Governor Hochul: “So, this is about making sure that these spaces, these malls continue to meet the needs of the community because this new generation as well, they want experiences after being repressed for two, three years because of the pandemic. They want convenience, walkability. They want to be with each other. And so, we're going to have some fun here too. This is going to be a fun place, unique spaces that bring people together.”
Hochul: “[I]'m really excited about the fact that we have a $31 million commitment. We don't do that every day of the week, but $31 million in Empire State Development funds to transform this into a modern transit-oriented development center because the buses can come, we can get people to and from, they don't even have to get in their vehicles. So, this is how we're making real progress here as well.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul celebrated an infrastructure investment in Amherst.
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 are available on the Governor’s Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:
Thank you. Great to see everyone. Welcome to my former congressional district and my former county clerk district. I feel like I have home turf advantage today, and it was really great to be in Western New York as we celebrate a big football win, everybody. Wasn't that spectacular?
Also, we had a great announcement to open the brand-new welcome center, visitor center at the Niagara Falls State Park, so I encourage everybody to go for a visit over there. It is gorgeous. But this is also a place that's so important to me. And just to set where we are, my vision for New York is to be a place of new beginnings, to reimagine properties that are no longer living up to their full potential. Once busy and vibrant have fallen on harder times, no fault of their own. And that's why we're here at MusicalFare Theatre at Daemen University. And again, I have to get used to saying Daemen University. A long time ago it was Rosary Hill College, right? My mother took classes there, then it was Daemen College, and now the University.
But we're here to open up the curtain on the second act. The second act of the Boulevard Mall, a massive 963,000-square-foot structure that dates back to the 1960s, when the idea of a mall was just so innovative. My gosh, you could shop indoors. When it's snowing out and raining out, you could shop and shop and shop. So, it was a great model, and I worked for 60 some years. And today we have tocome up with solutions. This is what government is going to continue to do under my administration. Find solutions to the problems that not just Albany faces or the state faces, but local communities. And perhaps it's because of spending 14 years on a town board, I have a strong affinity to local governments and their challenges because for a long time when they'd ask for help from Albany, the answer was, “Can't hear you. Can't hear you. Who is that? Can't hear you. We're too busy.” Because I felt that. I felt that they were too far removed from us, and we are the ones closest to the people, and that was enormously frustrating.
So, we're trying to come up with solutions to help move communities forward and to help them in extraordinary ways. And one of them is to have a place you could live. I've talked about this a lot for a long time. And I worked on this in local government, opening up brand-new communities and places that people could raise their kids and someday when they're older, maybe have the grandkids live in the neighborhood. That's what I've been trying to achieve and working so hard to do this. What we have here, at the site of the Boulevard Mall, could possibly be the home for over 1,000 units of housing. 2,000 people, 3,000 people could live there. Not just shop there but live there as well. And also, a mixed-use development that will bring people together and improve the quality of life, whether you're a working professional or a retired senior or a student.
And why this is so important to me, I've just said, it's also important to the elected officials we have here today. And that's why I want to recognize great leaders like Brian Kulpa, our Supervisor, who I've worked with for such a long time. And he's been talking about this every time we're together. “We need the help, but the sewers are expensive, the infrastructure is expensive.” And because of that, so many of these great projects that has such amazing potential, really just continue to stagnate. They don't grow. They don't develop. They don't become reimagined. They don't get a second act in life. So, thank you, Supervisor. Let's give him a round of applause for what he has done. And to your entire town board, been recognized, but again, I think you've got an important meeting tonight. Town board members, let's all raise your hands so I can recognize you. Big meeting tonight. I won't let you be late. Okay? Okay. Thank you.
And also, partners in government in Albany. Important to have people understand these investments are smart. Investing in businesses is smart. And I want to thank Senator Sean Ryan. Senator Sean Ryan, I still remember you as Assemblymember. Senator Sean Ryan and also Assemblymember Karen McMahon for your leadership on projects like this. We continue to invest and be a catalyst for change in communities just like we have here in Amherst. Our County Executive, Mark Poloncarz, who also understands how important it is that we make these investments. And certainly, the county has a role, but when the State can step in and help get us across the finish line, it's really important as well. So, thank you, and congratulations on another four years with County Executive, Poloncarz. So, thank you as well.
