Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams Announce Groundbreaking on $189 Million Affordable and Supportive Housing Development in the Bronx

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the groundbreaking on a $189 million affordable housing development in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx. Starhill Phase I will feature 326 affordable apartments, including 200 homes with supportive services for individuals experiencing homelessness.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the event is available here.

PHOTOS of the event will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.

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

Good morning. A beautiful day in the Bronx, is it not? This is spectacular. It almost rivals the beach weather we had on Sunday with the Borough President when she tried to give me a couple salsa lessons. But that didn't go so well. I'm still a beginner, but it is just a reminder of how uniquely spectacular this community is.

And I'm really proud to talk about this project, but first I want to acknowledge the leadership we have representing this area because they're making a true difference every single day. I'll be introducing the Mayor in a minute, but I'll get to you, Mayor.

Vanessa Gibson, you took over in a tremendously challenging time. You were literally on the job just a couple of weeks last January. When I saw you in the aftermath of a horrific fire that destroyed the lives of our residents, our citizens, our brothers and sisters, you were there with such heart and compassion. And I know that your new constituents respond to you and theyso appreciate the way you govern. And I thank you for being an amazing partner to myself and the people of the State of New York as well. Let's give it up for Vanessa Gibson.

So, I remember Latoya Joyner. I think this is my third day in a row with you as well. She is everywhere. She was up in the North Country and her responsibility is Chair of the Labor Community, speaking to labor. I saw you in the Bronx and I don't even where I saw you yesterday. I saw you all over the place yesterday. So, our disabilities - it was the 32nd anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act. So, you are everywhere. You're trying to rival the Governor for travel, but that's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a great state.

And also, to have RuthAnne Visnauskas, when I see here an event, I know that HCR is backing it, that we are transforming people's lives. Eight years as Lieutenant Governor, I think I saw you more than I saw my husband during that time because you were out there at so many events all over the state, bringing people the dignity of a home over their heads.

And so, I also want to thank Dr. Petit. This took vision to look at a building that was literally crumbling before our eyes and say, "This can be reborn." And yes, you did shoot for the stars. And I know that in a couple years when this is complete and people are welcomed home to this site, it'll because of people like you and everyone at your organization who've done such a spectacular job.

And Samantha, I'm going to get it right - Magistro? Okay because I know how it is, your name gets screwed up. It happens to me a lot. The Chief Executive Officer of Bronx Pro, thank you for making this happen, and everybody. It does take a large community to pull off a project like this.

And I look forward to seeing the evolution of this, but I do talk about the Bronx a lot. Why do I do that? Because I'm from Buffalo. And what is the connection? Well, when I speak to my friends in the Bronx, I've gotten it over the last decade, there's sort of a simpatico feeling because both of our communities have been, I'm going to say, underestimated, sometimes disrespected, not given the credit we're due for the uniqueness and the vitality of it.

So, as I've come to the Bronx countless times, probably hundreds of time, I really do want to help lift this community up and remind people that you have something so unique here. You have beautiful attractions, you have waterfronts, you have world class botanical gardens - I've gotten lost in that. The zoo is amazing, your educational institutions, but most importantly, the people who never gave up on this community. You fought back through some tough times. Whether it was reputationally, some tough movies that kind of defined this area for a long time. And we all knew that that was not the Bronx we know and love. And people who live in the Bronx have that sense of little bit of a chip on your shoulder, you have something to prove and my God, you are proving it because people wanna live in the Bronx. This is the hot property of this city.

And I'm so excited that we're here to do something to address a challenging problem that is everywhere. But affordability, the cost of housing is a barrier for so many people to be able to offer their own children a better outlook in life. So, we are here today to address that crisis and something that I believe strongly in as an individual who has put a lot of money behind this because is not going to happen without real investment from government. This won't happen on its own.

And that's why I'm working so hard every single day to make sure that the $25 billion. 25 with a "B" billion dollars we're putting toward 100,000 affordable housing projects like that happen right here in the Bronx. So, that's exactly what we're doing here today. We are doing many affordable housing projects. We are just in Co-op City a couple months ago - $621 million, that's going to be reinvested into preserving affordable home ownership. We are also going to focus on the other projects. It was literally just a couple days ago when I was announcing that we have new projects here, more affordable housing.

And also, I just want to mention, we were just here literally a week ago to announce another 174 units coming here soon. So, that's what I'm focused on. And I want to let people know that right now, 60 percent of Bronx households are rent burdened. What does that mean? They spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. Well, just earlier this week, I was talking about how people are spending 30 to 40 percent of their income on childcare. So add that up. You're someone trying to pay for rent and you got a couple of kids who need childcare because you need to have a job to pay for this. It doesn't add up. It does not add up. And people are so overburdened today with the high cost of living, everything going up and up and up. So, what we can do as real partners is to provide the facilities, the location, support people, but also just say you in the private sector, we're going to do this with you. And that's what I'm really excited about with this project.

So, here's what we're talking about. Over 326 new affordable apartments right here in Morris Heights. 326. This is phase one. It's going to help address our chronic shortage of high quality homes, but also very important to me, over 200 of these are going to be for people who've been homeless, who experienced some of life's challenges, whether it's substance abuse or mental health challenges. They'll be able to get to supportive services, not by trying to travel across town and go see somebody who might be able to help them someday, maybe in between their jobs, but right here on site. That to me is transformative. That's how we help people who - just life's a little bit too hard for them sometimes and they need helping. That's what we do with projects like this. Just lift them up. And that's why this is going to be so successful.

And, as Dr. Petit mentioned, the site of this really speaks to what has happened here throughout the history of this site, taking care of people in need, whether they were the cancer patients, whether they're people who needed additional services up until the last couple years, and now to be reimagined as a beautiful site that is going to be a home. Walking spaces and places to exercise and get their lives feeling so vibrant again.

We also last week announced a construction at 1761 Walton on Mount Hope. That's a $55 million project with 103 units. We have invested over $1.6 billion over the last time, $1.6 billion and over 16,000 units and I'll say we're just getting warmed up. We're nowhere need near done. We have a lot to do, but this is an important start to make sure that hardworking New Yorkers can stay in their homes.

I'll also say that our budget, and thank you for recognizing our historic investments in human services, in people, investments in people, we also put 800 million toward the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. What is that? It helps people from losing their homes because they could not make the rent payments. We also have subsidies for people to help with their fair housing testing and education, legal assistance for people who are on the verge of being evicted. So, we have a holistic approach, all of it geared toward one purpose: giving people the dignity of a beautiful home and allowing them to stay there.

So, we're going to continue working together. I'm very excited to be here today, joined by another individual, a partner in government who shares the same values that I do. That people deserve to live in a clean, safe, healthy environment. That is a basic human right of everyone, but particularly here in New York, where, in my State of the State, we spoke about - people came here. People come from all over to enjoy and understand the promise behind the American dream. We offer people in this state, the New York dream. This is part of making that dream come true.