Not quite on my feet, but getting there; to steal from myself:
So let me, uncharacteristically, respond to anger with affection, even love:
This is my city; this is New York City.
It is big and it is tough, but it isn’t mean, and it shouldn’t be small.
Let us be large, let us be mixed-up and loud and jostling and gesturing and Jewish and Muslim and Christian and Hindu and Sikh and Voudou and pagan and heretic and agnostic and atheist and conservative and liberal and radical and apathetic and hustling and napping and dancing and falling down and flirting and singing and praying and chanting and arguing and mourning and laughing and embracing and letting go and everything everything everything that we have always been and always became and always will be.
Let us be all of that and everything more.