Governor Hochul: “We've been given this opportunity to have the defenses around us to fight this variant, because I know New Yorkers are so tough. They're so resilient. There is no keeping us down. That's what we do. We're hardwired. It's in our DNA as New Yorkers."
Earlier today, Governor Hochul delivered virtual remarks at Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn.
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.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks are available below:
Well, good morning, Bethany Baptist Church! I'm so glad we're not in Florida as well. Reverend Adolphus Lacey, I want to thank you for your friendship. I've worshiped with you in person, I’ve consulted with you as an advisor, and I just am so grateful that God has called you to serve, just as he's called me to serve and together we serve God's children on Earth. And so thank you for what you do every single day. And First Lady Cheryl Mathews Lacey, I know there's a lot of challenges involved in your life as well, helping be a support network for so many people as well. So thank you for what you do, and I've been watching and listening to you for a little while, and I've been watching the remotes, seeing everybody dancing and singing in their own homes. And so I'm so lifted up, my spirit is just soaring, seeing the love that is being spread through this congregation, and out to the rest of the world.
So while I couldn't be with you in Brooklyn, have wanted to come in person for the last few weeks and, and worship with you and listen to God's word with all of you in person. But this Transformer scary-sounding thing, that Omicron, that you just heard described so well by Reverend Lacey, is very much among us. I do want to just frame that in the right context. So we have been given the defenses to fight against this Omicron variant, as well as the Delta variant or any variant that comes our way. And that has been the gift of the vaccine and the boosters, and doing simple things like wearing masks. So, it may sound scary, Reverend, but I'm not afraid. I, I have the, the strength of God behind me and the people of God and, people in this whole state are doing the right thing.
And so we will get through this together. You know what, I wanted to speak to this church in particular, because I'm inspired by its rich history of service that goes way back to 1883, when it just started with five members who were true believers. And I know a lot of change happen, even up to 1962, when a young preacher and Reverend Augustus Jones became the pastor. And he was truly on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, and speaking truth to power. And he believes that we can lift Christ up by lifting up our brothers and sisters, but also taking care of not just their spiritual needs, but their very human needs. And he said, “You can't talk religion to a hungry man.” Oh, he was right about that. We need to not nurse the soul, but also nourish the body. And faith is truly meaningless without service to others.
And that's just why we talk about our faith leaders and Reverend Lacey and so many others, and what we all do each day is, together as elected officials, working with our clergy to serve the same people, and as we heard in scripture and James mentioned, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” So we're talking about deeds, and that is helping people get vaccinations, helping lifting up people who live in poverty, helping kids get a good education, helping fighting against gun violence. This is how we lift up a community by our deeds. And I am so inspired by churches like this, all of our state people understand, that is what we are called to do.
I too grew up in a, a very service-oriented background, a family back in the 1960s. And it was a Social Justice Catholic family, where we didn't just listen to the teachings of Christ on weekends. We also put those words into action by going into the communities of color that were hit so hard by poverty. And my parents helped start a neighborhood center to help people who've had so many needs. And as a child, I went and saw this in person and realized all of us are called to serve. And that's why I've been pulled to public service. And why I'm so honored and humbled to be the Governor of this great state, because it's another form of service, just like our clergy serve people so directly. So I've been hard-wired since the very beginning to serve God's people. And that sense of faith has guided me on the right path every single day. As I asked God for his, his, his prayers, and I ask all of you for your prayers to continue to lift me up.
And someone I've also relied on as an advisor is one of your own members. And that is Reverend Al Sharpton, and what he has done by bridging the relationships between the faith world, the religious leaders and our elected officials in good times and in bad, where we need to call and harness this energy and working together, government and clergy working together, because together we can solve the real issues that are still hurting people so deeply, the people we care about, people here we represent. And so I want to talk about that just for one minute, cause I know you didn't Zoom in or come in person to hear one of the politicians talking to you, especially during this joyous holiday season, but I want you to know, that we’re continuing to work hard to protect the health of our people, and not be overcome with fear. This is not a time of despair. This is a time of opportunities, and I don't want to lose sight of that.
Where we were one year ago, when we didn't have a vaccine, we were just starting to hear about them. And maybe only a few people were eligible, our senior citizens and nursing homes. We now have everything we need to be able to still see each other in person and hug our loved ones, that our grandmas and grandpas and our spouses and our children, all the people that we had to be disconnected from last time, if we wear our masks, and if we'd get boosted, there's no reason why we can't gather during this season. And that's what I'm talking about, is just rightsizing, setting expectations as to what we're dealing with right now, because we've been given this opportunity to have the defenses around us to fight this variant, because I know New Yorkers are so tough. They're so resilient. There is no keeping us down. That's what we do. We're hardwired. It's in our DNA as New Yorkers. And so we have new challenges, but this is Christmas of 2021, it is not March of 2020, because we're not going backwards. We have the tools at our disposal, we have the resources and we are in the middle of a holiday season where yes, people are traveling and going to see each other.
We are not defenseless. So, I want to give that message of hope. We know it has to happen. Get our grandkids vaccinated. I don't want anybody else to miss a single day of school because our babies and our children, our teenagers, they fell so hard because of the disparities in different neighborhoods, in different zip codes and communities of color where kids did not have access to broadband and they didn't even have an iPad. They didn't even have some times their own cellphone. How are they supposed to learn remotely? They lost so much precious time. We have to rebuild them. We have to get them back in a classroom, get them in that nurturing environment. So we don't lose them any further and work on the mental health challenges that many of them are now experiencing. But as we saw during this pandemic, the human condition can be so frail and we've lost many people, not just to the Delta or the Alpha or Beta or any of the other ones that are out there, all the variants, we lost them also to overdoses, substance abuse, more people we've lost more people to overdoses than we have in years. And we were making such progress and we've fallen behind in that.
And I want you to know I'm committed to making sure we give people the hope and give them a lifeline. And the insecurity that people have felt about losing their home during this pandemic. Not be able to make the rent because they didn't have a job anymore. We are so laser focused on the needs of this community, all the communities, but especially those that were hit hard by the variants, by COVID originally, but also just historically they have not had the same opportunities that all all other communities have had as well. So we're going to make sure that our kids get that good education that we address healthcare deserts, which is one of the problems we've had.
But also I want to close on one issue that just keeps me up at night as well. And that is the specter of gun violence and crime in our city. I want to make sure that our families and our children and our sons and daughters are protected, and we've lost too many individuals, particularly here in Brooklyn. And we've made some progress before. At one point we were one of the safest communities in America, and no longer. But my friends, we fell down and we fell down hard, but I believe we can come back just as quickly. And I'm committed to working with the new leadership in the City of New York very soon, and making sure that we bring all the resources of the State teamed up in partnership with the City and we'll get it done. And that is my commitment to you. I've signed some important bills. I'm going to be announcing more in my State of the State, but I'm going to be addressing those very real human concerns about public safety, making sure we do what's right to protect our citizens every single day.
So during this holiday season, I have one request. We don't want to spread COVID, we will spread love and we'll spread friendship, and spread the love of Christ during this holiday season. And remember why we are together. It was the birth of Christ that we honor, and we celebrate. And that is the spirit that fills all of us during Christmas. And let's not lose sight of that. We all have each other and we're going to continue to fight for each other, protect each other, because that's what Christ would want us to do. So thank you very much for your support. Please keep me in your prayers. I need them every single day, and I'll continue to be there and guided by God, guided by your prayers and guided by the awesome responsibility and the privilege it is, to be the Governor of the State of New York. Thank you. My friends and Merry Christmas.