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Source: US State of New York

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on Univision 41. The Governor spoke with Mariela Salgado on her affordability agenda, immigration, public safety and more.

AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: So we’re very blessed that you’re talking to us and we’re very thankful, because we know how busy you are. So when you guys are ready, let us know. Just give me five minutes before we start, so I know we’re good. We’re good? Okay.

Governor, so the first question is to talk about the economy, and after I’m done with the question, I’ll just do a quick Spanish question. So, when you talk about your agenda, you talk about fighting for New Yorkers families. And I’ve been in your press conferences, and you talk about your family, you allude to your daughter in law and having to spend — and knowing for yourself how expensive things are — and you talk about inflation, and you see how things have gone up. And you’ve heard what New Yorkers are saying, and you’ve presented an array of so many things. When you planned your agenda for this budget, what were the main areas that you were concerned about when you presented that?

Governor Hochul: I am concerned so much about New York’s struggling families. My own family, my grandparents were immigrants, came here and lived in great poverty. They were migrant farm workers. My grandpa was a steel worker. My parents lived in a trailer park. We were raised having to get our clothes at used clothing stores. And you know, we were not doing well financially for a long time. But what I also know is my experience as a young mom and how expensive it is to pay for the diapers and the formula, and the kids outgrow their clothes every three months. And not just from my life, but I see now my own son and daughter in law struggling as well.

So I come to a Budget process and look at it as a statement of my priorities of what I want for New Yorkers and New York families, and to be able to firmly say, “I’m on your side, your family is on my fight and here’s what I’m going to do to find countless ways to put money back in your pockets.” And whether it’s the inflation rebate — which puts money back to the people who weren’t paid because of inflation — $500 per family. Someone with children under the age of four — $1,000 per child, school age child $500. Also covering the cost of all school breakfasts and lunches — that’s money back for every parent to be able to not have to spend $1,600 a year.

You add it all up, plus a middle class tax cut, there are many families in New York who will receive $5,000 more in their pockets. So, I took my own life experience, but also what I’ve seen as Governor going to every corner of the State and here in the boroughs where life can be hard for people — they struggle, they want to be successful — and anything I can do as Governor to relieve them of that burden is what drives me every single day.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: Now, those are immediate reliefs: the child tax credit, the rebate. Those are things that people are going to get right away and will see an impact on their pockets. But the child care, as a parent, I know how expensive it is. That’s going to take some time because there are spaces that need to be built and things need to be figured out. So when do you think parents are going to start to see those benefits coming through?

Governor Hochul: We announced a program that for families earning $108,000 or less, their child care costs are kept at $15 a week. Now think about that. An average family pays, right now, $21,000 a year for child care for one child. You may have two and you’re paying even more, but we are saying that there’s families that are struggling. We should have that expense capped at $15. The problem is, we need to have more providers. We need more facilities. So in my Budget, I understood this, and I’m putting $110 million into building new child care facilities, renovating existing ones and making home child care more available for people as well.

So there’s no one answer, but we’re working hard. I know people want to know when, but it is hard to try to break through a system where no one paid attention before. I’m New York’s first Mom Governor. I had to leave a job I loved because I couldn’t find child care. I know what that does to your family when one income is gone, or if you’re a single parent and you can’t find anyone to watch your children. So those are real struggles, but it’s something I’m fighting for every day and trying to solve for people, and there will come a time when people will have all the access to affordable child care that they need.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: That’s kind of the question with housing — and we’ll go quickly on with the interview, but — these are the things people need: To go from child care to housing, and you’ve done a couple of things. One is the $100 million investment, which is geared to people who — and I’ll talk about what my community needs, which is trying to have the American dream and be a homeowner. We see that a lot in places like Long Island where people have been struggling to be able to access that. When do you think that would be, you know, a reality for them? And then also we talk about New York City, “City of Yes”; creating more space. That’s a very robust plan — long term — but very robust. More than 80,000 new housing there. So, when do you think people in Long Island, per se, will be able to access those benefits?

Governor Hochul: Well, with respect to the assistance for first time homebuyers, I want to pass it in my Budget this year and make it available almost immediately. So, let’s get through the Budget. It usually wraps up in the spring, and then we’ll talk about how to get that money out there. So, that is so important because that is the manifestation of the dream: to have your own place to call your own. And this is where your family can grow up, and someday, your own children might live in the neighborhood.

And the problem with places like Long Island and others, is they’ve not built enough housing to meet the demand for people to want to raise their children there. And I’ve taken this on and it’s been a hard fight, but I did support the City with $1 billion to help the Mayor get the “City of Yes” done. But also, we have thousands and thousands of housing units and apartments that are not online because they need repairs done to them.

