As you can see in the photo above today was a great day for Manhattan College as the dedication for the new Raymond W. Kelly Student Commons. On hand were Governor Andrew Cuomo, State Senate Co-Leader Jeff Klein, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, hundreds of Manhattan College alumni and supporters, and of course former NYPD Police Commissioner and 1963 graduate of Manhattan College Raymond W. Kelly and his wife of 50 years Veronica.
The photos below will show you more of the dedication of the 5 story 70,000 square foot student commons building. The building has a state of the art fitness center, Barnes and Noble College bookstore, numerous dining options with a full service Starbucks Coffee shop, a convertible 6,500 plus square foot multi purpose meeting space to accommodate gatherings of various sizes, and is Manhattan College's first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) registered building on campus.
If you click on the photo you can see that Governor Cuomo is smiling for me, with Senator Jeff Klein in the row behind the governor, Former NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, and Veronica Kelly with her hand up.
Governor Andrew Cuomo who came to the dedication, says a few words about his friend Ray Kelly and how Ray Kelly transformed the NYPD into the worlds largest and best counter-terrorism force in the world.
State Senator Jeff Klein whose district Manhattan College is in, also had nothing but praise for Ray Kelly and Manhattan College.
The crowd cheers as Ray Kelly finishes his humble address, thanking those who made today possible.
Finally, the official ribbon cutting to open the new Raymond W. Kelly Student Commons at Manhattan College.
Governor Cuomo gets a final word in with the Kelly's before he leaves.
While he did not speak at the dedication Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz sent the following statement. "Congratulations to former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, and to Manhattan College, on the dedication of the school's new Raymond W. Kelly '63 Student Commons building. Commissioner Kelly has been a dedicated public servant his entire life, not only for this great city, but for our country as well. Manhattan College could not have chosen a more fitting name to bestow on its new Student Commons building. Here I am pictured with my Senate colleague Jeffrey D. Klein, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and of course, Raymond W. Kelly."
