In announcing the award, PAC NYC Chair Michael Bloomberg noted that Andreas “has found many ways to make an impact in our city, and in communities all around the world through support for arts and culture, education and scientific research, and so many other important areas.”
“We have watched, and been glad to be able to offer support, as the World Trade Center site has been rebuilt piece by piece,” said Andreas in his remarks in accepting the honor. “The poetic 9/11 memorial gave our grief a focal point, while the museum provided a chance to go deeper into the stories. The Saint Nicholas National Shrine extended an invitation for interfaith understanding. And finally, PAC arrived and signaled a new florescence of culture, an invitation for people from New York and beyond to gather and experience something joyful. It is fitting that the arts, with their unsinkable ability to help us appreciate our shared humanity, should figure into the rebirth of this site.”
