Rock and Roll Hall of Fame punk legend Patti Smith and one of Rolling Stone’s greatest artists may add a new honor to the list: The Key to New York City.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, in his last week in office, gave Smith the ceremonial key during a news conference Monday.
(The key looks like the one used to lock the back door of City Hall, but it is completely ceremonial and doesn’t actually work anywhere.)
“She has done a lot to light the way, and she has done it here in New York City,” De Blasio said. She is the third person he has honored with the key in the last week, after filmmaker Spike Lee and Senator Chuck Schumer.
“I wish I could give you the key to New York City,” Smith said.
After his comments, De Blasio took a cupcake lit in honor of his 75th birthday next Thursday, prompting Smith, beaming, to say, “I know we don’t work to get compliments, but I’m the kind of person that if I have one, I really love it.”
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