Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Ahead of Tenth Anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, Governor Hochul Announces New Office of Resilient Homes and Communities to Protect New Yorkers from Climate Change

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul marked the 10-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy by announcing the creation of the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities, a new office to lead New York's housing recovery and community resiliency efforts. The new Office of Resilient Homes and Communities will build on the work of the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery, which was created in 2013 to manage the State's long-term recovery from Superstorm Sandy and oversee the expenditure of $4.5 billion of federal disaster recovery funds provided by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013. As a permanent office within Homes and Community Renewal, the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities will assume Governor's Office of Storm Recovery's portfolio and partner with the State's disaster-response agencies to lead the long-term recovery for homes and communities and develop a pipeline of resiliency initiatives and strategies across the State.

Well, it's great to be back in the Far Rockaways. I've been here many times, especially when our Borough President was just a council member, and we learned how to be very good preachers on Sundays. So, we've been out to this community many - although, I suspect Reverend Mullings would question that assessment. So, I'm delighted to be in this church as well, a place of gathering, and we'll be talking about what this place has meant to all of us over this last decade. And I do want to give a special shout-out to our current Borough President, who's been a friend of mine for a very, very long time, and we've been at diners, we've walked the streets, we've really worked together to lift the people of this community up. So, let's give a round of applause to our Borough President, Donovan Richards.

And our District Attorney, Melinda Katz, has one of the toughest jobs. I think you probably thought borough president was tough, and the challenges that you face every day, we spent a lot of time together when you were borough president. Frequently you'd say, "Are you sure you're not running against me for borough president? You're spending so much time here in Queens." But no, you have served so honorably in a tough, tough situation. So, let's give another round of applause to our District Attorney, Melinda Katz.

I need great partners in Albany and in your Assemblymember, Khaleel Anderson, I want to thank him for being such a powerful voice for the people you represent, and for all the work that you continue to do. Which side are you on? Where? Well, he was just with me a few minutes ago, so I'm sure he'll be joining his moment too. We just took a walk and met some of the downtown businesses, so we'll see him. And Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers. Has she made it here yet? Okay. Literally, left them on the street. I guess we went a little faster than they did. And of course, we'll be hearing from Reverend Dr. Leslie Mullings, and I know the First Lady's here as well, so let's give them a round of applause.

I also have the dream team. I said when I became Governor a little over a year ago, I'm going to assemble the best and the brightest. And I've found that in our Commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Jackie Bray, who's been through a lot with me our first week on the job together dealing with Hurricane Ida and storms during the winter time and ice storms and power outages, and all the things that come onto the jurisdiction of being Head of Emergency Services. Let's give round applause to Commissioner Jackie Bray.

The GOSR Executive Director, Katie Brennan. You know a lot about this organization, Katie, and I want to thank you for all the work you've done tirelessly over many years to be part of building back a community that was just so battered by an unexpected storm, and I thank you for all the work you're doing and will continue to do.

Also, our Commissioner of Environmental Conservation. I want to thank Basil Seggos for all the work he has done and will continue to do to build up the resiliency of our shoreline, and everything we can do to make sure that we are prepared for Mother Nature and all that she brings to us.

So, we're here to talk about something. The word, "Resiliency." It's the resiliency of a coastline, it's the resiliency of our electric grid, it's the resiliency of buildings, but also, more importantly, it's about the resiliency of the human spirit. And that's what we saw on display and that's why I took a little bit of extra time to walk the streets and talk to business owners and to ask them how they've dealt with that incredible experience of having to be the face of a community. The barbershops, the little diners and coffee shops, they were the gathering place at a time when people didn't even have power. You walked into those stops and you could find out how to get your cell phone charged. They were there when the community needed them. All these years were still there, and as someone who helped start a couple of small, little businesses and little bit beaten down downtowns where I come from, make sure we continue to support them. They are our lifeblood. They were there when we needed them most. So, whatever you can do to support our local businesses and also, you know, be there for them.

But let's not forget the fact that Hurricane Sandy meant that there were 60 families that lost a loved one. 10 years later, you wonder what that daughter, that husband, that spouse, son would've looked like, what they would've done. You never forget, you never forget the loss of a loved one ever, especially under circumstances that were so wildly unpredictable. So, they live on in our hearts and our memories, and we can never forget as we come together on this 10th anniversary to talk about what happened and where we'd gone from there, there were real people's lives that were lost. And that is something we'll continue to talk about as we go forward. And also, the bravery of the first responders and firefighters, and they put themselves on the line even when perhaps their own homes were on fire. I mean, remember the images, it was just so horrific. And they still didn't stay to protect their own home. They went out to protect others, and that is selflessness like we've never seen before. And I want to honor all of them as well, especially in Breezy Point, which was, you know, the horrific fires there still seared in our minds. And their courage will never be forgotten. And this devastation of our state will never be forgotten.

But what do you do with that? You know, people lost everything. They lost loved ones, they lost friends, they lost homes, they lost family heirlooms. I mean, the baby pictures, the wedding pictures, and the damage is over $60 billion. An estimate of $600 million in property loss destroyed over 300,000 housing - 300,000 housing units. Can you imagine that just being gone almost instantaneously? I mean, we have a real housing crisis now. What would it be if we'd never lost 300,000 all in one wealth swoop? It's extraordinary how we're still paying the price of that storm. 2 million utility companies lost their power - or their customers lost their power. Thousands of roads closed, shuttered. Mother Nature is absolutely fierce and unsparing. And I remember I was a member of Congress, working with your representatives from here at the time, and I thought it was the time when our country would stand up just like we did after storms ravaged New Orleans, Katrina. But at the time I was so, I would say disgusted with the fact our Congress wouldn't even give the money to help this community come back unless there was money found elsewhere in the budget.

So, I want you to know that I was working to bring money here, even though I didn't even represent this area because I knew how important it was. And to overcome that frustration, that sense that the other party couldn't even step up and help a community that was so desperate for help. So, that is also a reflection that is still with me today. But Mother Nature, we saw the impact. We also saw what people have done, and that's why we're in this church today. We saw how God's people rose up all over this community to embrace each other and to take care of them and let them know they're going to be okay at a very real human level. That's why we're in this church. Doctor - Reverend Dr. Leslie Mullings, I want to thank you on behalf of a grateful community a decade later, a decade later.

A decade ago, you weren't hosting a gathering like this. You were literally hosting the state's FEMA Operations Center. This was the place. This was the place, and you and your congregation emptied the church, got rid of all the seats and the lecterns, and everything you invited FEMA in. It was the only building in the community with the lights on at the time, and one person from Virginia drove up a generator. That's why you were able to power this area. Somebody in Virginia made sure that this place could be a sanctuary to let people know that there is a place where the lights are on, and if it became a beacon of light for this community, in the sense of every word. And for a long time, you help feed over 3,500 people a day. 3,500 people a day, that's extraordinary. You distributed clothes and food and 70,000 cases of water, helped us get out and raised almost $7 million in relief funds. You helped raise that. And this community rose up. This community rose up so powerfully. A beautiful model to others of what you do when you're knocked down, you're knocked down hard. You rise up, you embrace hope, and you look out for each other.