Governor Hochul: “I'm really, really proud and pleased to announce that Lake George, the Village and Town pulled together, and this is what I love to see, a coordinated effort, will receive a $10 million DRI grant, so congratulations… I want this community to start seeing the fruits of all your labor. So, we'll be able to jumpstart a whole new era.”
Hochul: “The vision you presented for your villages and towns means there's no stopping us. This is the day it all begins when people look back and say, “What was the turning point?” You're going to remember this day and that you were here to witness this. And I was here to thank all of you loving your communities as much as I love this state. We're doing something magical here today. Let's go forth and let people say why we know this is the greatest place to live anywhere in the world. So, let's reimagine our communities, let's get started, and let's get those shovels in the ground.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that Lake George will receive $10 million in funding as the Capital Region winner of the seventh round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. For Round 7, each of the state's 10 economic development regions are being awarded $10 million, to make for a total state commitment of $100 million in funding and investments to help communities boost their economies by transforming downtowns into vibrant neighborhoods. With the Governor’s commitment this year of $100 million each for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward, the State has now invested a combined total of $1 billion in both programs since their inception.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the Governor's remarks 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. Good morning. And thank you, Mr. Secretary, started the day probably in one of the five boroughs, if I had to guess, and journeyed up here. And just like I do, as you start heading further north, you get this sense of calm and peace and fresh air and a place, a quality of life that is extraordinary.
So, we're so happy to gather here this morning and when I think about this beautiful lake, the name Lake George makes everybody think everything is about the lake itself. Right? And maybe you sometimes overlook the fact that yes, this is one of the cleanest, clearest bodies of water on this planet. That's not me saying it, that's experts who test this. It's an extraordinary asset that we have here.
But never forget around it, our dotted little communities that have such a sense of personality and charm and vibrancy. And that's what today is all about. I love being on the water. Anytime I can be on a boat, I've been on the steamboats. I wasn't back as far as when Thomas Jefferson was around and when the steamboat company started as the mayor now reflecting. So, there is a long history here of these boats. I've swam in this lake, I've recreated here, and to me this is just one of the most gorgeous places anywhere.
But also, there's so many visitors who need to explore what we have in our communities, in our downtowns. And as a local government official for 14 years, and I know some people get confused with, the Village of Lake George and the Town of Lake George. I'm from the Village of Hamburg and served on the town board for the Town of Hamburg, so it's not that complicated for me.
But that 14 years in local government, you're really connected to the people. I mean, this is where your neighbors know you, they know where to find you. They'll talk to you when you're grocery shopping about how the snow plow knocked over their mailbox and what are you going to do about it? So, I'm steeled in the knowledge of how important local government is to the communities who live in them.
And so also, you are the keepers of the stories. You're also the ones who while you have it – the opportunity to serve. And maybe it's going to be another 53 years for Mayor Perry to break a record. I don't know, but also think about just while we're here, our elected officials have a chance to stand up and do something special. And that's what today is about. Elected leaders who understood the possibilities. And communities who believe in themselves with such passion. That they're willing to put in the hard work. And bring people together. And find a common vision. That'll define our communities for a long time to come.
And I did this in my town. We didn't have the opportunity to apply for $10 million. I would have died and went to heaven if someone had offered me the opportunity to have $10 million. But that was a different era. But I know that that infusion of money, all at once, is transformative because you can apply for grants over a 10, 15-year period like I did. But there's never that wow factor all at once. When it all comes together, everything worked on simultaneously. So, in 2, 3, 4-years, people wake up and say, “Wow, it has been transformed, and in my lifetime.” That's the power of what we're talking about here today.
Plus, a region that is so steeped in history. My gosh, the stories here, the people who came before, the mark they left on our nation, it's just something really, really special. And I know you know that. But it's also about keeping the locals here engaged, year-round. It's not just about visitors, it's about the people who planted the flag here and says, “I want to live in this part of the Capital Region because I understand how amazing this is.” So, you'll have amphitheaters, and they host countless gatherings in the parks, and the bike paths. I love riding bikes, and the hotels we have here and look at this place we're in right now. I mean, I've watched this unfold, the renovation, and this exceeded all of my expectations.
The restaurants, I always come here for pancakes. They Adirondacks, the little place still open, have pancakes? They weren't open today, I checked. Might want to let the owner know the Governor is looking for a pancake, I'll always come back, right? I'll always come back.
