New York City Council stages "Poetry in the Park" reading of Emma Lazarus’s "The New Colossus"

Speaker Julie Mann opened "Poetry in the Park" at City Hall Park this morning, thanking The Public Theater and performers and saying the event was intended to "celebrate and uplift the immigrant story." She framed the reading of Emma Lazarus’s 1883 sonnet "The New Colossus" as part of the city’s 250th-anniversary programming and asked the city to "lift the lamp up higher" when federal support, she said, has fallen short.

"This special group of performers, athletes, civic leaders, cultural figures ... are gonna recite the poem that's inscribed on a plaque ... at the base of the Statue Of Liberty," Mann said, stressing the poem's continuing resonance for the city’s linguistically diverse population.

Actor Liev Schreiber read the sonnet in English, introducing the text with a short note on its origin and the immigrant experience. Patrick Willingham, executive director of The Public Theater, thanked the speaker and the City Council for the partnership, calling the program a civic celebration that brings artists and communities together.

Multiple council members introduced readers who performed the sonnet in other languages. Councilmember Linda Lee introduced a Korean-language reading; Deputy Speaker Nantasha Williams (chair, Cultural Affairs Committee) introduced a Haitian Creole reader and emphasized the mix of voluntary and involuntary immigration histories. Councilmember Shekhar Krishnan introduced a reader in Urdu and noted the linguistic diversity of Jackson Heights. Several other council members — including Lincoln Ressler, Virginia Maloney, Harvey Epstein, Susan Zhuang, Lynn Schulman and Minority Leader David Carr — offered brief remarks tying the readings to neighborhood histories, cultural institutions and civic pride.

A community representative who spoke during the program said nearly "2,225 families" were lined up outside their office for weekly groceries, thanking the council and local partners for continued support. The Public Theater’s role was highlighted repeatedly; its leadership and volunteers were thanked for organizing and staffing the readings.

The event featured readings in roughly a dozen languages and closed with bipartisan remarks emphasizing both pride in immigrant histories and the value of civil disagreement in a democratic body. No formal votes or council actions were taken at the gathering.

The City Council and The Public Theater said the reading was intended as one element of the city’s 250th- anniversary calendar, centering immigrant narratives in public programming.