Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces New Investments in the North Country to Advance Economic Development, Strengthen Public Safety and Support Working Families

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the City of Ogdensburg will receive $10 million in funding as the North Country winner of the ninth round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), and the Town of Moriah and Village of Heuvelton will each receive $4.5 million as the North Country winners of the fourth round of NY Forward. Governor Hochul also announced $1.8 million in new capital funding for the construction of a new childcare center by the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority to support New York families and improve childcare options in the City of Ogdensburg. Governor Hochul also announced that the historic Ogdensburg Armory will welcome back members of the New York Army National Guard by October of this year as a result of record servicemember recruitment numbers. Both announcements build on the Governor’s promise to make New York safer and more affordable for all by supporting working families and strengthening the presence of National Guard members throughout the state.

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:

So great to be here. I cannot tell you how joyful it is for me to travel here, as I've done many, many times, especially when I was Lieutenant Governor and I used to come up here for county clerk meetings with Patty Ritchie when she was the head of our county clerk association. She brought us all up here and we stayed and we went to the wonderful attractions and the museum and everything. So, it's great to be here.

And, pretty nice airport you have here. Yes. You know, I think about this place, you know — three and a half years ago, we made a commitment to our airports, smaller regional airports, and we allocated millions of dollars to help them. Because I know what a difference this makes when a community has an airport like this, it sends a message that we matter. You know, we're important. We're a place that has a great story to tell and we welcome you with open arms. And so I want to thank everyone involved in this.

And you know, this is one of the most beautiful parts of our entire state. And I just was staring at the St. Lawrence River, seeing the ice packed into the boat marina, knowing that that's just temporary. And I'm a boater. I pay attention to things like that. And my dream is — and my husband and I are going to do this — we have a boat in Buffalo. Now, because of Niagara Falls, it's a little tricky to get up here, okay? I haven’t quite figured that one out. But we got the canal in other ways. But my dream is to come all the way up to go across Lake Ontario to come up, you know, pass Sackets Harbor and Clayton and work my way right up here. And so, someday when I get a little more time in my schedule, hopefully not too soon, but I look forward to making that journey because I've been on this river so many times. But it's a beautiful, beautiful place.

And so I want to thank all of you who've joined us here today, and I want to first of all acknowledge our Assemblymember Scott Gray. Thank you for being here today. Are you playing hooky today? Yeah, that's right. Alright. You're in the right place. Just stick with me on the Budget, I'll be good. But you know, I got to know Scott when he was in local government, we spent a lot of time together and you know, leadership matters and relationships matter and I want to thank him for all he does in his great representation of this beautiful part of our state.

Mayor Michael Tooley, let's give him a round of applause. I want to thank our Mayor of the City of Ogdensburg. Barbara Lashua, the Mayor of Heuvelton. Great to see you, Mayor. Matthew Brassard, the Town Supervisor of Moriah here. Let's say hello to him. We also have Steve Lawrence, who spent 25 years at the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority. We just gave a nice proclamation, let's say hi to Steve Lawrence as well. David Forsythe, the Chair of the St. Lawrence County Legislature. I used to be a local county official, so let's give round applause to Dave. Steve McNally, the Chair of the Essex Board of Supervisors. And members of our Regional Economic Development Council, co-chaired by Jim McKenna. Let's give a round applause to Jim as well.

But my appreciation for this area just continues to grow. I just did a really important conversation with local businesses about the effect of tariffs. The Mayor was there with me. And it reminds me that the charm of this area is because of the incredible small businesses you have and the downtowns and how they matter so much. And the people who've come here — we met a woman who had come from Taiwan, who came and settled with her husband here and has a beautiful little business and I'm going to go visit the business. So, you think about the farmers and the people involved in hospitality and tourism and the union workers and everybody. It just reminds me of what's so spectacular about this part of our state and our state overall. So I want to thank everyone.

But you know, for a long time our smaller communities felt they were on their own. And I can verify this because I come from a small community that felt like we were on our own. Fourteen years in local government, and we never really got the scale of the support we thought we should get out of Albany. We always asked, and I was trying to turn a former waterworks project on the lake — on the shores of Lake Erie, an old abandoned waterworks building — I wanted to turn it into a visitor center. I had this great vision, so I got my local senator, Senator Dale Volker, a wonderful person. He helped me with $50,000 to do the roof. Well, a couple years later, we still, you know, we needed millions of more dollars than that. But a couple years later, the roof blows off during a big Lake Erie snowstorm. We had to go back again. So it takes a long time to have an impact in a small community if you don't have the infusion of a significant amount of money all at once.