So we’re trying to make it so landlords will make those repairs and bring on more units. So what happens is you flood the zone. You bring in as much housing as you can. And then what happens? Prices start to drop. That’s what we also need to have. So people starting out in that first apartment, you can save the money to get that home. We’ll have that apartment available to them. So it’s, it’s a whole continuum of approaches to it, but no other Governor has worked harder on what is people’s largest expense, whether they’re paying rent or mortgage. And some families are paying half of their income, half of their earnings, in just their housing alone. And that doesn’t consider all the other bills they have in covering the cost of children.

So I know how important it is. My family struggled. My parents lived in a trailer park. My grandparents had a family of 10 in a tiny, little house with two bedrooms. I grew up with that experience, seeing them live like that, and I know how critical it is for people just to feel that they have that within their reach.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: Congestion price was not easy. It was — you had some criticism. First it was one price, then you came to a different, more reduced price, but still people were complaining about what they had to pay because of the economy. We are hearing from people in the Bronx and I’m not sure this is correct, because I’m sure there have to be studies, that some of the people who are driving through the zone are trying to avoid paying the toll, and they’re using their bridges or their roads, and that’s creating more congestion on their roads. Is that something that was considered when that was put in place? Are you going to be looking at it, maybe creating more studies to see if that needs to be tweaked somehow or fixed?

Governor Hochul: Right. This is a program that was passed back by my predecessor in the Legislature back in 2019. And they did study for many years the environmental impacts and also the traffic impacts. It was supposed to go into effect in June. I knew that $15 was just too much for New Yorkers, especially when inflation was so high. So I paused it. I got a lot of criticism for doing that. But I had to work hard to reduce the price, and we did by 40 percent. So I’m very much aware of the cost and what it does for families.

But there are areas of our city that are seeing less traffic. But you’re absolutely right, we need to go back to the areas that might be affected in a way that wasn’t anticipated. There is money for traffic mitigation for the Bronx, about $150 million. But also to look at the effects of, if traffic’s congregating — are there higher rates of asthma, for example. I’m very concerned about the health of our children in places like the Bronx. So, of course, this is always going under review and study.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: And another question and I have to talk about the Trump administration because we’ve had conversations with Republican legislators who have told us that there’s a possibility that the new administration might want to somehow revert the plan. Is that something that can happen?

Governor Hochul: It is already the law. It was supported by the Biden administration and all the — it has already started. So I don’t know if that will happen or not.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: Okay. So we don’t really know? If this is something that–

Governor Hochul: No.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: And to that effect, we’ve heard President Trump speak highly of you. Do you have a relationship with him? Have you talked to him about certain issues? And the reason I bring it up is because immigration is in everybody’s mind and I know that this is a sanctuary state, and it’s not new in New York, and many states have helped the federal government when it comes to immigrants. Now it’s front and stage, but it’s something that’s been done for a long time. But, of course, there is concern and fear right now among people because it’s frontal. So, are you having any connection with them right now? Are you having conversations with Tom Homan?

Governor Hochul: I have been having conversations. And what I’ve reinforced is the fact that we have always worked with ICE when it comes to removing people who have committed serious crimes. Whether they’re in their own country, they never should have been able to arrive here, or they do something while they’re here. This has happened. So we want to make sure that all of our citizens and all the residents and all the people who have come before, whether they have status or not, that they’re safe from criminals. So we have said we will work with the Trump administration, just like we did with the Biden administration.

These ICE raids are not something new. There’s just more attention on them. But this has been going on for a while. But, even though we want to support removing criminals, I want people to not live in fear. It is heartbreaking to me to know that there are children not going to school today, or not going to a doctor’s office, someone who’s ill or a senior citizen needs that appointment. They’re not going to churches. So, people’s lives are being so disrupted because of that.

And I reinforce the administration that we’ll help you with the criminal element, absolutely. But, let’s not go after these families and separate them. Let’s not have a cruel approach to this.

I mean, we can find them jobs. I said before, we have 400,000 open jobs in the State of New York. We give people work authorization. They can actually do what they came for and what we want them to do, get a job — get a job and work and take care of their family.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: So, you’re having that conversation with them?

Governor Hochul: Yes.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: And the reason why I bring it up is because we’re hearing stories like this mom, for example, she was 60-years-old and she had an order of deportation. Her mom never told her to do anything. Now she’s an adult, she has kids, and she has to be deported. So things like that. Or you know, somebody who had a DUI 20 years ago and now is a grandparent. I’m not saying that a DUI is something right to do and people need to be accountable. But urging the administration to see it case by case.

