Governor Hochul: “When you're driving, particularly in the dark, there's a vulnerability to power lines coming down or icy roads. And again, that really complicates things, whether it's the snow area, which will probably be Albany and North, but also the Hudson Valley and South are going to see a lot of rain… We are treating this very seriously, asking New Yorkers to be prepared for a very difficult commute in the morning and a return commute in the evening. And if they can take alternative forms of transportation or even work remotely, it might be a better day for that.”
Hochul: “We want to welcome the tens of thousands, if not millions of people coming to New York. We've been ready for this. We've literally been preparing for a two-year period now to make sure we can handle the traffic and that people are safe and they're wearing their glasses…We’ll start seeing changes in the sky starting about an hour or so earlier and an hour afterwards. So, people are going to be excited about it. There'll be a lot of people heading all over New York.”
Earlier today, Governor Hochul was a guest on Spectrum News to update New Yorkers on extreme weather and the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th.
AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
JoDee Kenney, Spectrum: Joining us now to talk more about the incoming weather is Governor Kathy Hochul. Governor, thank you so much for joining us today.
Governor Hochul: Well, thank you very much. I didn't expect to be talking about winter like storms here in April, but it's a time for madness. We just had March Madness with the women's basketball tournaments leaving Albany, and now we're expecting some weather madness to start showing up.
We're expecting a very complicated weather system that's going to bring heavy rain and snow starting tonight all the way through Thursday. So, we just want to get some precautions out to New Yorkers who may have moved on. But unfortunately, Mother Nature has not.
JoDee Kenney, Spectrum: Right. We're not typically preparing for snow in April, but can you tell us a little bit about what the state is doing to prepare for the storm, because I know you're ready and your message to New Yorkers.
Governor Hochul: Most certainly. And again, that's the problem. People get a little bit complacent. They're not expecting to see heavy winds. We're possibly seeing upwards of gusts of 60 miles an hour downstate, 40 to 50 upstate. And what that means is that when you're driving, particularly in the dark, there's a vulnerability to power lines coming down or icy roads.
And again, that really complicates things, whether it's the snow area, which will probably be Albany and North, but also the Hudson Valley and South are going to see a lot of rain. And so, people have to watch out for driving into areas where the water has been pooling, because there's a lot of danger involved with that.
And to get ready for it, I just had another briefing with my team, we have over 1,800 plows ready to shovel the snow, 7,200 utility workers are on high alert, that's more than 2,000 more than normal, and even our MTA bridges and tunnels have a soft ban on empty tractor trailers tomorrow until tomorrow night.
We are treating this very seriously, asking New Yorkers to be prepared for a very difficult commute in the morning and a return commute in the evening. And if they can take alternative forms of transportation or even work remotely, it might be a better day for that.
JoDee Kenney, Spectrum: Now, just two weeks ago, we were hit with a storm and thousands of people lost power. Is that a concern for this storm?
Governor Hochul: Very much so. Again, these spring weather events are very complicated. They're harder to track. That's why I think the Albany region, the Capital Region, was caught off guard two weeks ago because that storm was expected to settle closer to Lake George and the Adirondacks.
And in fact, it settled around, a larger population area, bringing down power lines. So, this is going to be a statewide event, but really more concentrate on Eastern New York, but always it can shift. And that's what we're concerned about is. We'll be prepared for anything statewide. And power lines coming down is always a danger, especially in conditions like this.
JoDee Kenney, Spectrum: Right after this storm, we're all hoping for clear skies with the eclipse coming. Do you have any messages for people who may be traveling this weekend for that event?
Governor Hochul: It should start clearing up Thursday. The event is going to be on Monday, so if they avoid travel Thursday, Friday, it should be clear.
But I will say this, usually this time of year, the skies are covered with clouds. We don't expect to see a clear view of the sun on Monday ordinarily. But there is a possibility that after this particular storm, we could be possibly in store for a sunnier day, a little more opportunity for people to have a clearer view of what is going to be an extraordinary event.
We want to welcome the tens of thousands, if not millions of people coming to New York. We've been ready for this. We've literally been preparing for a two-year period now to make sure we can handle the traffic and that people are safe and they're wearing their glasses. And this is going to go on over a two-hour period, not just the three and a half minutes that we're all talking about.
We’ll start seeing changes in the sky starting about an hour or so earlier and an hour afterwards. So, people are going to be excited about it. There'll be a lot of people heading all over New York, Northern New York, Western New York. And we just want people to be safe, and really create some incredible memories for themselves and their families.
So, in a strange way, there is a possibility that this weather event we have to deal with, with the rain and snow depending on where you live, could result in a better viewing experience for New Yorkers on Monday.
JoDee Kenney, Spectrum: That's a good thing, and I know a big concern with all upstate leaders is travel. They want people to travel early and travel late after the eclipse, so it gives people time to travel without those big congestions that we're worried about, right?
Governor Hochul: That's exactly right and we're not overreacting, and I'll tell you why – last time there was a major event like this out west, there were traffic jams that extended over 10 hours where people were really trapped in their vehicles. So, we know the worst-case scenarios, we're preparing for that.
But we also anticipate that if people are listening to us early, they plan accordingly and try not to travel too far in advance or right after the actual event, the roads should be more manageable. But again, our teams are fully deployed. We have literally a solar eclipse czar who has been working around the clock on this.
We have our State Police, our DOT, our Parks Commission. We have everybody. It's a real whole of government approach to making sure that this is a memorable experience for our visitors and our residents.
JoDee Kenney, Spectrum: And Governor, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about the budget. I know you're tracking the storm right now, but a budget agreement is in the works with an extender through Thursday. We just heard Speaker Carl Heastie say that the train is not moving as fast as he would like when it comes to negotiations. Can you tell us from your perspective what's holding up the budget right now? How you're feeling about it?
Governor Hochul: We certainly did lose some time because of the Easter holiday, and people had time to observe this very special event with their families. And now we're back on track, and we're making progress on a large number of initiatives. We have to deal with spending for health care and education, and I have a public safety package that focuses on retail theft and making sure that our cannabis shops can be supported, that the illegal ones are shut down.
So, we have a whole series of priorities focusing on what can be done on housing this year. So, I'm excited about the opportunity to be wrapping this up, fairly soon. But again, it's more important as we meet around the clock with our officials to make sure that government does not shut down.
And more importantly than on time, is to get it right. And long term we want to make sure that we're meeting the needs of New Yorkers and so we're focused on moving quickly but making sure that it's a budget that we can all be proud of.
JoDee Kenney, Spectrum: New York Governor Kathy Hochul, thank you so much for taking time to talk with us today.
Governor Hochul: Alright, thank you. Bye-bye.