And that's a lesson I brought to this job to continue to fight for small businesses and small communities and those who feel like they are overlooked because all the attention's on the big guys, right? Well, my attention's on the little guys because that's the world I come from. And so to change the downtown's landscape and its infrastructure and its identity and enhance it, it just takes a lot of support.

So years ago, the state launched the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and later I started New York Forward because I love the big projects, but also there's so many smaller communities that simply don't have enough to ask. Their projects would never meet the $10 million threshold. And so I said, “Well, let's take care of the little guys too. Let's give them a chance to reimagine their whole downtowns and their existence.” So with these programs, you've already allocated over $1.4 billion to 151 communities and many here in the North Country. So what it does is it just gives a new energy. And it's really a way to bring together communities as well.

What I find so special is that people maybe never really work together necessarily. They all pull together and say, “What is our vision for our community?” Because I don't want it to be Albany's vision of your community. You don't want that. I have ideas, but because I've done a lot of downtown revitalization in my lifetime, but I also know a community has its own ideas and own vision, and it's my job to just give the resources to let you implement them the way you want it. So, today we're going to be investing in three North Country gems, and I'm going to announce a couple of names. We have the Village of Heuvelton. I want to thank our mayor here as well. And you'll be receiving $4.5 million for Heuvelton to capitalize on momentum. You know, you're doing a spectacular job. The renovation, the historic opera house kind of set the tone of the possibilities. The leadership that you've displayed with pulling together the community really makes a difference. And so, $4.5 million will hopefully go a long way, and I want to thank you for putting forward such a really impactful vision for your community. So let's give another round of applause to support public and private projects and really build up the surrounding areas. So, once again, congratulations.

The next up is Moriah. Three hours east, so you're probably one of the longest commutes this morning. But also just thank you for what you've done with Moriah about three hours away from here. Thank you for everything you've done, Supervisor, to just put a spotlight on your community, and these communities really do matter. And I want to thank you for your ideas on the shores of Lake Champlain, it's spectacular. And so you'll be now receiving $4.5 million as well. So congratulations there. And in Moriah, they've put forth an ambitious plan to restore historic buildings and improve walkability along main and broad streets and, also knowing that people can sail the lake by day and come to a vibrant downtown at night. So that's what it's all about.

And also, we happen to be in Ogdensburg. I don't want to leave my mayor here out in the cold, but I come from Buffalo, so I know what cities were great ports before the canal in places like Buffalo really had a different future and it was in decline for a long time. So, you know, this was once a major port, a major port city, and a lumber and grain hub. But you know that glorious past does not have to be in the rear view mirror anymore. That glorious past needs to be today and brought into the future. And so I want to talk about how we can do that, and that is why I am so proud to announce for the City of Ogdensburg a $10 million recipient of the Downtown Revitalization fund. To all the members of the committee, thank you for caring so deeply to put your time and your talents and your ideas into action, and this will make the streets more walkable and connect to the downtown, to the waterfront, in better ways.

And what's so important in all of our communities — we have to take the downtown vacant buildings and find ways to convert them into housing. And if you have zoning that says you cannot without a certain number of parking spaces or whatever, get rid of that zoning. I mean, don't let anything stand in your way because people want to live in their downtowns, whether it's a young person, a recent graduate, or someone just got out of high school and has a job and they want to live in the community they're raised in, or it's some transplants from somewhere else, or also someone who grew up in a larger home and raised their families there and now they want a little place to be connected with the downtown. I moved into the city after raising my kids in a smaller town because I wanted that activity and the vibrancy. So, I think that's really important. And if you want to attract new businesses, which is so important to us.

And again, I'm going to give a special shout out to our businesses. This tariff roundtable I just had, it was heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking to hear firsthand the suffering and the additional costs and the uncertainty and the chaos out of Washington that is hurting — everything from a little retail shop on the main streets to our farmers, to those who just counted on that bridge traffic to bring customers. I mean, bridge traffic is down right here, about 20, almost 25 percent just from a year ago, and I don't see a change happening anytime soon. I just did a video to say, “Come on, we miss you Canadians, come on back,” but I understand the impact that that has had. So an infusion of money at this time, when things are looking dark and uncertain, I think is really important that we make these investments now, so we want to attract the businesses to come back and just really have a great, great community as well.