Governor Hochul: We cannot give up our compassion. We cannot be a State where people are not feeling protected and supported. That’s never been who we are as New Yorkers. And we’re proud of that. So again, it is very easy for me to separate someone who will do harm to other people and say, “You do not belong here.”

But other people should not have that hanging over their heads that they’ve been doing — especially ones who were brought here as children. I mean, think about those individuals. Or someone who may have done something when they’re 20 and now they’re 60 years old. We have to have compassion for people and understand that they’re part of our society. And we cannot reject them now.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: We’re hearing things from — I like speaking with you. I’m sorry, I know we’re running out of time — but we’re hearing things from teachers. I have a very good relationship with teachers from high schools. And they tell me, “Look, we have gang members here.” You know, like from MS-13. And that’s going to happen in Long Island. They’re going to want to come in. Because some of the police are not going to let them in, so they’re going to have to come in. And that’s the reality.

Governor Hochul: The gangs have to go. I mean, there’s a gang — a dangerous gang from Venezuela — which is showing up here and causing crimes and wreaking havoc. And we have to just round them up and send them back. That’s not legal activity here. And that is exactly what the administration has been doing.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: But I’m also talking about — sorry to interrupt, Governor — the gangs that are in schools who might be like MS-13.

Governor Hochul: No, no. MS-13 has been here for a long time. I mean, they murdered a 13-year-old girl on Long Island years ago. I met her parents. So, no, they have been here. And they have to be removed. We cannot have gang members operating freely in our schools, whether they’re from a gang, from another country, or they’re a street gang here. We have to protect our children and our teachers in a school environment. That’s a basic necessity.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: I won’t talk about immigration anymore because I don’t have time. I have two more questions, but I want to shift to subway safety. And I think it’s important because the subway is related to the economy, too. There was a very big fear — I think we’re better now. But there was a moment where the perception of fear was scary.

Because one thing is, “Oh, we’re okay, the crime has gone down.” You know, Mayor Adams kept saying that. Another thing is people having the perception of being afraid and not going, and that’s hard to break. But now I think it’s better than perception. However we are hearing from people that six months patrolling at night might just not be enough.

So, then there’s the mental health initiatives that might not be hitting on time. So the question is, do you think it’s being done enough?

Governor Hochul: I’m very impatient when it comes to protecting our subways, and that’s why I took dramatic steps where I have actually used State support, State money, to hire more police officers, to put them on overtime so we can have those patrols all night long. People coming in for their jobs, whether they’re health care workers, they work the night shift, they work at a hotel or a restaurant. I mean, it is scary to be on a train when there’s not a lot of other people, and you feel so vulnerable. That’s why every single train will have two police officers — not one, but two — patrolling during the nighttime hours. We said six months just so we could manage the Budget. I’m willing to look at the numbers, but I do believe that the crimes are going down.

But as long as there’s still that really frightening story that you hear where someone’s pushed onto the subway track and, or, you know, assaulted. These are horrible crimes. They do create fear. So, I can tell you the statistics. I just had a briefing with the — I guess it was at the breakfast hosted by the new Commissioner of Police — and she gave statistics that are really, really inspiring to know that our police are working so hard to protect our community. And there’s always going to be those cases that grab the attention of the public and are just creating fear. And that’s something that is unfortunate because it’s not the entire story, but how people feel is what matters to me.

And I want to help break through that. So, we’re going to keep funding this. Every single train car, at my insistence, now has a camera in it. If someone’s committing a crime, they will be caught. And people know that as well. And also, the Commissioner of Police announced a whole initiative dealing with the quality of life crimes.

And saying that people with mental health issues need to be removed, we support that. We’re trying to change State law in this Budget that says that if someone who’s not able to take care of themselves does harm to others — they cannot live on the subway. The subways are not rolling homeless shelters. We need to get people into supportive care, housing or hospitalizations. So, we have to do more, but there is progress being made.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: So this could be perpetual if needed. I have one more question. I have 30 seconds, so one more question. And it’s a quick one. I just have to ask it. The possibility of Mayor Adams being pardoned by President Trump — what do you think?

Governor Hochul: I don’t know that that’s going to happen. We’re also hearing about charges being dropped. Two different things could happen: You get pardoned and you’re forgiven for crimes — which is what a pardon does — or if the charges are dropped. That’s a whole different dynamic. It’s still evolving right now, we really don’t know what the outcome is like.

Mariela Salgado, Univision 41: Thank you very much, Governor.

Governor Hochul: Wonderful. Thank you.

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