Governor Hochul: “One year ago we announced the most far reaching expansive housing deal in over half a century, because we believe that we have to do more to build. And also this Budget has over $1.5 billion in new State funding for housing.”
Hochul: “And today is a celebration of getting one step closer to my goal to have New York be a place where anyone can live and thrive… affordability means that a family of three making less than $80,000 can afford a safe, beautiful space to live.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was joined by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia in the Bronx to announce a $55 million Empire State Development (ESD) investment to advance Fordham Landing South, a transformative, 100 percent affordable housing project planned along the Harlem River. The State funds will support essential site infrastructure, including site acquisition, planning and design, infrastructure construction, and other costs, to unlock a mixed-use, transit-oriented development that will bring new affordable homes, jobs, and public space to the Bronx waterfront.
VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).
AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.
PHOTOS: The Governor’s Flickr page will post photos of the event here.
A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:
This is certainly the place to be right here, right now. First of all, I want to acknowledge the presence of our Congressman, Adriano Espaillat. He said he'd rather be in Washington, but Republicans don't want to get back to work, so that's just an observation. Our great Speaker of the New York State Assembly Carl Heastie has joined us. Our Borough President Vanessa Gibson is here. Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia is here. Landon Dais is here as well, our Assemblymember. Council Member Pierina Sanchez, I think they're all here. You guys here? Alright, okay we’ve got everybody. And Gary Segal, the Co-Founder and CEO of Dynamic Star. And all of our colleagues in labor. The men and women who are building this project. Local three IBEW, Local 79 carpenters positive workforce. Let's give them a double round of applause.
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I knew they'd make some noise, that's what they do right? First of all, when I first became Governor four years ago, for everybody keeping track, I decided that the state — we know it's beautiful, we know it's magnificent. But it was just too unaffordable for many, especially with that dream of having your own safe place, a beautiful home to raise your family and to live out your years.
And today is a celebration of getting one step closer to my goal to have New York be a place where anyone can live and thrive. This Fordham Landing South – get this: 900 — one hundred percent affordable units on a beautiful Bronx waterfront. Now calling it beautiful today so you might say, “are her glasses working, is she able to see?” But I am a visionary, I know what the capabilities are of the people here who come together to make this dream become a reality. And we've seen other examples in our country. There's a place called The Wharf in Washington, D.C. My family goes down there all the time. People live down there, they work down there, they recreate down there. This is what we're building here, something that you'd be so proud of.
And I'm telling you right now, get your place soon because this is going to be hot property – everybody's going to want to live here. So I also want to say we know how hard it is. The rents are too damn high. Mortgages, if you're fortunate to have a home, just seem like they're just so high with interest rates especially here in the Bronx.
And we had a lot of disinvestment for a long time and people gave up on the Bronx and we're here to say you are wrong, you should have been investing all along — because the people here never gave up belief in themselves and their community. And our elected leaders also are a testament to that. So I knew we needed something bold and ambitious and I worked with Carl Heastie and Andrea Stewart-Cousins and we announced a $25 billion investment in building over 100,000 affordable homes in five years.
One year ago, we announced the most far reaching expansive housing deal in over half a century, because we believe that we have to do more to build. And also this Budget has over $1.5 billion in new State funding for housing. Including helping with the infrastructure, because you can go buy a parking lot for a long time and not see the capabilities, but we start investing in the infrastructure. Bring in the water, and the sewers, then the businesses and the projects and the housing can follow.
So I want to thank everyone because today the Bronx stands at the cusp of a new future. And to be able to come down here just in a few short years and to remember this day that you are here sitting on gravel, with an ugly fence blocking the view of the water — you're going to say, “you know what, we've come a long way, baby.”
And we're going to continue. The Office of Housing and Community Renewal has over $640 million and 9,200 Affordable homes where? Not in New York City, just in the Bronx alone, that is going as we speak. $640 million building homes here in the Bronx. Bedford Green, $72 million, 116 affordable units. Garden Towers supportive housing with another 150 units.
So we're going to keep at it, this is a $55 million award. And I want to thank again, this woman, for being such a great champion for this. And Carl Heastie for making sure we got it in the budget. They got it done, they got it done.
So when all said and done, get this, 350,000 square feet of mixed use development created where, as I said, 900 new homes. And it's also going to have spaces for community services and businesses, grocery stores, medical offices, community centers, and a new school. Accessible recreation space along the Harlem River and a new entrance to University Heights Metro-North Station to create that connection to the jobs and where you want to go.
So this is what smart, transit-oriented development looks like, right? You bring people to a place and then you have the transportation to get them to their other locations. And so this is how we're going to keep redesigning this. And as I mentioned affordability means that a family of three making less than $80,000 can afford a safe, beautiful space to live.
And focusing on transit hubs like the University Heights Station and other Metro-North stations means we're making smart decisions. Also having access to this transportation means we reduce traffic congestion. The more people can take accessible public transportation, they'll be able to get around a lot easier.
But I want to say something else. Two weeks from today everybody's going to vote. Not telling you how to vote, just vote — but there's one thing I want to mention. There are ballot initiatives, and I want you to pay attention closely. And if New Yorkers want to see more affordable, more community focused housing projects like Fordham Landing, you have an opportunity to vote on November 4.
Propositions two through five on this year's ballot would unlock more affordable housing across the five boroughs and build on the work from the ‘City of Yes.’ I want to see that happen, I believe in this. We have to start breaking down the barriers that for too long have suppressed the ability to build magnificent projects in places like the Bronx. I am sick and tired of two letters, NO. So many projects have great ideas of vision behind them, even the resources but the answer has been no for far too long. And because of that, we have an enormous shortage of housing.
Your kids can't grow up in a neighborhood and count on raising their kids near grandma and grandpa who are very good babysitters I might add. But we're not allowing that to happen. We're not letting communities to generationally grow together because the answer for too long has been ‘no.’ This ‘City of Yes’ initiative and these propositions on the ballot, propositions two through five are important again to unlock the future of the Bronx.
So I'm always going to be here for you. I love this community. It's tight knit, it's strong, it's resilient. It's got a little bit of a swagger too, home of hip hop, and I love that. So you can count on me always coming back, and I will continue bringing the resources you need to fulfill all your dreams.
With that, let me introduce Carl Heastie, a great friend of mine – a partner in state government and who loves the Bronx probably almost as much as he loves me. Okay, I exaggerate.