Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks at Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting

Earlier this evening, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered remarks at the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting.

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

AUDIO is available here.

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

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

Hello Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. It is so great to see you, not on zoom. You look fabulous. Might have been a little tough to get out of the pajamas but here you are looking fabulous, as only Manhattanites can. I am so delighted to be here to celebrate your theme. The turning point in New York City's history. And I thought it was significant that Jessica referenced the origins of this great organization.

If you think about it, it literally started a year after the last global pandemic hit New York City. And look how the city rose back, leading itself into an era of great prosperity and into literally the roaring twenties. And everything was really good, just forget that 1929 year, but up until then, it was fantastic.

And similarly, I see the opportunities now. As yes, we lick our wounds and think about what we've been through and it's been devastating for so many individuals, families, small businesses, and during the heat of the pandemic, I walked many of the streets in Manhattan and talked to the owners who were so resilient.

The members that are represented by this organization, they were so tough, and they were so intent on persevering through all this adversity. And I was given strength by their courage. And I said to them, and this was just when I was Lieutenant Governor, I said, I'll be there for you. We're going to help you come back. Just don't give up. And none of them did. And as a result, I believe we are on the cusp of greatness. That we'll learn from many of the lessons and have deeper appreciation for so many people, including our own families, many of whom got more reacquainted during this time together.

And appreciation for the small businesses who get up every day and turn around the closed sign and open the doors and hope that it's a good day so they can hire people and share their dream with others. That's what this chamber represents. And I know a little bit about this because I helped my mother start a small business a long time ago.

And talk about tough times, she wanted to do it outside of Buffalo, New York at the point of its greatest decline. When the big businesses all left town. And the phrase was last person here, turn out the lights. That's what I grew up with. But my mom was a believer and she thought she needed to have a small business, a flower shop in our town, to bring beauty into people's lives.

So, I know what it was like to sit there day after day, hoping that someone would open the door and the little bell would ring. And there'd be someone who could see what we'd done there and how beautiful it was. So, I know in your hearts, you are the dreamers, but also the people who make things happen.

And that's why I'm going to count on this chamber - as we lead forward and show the rest of the nation, what New Yorkers are made out of. Because you knock us down, we come back stronger. That's who we've always been and will always be. And I'm really energized also by the prospects of supporting our businesses here and yes, places like Broadway, who've been knocked down, and our tourism industry has been hit hard, and our hospitality business is still climbing.

But I'm going to continue to use the tools at my disposal as the governor of New York to just inject more resources, $450 million we just allocated a couple of weeks ago to bring back hospitality and tourism right here in this city. Let's continue investing. Let's let people know we're open and let's welcome people to come back from around the world.

And in the meantime, we have to focus on our economy, but also making sure that we're healthy. That we get through this pandemic. And I want to applaud the people of Manhattan in particular, as other communities across the state saw their infection rates go up, I monitored them like a hawk all day long, I'm watching the numbers. The infection rates in this community. There's going up slightly now. But for the longest time we had about a 1% infection rate. There's probably no safer place on this planet.

And the vaccination rate, and now the booster rate, people here understand that, that is our defense against this pandemic. And if we get vaccinated, we get boosted, wear the mask, there's no reason why we can't come back even now. Welcome people back. The restaurants are full. I can't get a reservation in New York City anymore. People are coming back. This is a good thing.

And we're doing it in a smart way. We're showing that we don't have to have a massive shutdown that cripples the economy again, because unlike last time, we have a vaccine and boosters. So, encourage that message because that is the key to unlocking the door to the future and we'll continue building back.

And I can't wait to do some massive infrastructure projects. I was just with Joe Biden, as you heard Jessica talk about, I was with him in person, talking about bringing billions and billions of dollars to New York State from the President, and what Senator Schumer did, and our members of Congress, bringing that money here.

So, we're going to transform Penn Station. Because I think that this city deserves a world class transportation center, something we're all so proud of and we're going to address it and tackle the problems that people think are insurmountable now, but they're not. Just a short time ago, literally February of 2020, New York City was the safest big city in America. We can get back there. We fell hard, but we're coming back and I'm so looking forward to a new era of leadership working with our next Mayor as well.

And listen to this, the era of fighting between the Mayor of New York and the Governor of New York State is over. We're going to continue working together and we're going to work for the people of this community and fight for all of you, instead of fighting with each other, how about that?

So, my friends, my heart is full of optimism. We will get through this. We will look back on these days and say, wow, that just made us become closer, understand each other better, have appreciation, not just for family and friends, but the healthcare workers, the first responders, the people who continue to run the subways, the people who continue to show up at their jobs, the little shop owners, all of them did extraordinary things during this pandemic. And we're counting on all of them and all of you to help us do extraordinary things as we lead into the future.

I'm so proud to be your governor. I will be there with you every step of the way, doing what we need to do, $20 million into Chinatown because Chinatown needed it. Money we can spend all over the city because it needs to be done now to show that these investments made today will pay off for decades to come. That was the visions of the founders of this organization in 1920. That is the vision of your leaders today.

And I want to thank people like Michael Kempner, long-time board member, still engaged, thank you for your support for what you're doing, one of the honorees here tonight and Nick Cannon. I want to thank Nick. I just had a great conversation with him, and he is a true New Yorker, a true believer in this community. He wants to be part of the comeback of the city, and I will continue to partner with him and so many others.

So, to Nick, our heart goes out to you and your family. The prayers of 20 million New Yorkers are with you to give you the courage and the strength to power through the tragedy that has befallen your family. And we know that it's people like you who inspire all of us every single day. So, Jessica, thank you for the privilege of addressing this group.

Thank you, my friends, for being the best New Yorkers and we will come back, and we will come back stronger. Thank you very much.