Singer Patti Smith Given The Key To The City: 'I Wish I Could Give New York City The Key To Me'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Singer Patti Smith received the Key to the City Monday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio bestowed the honor at City Hall. He also presented Smith with a cupcake in honor of her 75th birthday.
"She inspired so many people, helped shape a whole movement, a whole artistic movement, and in many ways a political movement as well. Her work as a musician, as a singer, as a lyricist, as an activist - so many elements - influenced so many people and showed people a way," de Blasio said. "She has done so much to light the way, and she has done it here in New York City."
Watch: Mayor Bill de Blasio Awards Patti Smith The Key To The City
"I was thinking this morning when I learned of this honor 'What have I done in New York City? What have I given New York City to earn this?' But most of all, I kept thinking of what New York City has given to me," Smith said.
Smith said she came to New York in 1967 with just a few dollars in her pocket.
"I wish I could give New York City the key to me, because that's how I feel about our city. With all it's challenges and difficulties, it remains - and I am quite a traveler - the most diverse city, to me, in the world. The city that has so many possibilities, so much possibilities for growth," she said. De
Blasio has also recently given the Key to the City to Spike Lee, Gloria Steinem and Hazel Dukes, among others.