We also want to thank some of our non-elected officials here today who have been such great important partners as well, the Amherst Chamber of Commerce. And AJ, I want to thank you. We've known you a long time as well. To all of your members, they know I have a strong business affinity because I know when I want to do one thing, that's create jobs in New York, it comes through the businesses creating them. And so that's what we're going to continue to be your allies. So, thank you for what you're doing.
And Hope Knight, someone who understands this philosophy very, very well and travels across the State. She's making the deals. She's making the deals that we're so proud of and has done an extraordinary job as our leader of Empire State Development. Let's give a round of applause to her tonight.
And, who knows, it might be a new place for a new DMV someday. I'm sure he'll make the pitch. When they, Green Budget, Red Budget, Fiasco, locals, remember this? Those of you old enough to remember? Yeah. Rough days. But we had to do something when I was County Clerk, and we literally went into the Northtown Plaza and took space and tried to create something there. We went into every little space people would give us to make sure we didn't disrupt services to people. And I know you're equally committed to the service of the DMV as well. I also know some of our partners are here who are the business side. I see Tony Battista here from Benderson. And I want to thank Benderson for really bringing this innovative concept. I've seen this model in places like Florida. Where you have people living, but also you create a town center, a village center and people can congregate and stroll and really have a public space. And so, I thank you and the entire Benderson family for this vision. And also, Doug Jemal, I understand, is stuck in Washington with the bad weather in the Northeast, so we'll give him a pass today.
But this is the combination of visionaries that I'm talking about. This is how we can transform a very large property that I go past every time I'm back home. And I'm really excited about that. And again, again, thanks to Daemen for hosting us here today. And I see Satish Tripathi out there as well. Thank you because this is a place that a lot of your students can live as well. And to have a nice home not too far from your campus. So, I appreciate all you've done. Especially in your tenure as, many years as the head of the Empire's Regional Economic Development Council. You're one of the forefathers of that as well. So, thank you. So, let's just get you back what we're talking about here. We're talking about a mall. It was more than a place to shop. It's where you might have had your first date. You had to be dropped off there when you were a teenager. I remember there was a book on the, at the store. I was buying all the books on how to raise teenage daughters and the title of this one was, “I hate you mom, but can you take me to the mall?”
Okay. Alright. I picked that book up, thought it didn't apply to my family. I won't say that about Katie, but I'm just saying the mall is something to people. It's a place where young people can gather, have a little bit of freedom. You know, take their hard-earned babysitting money and spend a little bit, or go holiday shopping. And, you know, it's a place where seniors can stroll at the end of the day, or they're getting their exercise if they've had a heart problem. Like, I remember taking my mom to the mall after she was recovering from heart surgery. So, it's just a place for people. It's a place for people. So, we have a responsibility to just bring it back and make sure that it's – despite the fact that the world has changed, that there, and it still has an important place in our future.
And the world has changed so much. There's no way we could have imagined that anything would ever replace the bricks and mortar large stores that we always came to rely on. Now, people are shopping online. And I think the pandemic, and in fact I know the pandemic, was a real catalyst in accelerating that change, the transition from in person to online shopping.
And so, foot traffic dwindles, the stores can't stay open, they can't pay the rent, and all of a sudden, we've got a problem. So, this is about making sure that these spaces, these malls continue to meet the needs of the community because this new generation as well, they want experiences after being repressed for two, three years because of the pandemic. They want convenience, walkability. They want to be with each other. And so, we're going to have some fun here too. This is going to be a fun place, unique spaces that bring people together. And so, that's how we're going to be making these changes.
So, let's get on with it, and I'm really excited about the fact that we have a $31 million commitment. We don't do that every day of the week, but $31 million in Empire State Development funds to transform this into a modern transit-oriented development center because the buses can come, we can get people to and from, they don't even have to get in their vehicles. So, this is how we're making real progress here as well.
So tonight, the town board will officially authorize Supervisor Brian Kulpa to sign the incentive proposal with ESD. If you want me to officiate, I do weddings, let's get this marriage together here. But it is a great partnership. And again, Brian, your vision was so important to this, and I just want to make sure people know that we're going to keep investing in places like Amherst and Williamsville and all of Western New York. And so, what we're going to see here is nothing short of extraordinary and I'm going to continue these efforts.
So, I'm going to bring up our Supervisor in a moment, but I want to present him something first and let him know that we are committed. This is a legitimate, real check.