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, we should do so with gratitude — for the generations who built this nation, defended it, and handed it to us stronger than they found it. We should recommit ourselves to the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and remember that the blessings of liberty come with responsibilities: to serve our communities, respect the rule of law, and defend our freedoms.
Our Founders called this a great experiment in self-government. Two hundred and fifty years later, despite every challenge and every test, that experiment endures.
And if the history of America and the history of Staten Island have taught us anything, it is this: there is no challenge we cannot overcome, no dream beyond our reach, and no place on earth that offers greater opportunity than the United States of America.
May we prove ourselves worthy of the inheritance we have received. May we preserve it, strengthen it, and pass it on to the generations that follow.
May God continue to bless Staten Island, and may God forever bless the United States of America.