And I think about the small little shops. My mother had this vision in our little Village of Hamburg that she wanted to start a flower shop. Now mom knew nothing about business, nor small business, nor flowers. But she didn't like the flowers that were done for my brother's wedding by someone else. So, she says, “I'm starting my own business.” And truthfully, she never expected to make money, and she didn't. But she wanted to hire other women in the community, who many of whom had been displaced homemakers, they called them. People who found themselves without someone supporting them.
And so, I helped my mom with that little business. You always sat there on a Sunday when I was in charge, and you hoped that little bell rings when someone opens the door, and sometimes hours would go by, and it didn't ring. So, I know what it's like to be a small business owner, and how hard it can be, and how you're whole life sometimes come down to what's the weather doing and was there fog? And it stopped people from coming, and so, I get it. So, we can invest in our downtown then help our small businesses because they're the ones that give the defining character to our downtowns. Otherwise, it would all just be national chains and you couldn't tell one from another. That's why helping our small businesses really, really matters.
And so, I want to thank the people who believe in these communities with such heart and soul that they've helped us come here today. And I want to thank Daniel Carpenter, the Mayor of Schuylerville, the Village of Schuylerville. Let's have him stand up and give a wave here, Mayor Schuylerville. Robert Allen, the Mayor of Hoosick Falls, and we'll talk about why they're here as well. They're Ray Perry, the Mayor of the Village of Lake George. Dennis Dickinson, our Supervisor of the Town of Lake George. Vinnie Crocitto, the Deputy Supervisor of the Town of Lake George. Vinnie, thank you. Kevin Geraghty, the Chair of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, has joined us.
I have my partners in state government because the Governor just doesn't say, “Let's make this program happen.” I also need partners in the Assembly and the legislature, and I want to thank Assemblymember Carrie Woerner who's been at my side for many, many years working on these projects. Carrie, thank you. And Dan Stec, our Senator who moved up from the Assembly, and thank you for all you do.
And I never can come to this part of the state without saying two words, Betty Little. She was an extraordinary leader. I understand she's – is she in Hawaii or someplace? She's somewhere else, but I know she's back and she's done a great job for us on ORDA, helping us with the Olympics.
And so, we have incredible leaders and also Scott Bendett is here. Scott, thank you for joining us here, our Assemblymember from the 107th district. So, thank you, Scott.
And all my partners in local government and economic development teams. We have our governments, but we're not the ones who really put the pen to paper and search for all the applications. So, to all the teams that work so closely, the government employees who care enough to put in the extra hours and the extra weekends and the extra nights of making this happen. And so, I'll tell you, I get to do a lot as Governor. This is one of the most impactful things that I can do, and for me, one of the most personally satisfying is to make these announcements.
And so, I won't keep you waiting much longer, but I knew know that the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the New York Forward and what's the New York Forward? We had this program where communities could compete to win $10 million all at once, 10 regions, 10 communities every single year and now our seventh year. So, this is 70 communities that have been transformed. So, it's amazing, but also some of the smaller villages would come up to me and say you know what we'd like to participate, but we're a little smaller. We're not sure we could spend $10 million, and you know, sometimes it's just a little intersection and a couple side streets, and I said, “No, no. You matter as well.” So, I instituted a program called New York Forward where you can win $4.5 million dollars, which given the scale of some communities, that's a lot of money. So, it's like winning – well, for me, it's winning the Super Bowl, which I'm not real familiar with. This could be the year, this could be the year, or the Academy Awards, right? I mean, there's all this energy and excitement, but I love what we're doing here.
And I'm really, really proud and pleased to announce that Lake George, the Village and Town pulled together, and this is what I love to see, a coordinated effort will receive a $10 million DRI grant, so congratulations. And when I read the application, it is steeped in ambition. That is what's so powerful about it. It imagines all the possibilities. And we don't go over the specifics because I think you applied for about 15 things. So, we have to narrow it down a little bit, perhaps, so I can't say what they all are, but you can all read what's been applied for. Then we come back another time, within the next year, six months, or a year, and tell you what's been actually funded. But then we want to get the shovels in the ground. I'm very impatient. I want this community to start seeing the fruits of all your labor. So, we'll be able to jumpstart a whole new era.