So, thank you, congratulations there to the City of Ogdensburg. But also we heard this morning during our conversation, it was actually Ron Robbins, a farmer a little south of here. who raised the issue of workforce development, how we get the skilled workers, we need to do different things, farm workers as well. But also he raised how hard it is for moms to get back in the workforce, which I always thought was interesting. Whenever I hear a man tell me or a business owner that it's a problem. But you know what the denominator is? They usually have a daughter with a child. I've heard this all over the state. When the owner of a company has a daughter he wants to bring into the business, but there's a baby that needs to be taken care of, it all changes.

Communities cannot really be viable and attract businesses and families if they don't have good childcare options, and part of my state agenda, I have put forth universal childcare, which will roll out over time. It's not going to happen overnight, but it's a vision that I've long thought about as someone who had to give up a job I loved as a new parent working in Washington for Senator Moynihan a long time ago. And I worked hard to get that job, and all of a sudden, I couldn't find affordable childcare, and my husband was working for the government, so our income just plummeted. And that was me out there clipping coupons and trying to get the discounts for the clothes and the diapers and the formulas. So I've lived that existence, but I want to make sure that we can help all of our communities and so Ogdensburg I know needs some help right now. Your childcare options are very limited. Sometimes parents have to travel 30 miles to just get the support for their kids, and I know that you raised almost two-thirds of the money you needed for a new childcare facility and that construction could start right away, if you could get the final amount of money you needed.

This is where the mom Governor comes in. We're going to make it happen and I'm announcing $1.8 million to move that project forward as well for our childcare in this area. So that'll support 125 children, 125 kids with Universal Pre-K and Head Start and other services as well. And then on top of that was nearly $10 million for a new community center announced in December, just $10 million added. So don't tell every other part of the state, but it's $22 million in three months you got from us. So take it, spend it wisely, but know that we're there to continue supporting and with the advocacy of your Assemblymember Scott Gray as well.

So, that is what I'm going to continue doing. And I also just finally want to thank Ogdensburg for welcoming back our New York Army National Guard. Nearly 100 people will now be stationed here at the Armory by Fall. That is my commitment and we support them. They're often in harm's way and they're so selfless. They think nothing about anything other than their mission and to protect the people of our state, and so I have such admiration. I used to be on the Armed Services Committee in Washington on Capitol Hill, and I traveled to faraway lands and dangerous places and knowing that there's people like that who are — even now — are facing the specter of being involved in an escalating war, it’s hard.

I'm heading down to Fort Drum after I leave to touch base there. So let's just make them feel welcome, and what I find so encouraging, it's the reason we have to do this, is because there's a surge in new recruits. So I'm so proud that many are answering the call to serve their fellow New Yorkers by putting on a uniform, and so I know you'll welcome them with open arms.

But let me conclude by saying this: the DRI does not happen without me having to put it in the Budget every single year. So your support for the Budget and let all everyone know — Scott, they want this to continue and I am going to continue making these investments because when I come to a room like this and I can see in your face the pride and love you have for your community, I internalize that. That becomes part of my story as your Governor as well. So I want to keep that going and those investments and the fact that by coming here today, I can send a strong message that you do matter. You are important to me. You're part of the whole DNA of our state and as remote as it sometimes feel when the weather gets crazy and I'm watching the weather patterns and saying “it's a little rough up there,” but there's no people that are heartier and tougher than people in the North country and people in Ogdensburg and Mariah and Heuvelton as well.

So I want to thank all of you for coming out here. I'll continue the fights and whether we're transforming downtowns or bringing new jobs or trying to manage our friendship with Canada, we know that we can do this together. So let's carry on, and I will also say this: it's a great day for Ogdensburg and our smaller communities. I want to thank everybody, all of you. I want to give you a round of applause. The community members who stood up and said, “We have a dream. We have a dream, and we want to help make it become a reality.” And you put in all the hours of meetings and conversations and public engagement. And here you are, the winners here today. So congratulations to all of you. Let me bring up our Mayor, Ogdensburg Mayor, Michael Tooley.