NYC Mayor Eric Adams gave legendary TV weatherman, Al Roker, a very special gift for his 70th birthday on Tuesday: A key to New York City.
Adams presented the prestigious honor — a giant gold-colored key — to Roker live on NBC’s “Today Show” Tuesday morning in front of a cheering crowd of fans.
“You have opened the key to our hearts for 40 years, 27 on this amazing show, and it’s your 70th birthday,” Adams said. “You have done so much, I’ve read some of your books about being a dad, health books. You have been a real New Yorker.”
The mayor then congratulated Roker, a Queens native, and gave him the golden key, which is about a foot long and attached to a wooden plaque engraved with the words ‘Eric Adams Mayor of the City of New York.’
Roker, known for his delightful on-air demeanor, was humbled by the gift.
“Wow, I never imagined, a kid from Queens getting a key to the city,” Roker, who is related to musician Lenny Kravitz and “The Jeffersons” star Roxie Roker, said.
Adams told the crowd and the cast of the show that it is very symbolic to present someone with a key to the Big Apple.
“It means a lot,” he said. “It represents the city on a whole, 8.3 million people. I always tell folks, there are only two types of Americans: those who live in New York and those who wish they could.”
“I love this city”
A quintessential New Yorker, Roker attended Xavier High School in Manhattan as well as other city schools before attending the State University of New York at Oswego before kicking off his work with NBC in Cleveland in 1978 before returning to his hometown in the early 1980s.
With 14 Emmy Awards under his belt, Roker is most famously known for his work on the “Today Show,” where he is not only the weatherman but an interviewer who speaks with newsmakers from around the world.
Come holiday season, he becomes the host of NBC’s coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City — a position he has held since 1995.
Off-air, Roker made headlines in 2002 when he underwent gastric bypass surgery that resulted in a successful weight loss.
On the subject of successes, Roker said it was “really special” to receive the city’s key on his birthday.
“I love this city. I grew up here,” he said while holding up the honor. “This means so very much.”
Roker still lives in the city he loves, with his wife, ABC News correspondent, Deborah Roberts. He has three kids.