And again, Mayor Perry and Supervisor Dickinson, your vision is extraordinary, and I thank you for that. And again, to come together, two governments, and some communities compete with each other to have one unified voice. I think is deserves a lot of recognition because it doesn't always happen, and I thank you for that.
But we could have new hubs, we could have farmer's markets, an ice rink in the wintertime, just need a little bit of ice. And I know it's been hard with the ice castles and everything. I tried to come up a few times and we're just kind of still waiting for Mother Nature to cooperate.
But luckily, you're a year-round community. And there are some communities that if it doesn't snow and there's no ice, that's it for the year. I mean, having this in your backyard here, for those of you who live in Lake George – I mean, you really are a year-round community, but, you know, we want to have art installations and public transit initiatives that make it easier to get around.
And also, one thing, people want to live here. They need a place to live. Let's start building the housing so when children are raised here, and they want to get married. And have a family here and raise the grandkids as the, I have a grandma – a grandchild now so I know how important it is. That there's actually housing that's affordable for them to live in.
That starter home where someone, your kids come back from college and like, I want to be here. But they don't have the big earning power yet. Let's make us friendly for people to be able to live as well. So, I'm proud of the plan that you – the process that you put forth, which is to build more housing and make it more walkable and accessible.
So, for a small business owner starting out, you're going to be able to bring in more customers and attract more employees. You know, again, a young couple deciding where they want to live. You know, this, as we make these investments, people say, “No, there's no other place I want to be. It is so amazing here.”
And first-time visitors may end up becoming regular visitors or even residents, like I'm sure many of you were. So, for Lake George, that really bright future begins right now with this announcement. And I want to again congratulate everybody involved in this. And also, we also have our smaller communities, which do matter.
They matter so much because I drive all over the state. And I'm more likely to stop in a small town, as long as it has a diner or pancakes – I will pull over and just literally drive. I still do that as governor, people are always surprised. “Is that the Governor sitting there eating? Yeah, she's always eating something.” But I feel like I'm the state food tester, right?
I mean people ask me for reviews. I have to give them, you know, candid answers. But these small communities are huge economic drivers versus. Well, and that's why the New York Forward program make sure that there are programs to support our small businesses. So that is why we have representatives, our Mayors from Hoosick Falls and Schuylerville here as well. Who will be benefiting from – Hoosick Falls and Schuylerville will each $4.5 million.
Hoosick Falls, Mayor Robert Allen, you know, you have such I'm not just talking about the waterfalls, I mean, it is a place people want to be. It's amazing what you're doing there in the walkable village, again, with parks and building facades. I mean, fixing up the facades. I mean, these buildings were built, you know, hundreds of years ago and they lose their luster. And my town, which had a great history, somehow that back in the seventies, just people decide that plastering over brick buildings was some sort of improvement. And today we're still trying to peel it back and unveil the grandeur of yesteryear. And that's what so many of your communities have, and we're going to keep protecting those facades and the charm and public amenities.
And also, Mayor Daniel Carpenter from Schuylerville and all the great people worked on this plan. Again, more housing, more exciting events, and restoring the old canal way. I mean, this, the Erie Canal and the Champlain Canal – go to any other part of the country and you'll never, you can't find anything like this.
The history, but also, I travel on the Erie Canal myself. I plan to make it all the way across someday and my husband, if he was here, he'd say, he's looking at the maps, he wants to go north, he wants to go up the – as soon as I get a free couple of days, I plan to do it. I'll probably have to leave the boat someplace, but I cherish this because it's not just what we're doing around the canals, it's where we stop.
And we have stopped in the most charming places that are off the beaten trail. And the people are so dedicated, they so believe in their story and their history. To me, it's just so uplifting to be the Governor of a state like this. It truly is. And so, we have the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Saratoga coming up soon.
Anybody hear about this? Okay, let's celebrate, 2027. And our, our goal is to greet the world with a really transformed village in time for that. So that's the timetable that we're looking at. So, again, I want to congratulate, our – I was going to say three communities, but four communities if you count Lake George twice, which I do.
But the vision you presented for your villages and towns means there's no stopping us. This is the day it all begins when people look back and say, “What was the turning point?” You're going to remember this day and that you were here to witness this. And I was here to thank all of you loving your communities as much as I love this state.
We're doing something magical here today. Let's go forth and let people say why we know this is the greatest place to live anywhere in the world. So, let's reimagine our communities, let's get started, and let's get those shovels in the ground. Thank you everybody.