On Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) held a press briefing in Buffalo, New York about the state budget’s investments for working class families.
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00:00Governor Kathy Hochul.
00:09Thank you, thank you.
00:13So good to be home again.
00:18Always delighted to be here. Please take your seats.
00:21And I want to thank a lot of incredible individuals in this room.
00:27One is that I have very good taste in picking out my commissioners.
00:32Buffalo's own Tim Hodes, our Commissioner of Civil Service, is here.
00:39Our Mayor Chris Scanlon is here. Please take a bow.
00:42Deputy County Executive Lisa Chimero.
00:47Our Comptroller Kevin Hardwick.
00:51All my partners in government, Trina Burris, the President of United Way.
00:55My gosh, she has challenges.
00:57But I want to thank her for being a great leader.
01:05Larry Pernick, the Executive Director of the Northwest Buffalo Community Center,
01:10where we are right now. Thank you, Larry.
01:14Former Mayor Tony Maciello has joined us as well.
01:17Mayor, great to see you.
01:19All of my friends here.
01:22You know, we talk a lot about public service.
01:26But people across the state aren't quite sure why I got this gene or this inclination,
01:32this passion for public service.
01:34And it started right here in Western New York.
01:37And I was that 16-year-old from Hamburg High School would take an hour bus ride zigzagging through Lackawanna.
01:44I stopped at all the great locations.
01:47Met a lot of friends on the bus.
01:49Happy to get out of school for half a day.
01:51And I became an intern for politics, but also the New York State Assembly Office.
01:59And by the time I was 18, I had a real fancy business card.
02:02Kathy Hochul's Special Assistant to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly.
02:07It's kind of fun in a bar.
02:08Like, yeah, look at my job. I'm a big shot.
02:11Just kidding.
02:12But this is where I cut my teeth.
02:15This is where I ran for local office 31 years ago.
02:20This is where I ran for county office.
02:23This is where I ran for Congress.
02:25Lieutenant Governor.
02:27Governor.
02:28And this is the community that taught me the value of serving others.
02:33Because Buffalo isn't just a city of good neighbors.
02:36It's a city of great neighbors.
02:39People lift each other up and take care of each other.
02:43And that's why I am the way I am.
02:46I learned about grit and generosity and community and pride right here.
02:52And I made a promise that I would fight for this city with every fiber of my being.
02:59Because I know what it's like when you're knocked down.
03:02I know what it's like when people count you out.
03:04And I know what it's like to not get the brass wing of the Super Bowl yet.
03:09Okay?
03:10It's all right.
03:11We can talk about it.
03:12Kind of like a group therapy session, right?
03:14Because there's always next year.
03:17Always next year.
03:18And next year is right around the corner.
03:20But I want to lift this community up and encourage it to believe in themselves again.
03:25Because we have so much going for us.
03:27And I'm so excited to be here.
03:30Because we're doing a lot.
03:32Just a few days ago.
03:33How is it now?
03:34I'm going to ask a question.
03:35East Buffalo or East Side?
03:37Because I heard both.
03:38East Side.
03:39East Side.
03:40Okay.
03:41All right.
03:42I'm very Democratic.
03:44All those who savor in saying East Side, raise your hands and shout.
03:49Okay?
03:50Okay?
03:51All those in favor of East Buffalo, raise your hands and shout.
03:54Okay.
03:57Staff, take it out of my remarks.
04:01East Side is back.
04:03So, $10 million for the East Side Building Fund.
04:08We want to assist in renovating the buildings.
04:12The great architecture that sometimes gets covered over with the out-of-business signs or the plywood.
04:17And that's not a welcoming experience for the community who lives there or people want to visit there.
04:22We have to revitalize our neighborhoods.
04:24That's on top of $260 million already invested there to protect our iconic sites that we have.
04:31MLK Park and Broadway Market and so many others.
04:33Because I believe in those assets.
04:35I've been there.
04:36I know what they're all about.
04:37They're part of our identity.
04:39But I also had a broader message back in January when I announced my State of the State address.
04:45I said, your family is my fight.
04:49And I learned that fighting spirit right here.
04:52And I meant it.
04:53Because right now, there are so many people across this state and in this community who are struggling.
05:01Life's been hard.
05:03Sometimes it feels unfair.
05:06And raising a family here in Western York, I know what it's like.
05:11I was that mom, clenching coupons, walking into BJ's.
05:16That giant shopping cart.
05:18Sometimes I had two.
05:19Like diapers and formula and paper towels and toilet paper and dishwashing detergent.
05:26All that stuff you need.
05:28And I was making a whopping $12,000 take home pay as a county, as a town board member.
05:35So we weren't feeling real rich.
05:37My husband was in government.
05:38We were blessed.
05:39But you know what?
05:40Still had to pay the bills.
05:42Still had to pay the mortgage.
05:44You know.
05:45My life was a lot burdened a lot of other people.
05:47And I know that.
05:48I know that.
05:49Because I was raised by a family.
05:51Social justice Catholics.
05:52My parents would bring us into the city when we were kids.
05:57We went to over on Sycamore.
05:59My parents, my mother was involved in starting the Neighborhood Information Center.
06:02My sister Despensata.
06:03You're all too young to know that name.
06:05But she was legendary on the east side of Buffalo.
06:08And I would work with my mom there.
06:10We'd go visit people who were lonely.
06:12Seniors by themselves.
06:13People we needed to bring food and clothes to.
06:15That's what I did as a kid.
06:17So this is embedded in me.
06:19So I know there's people who needed more than I did.
06:22We knew that.
06:23But sometimes our friends even today.
06:25No matter how hard you work.
06:26It just seems like you're not getting ahead.
06:28That's why I outlined a vision.
06:31Based on my life's experiences here.
06:33And what I saw my neighbors going through.
06:36I want a place where middle class parents don't have to dread checking that bank account.
06:40Are they going to be able to cover their monthly expenses.
06:44Or that choice of having to pay for medical bills and utilities.
06:49Are you ever going to have that luxury of sending your kids to a week-long camp in the summertime?
06:55Can you pay for your childcare?
06:57My God, childcare is so expensive.
06:59It's cheaper to go to one of our community colleges, even our state universities.
07:03It's cheaper to do that than pay for childcare.
07:06It would be cheaper if we could just put them into college right away.
07:09Hadn't thought of that.
07:12Baby college.
07:15But those are real expenses for real people.
07:19And there was a time when everybody believed they'd be able to buy a home.
07:23That was success.
07:25Right?
07:26That's how you were judged.
07:27My parents started in a trailer park off Electric Avenue.
07:31I was just there about a week and a half ago.
07:33I stopped at the Apollo Diner.
07:35They have great fish fries on Friday.
07:37Hadn't had one in a while.
07:40But there's still people there.
07:41My parents got out.
07:42They got that little apartment in Woodlawn where I was born.
07:47They got that little Cape Cod where six kids came along.
07:51And then they were able to progress as their families, my family success grew.
07:55So many people today, young people, aren't even sure they can afford an apartment and get out of their parents' house,
08:02much less be able to set aside all the money they need for that down payment for that American dream of home ownership.
08:09And we have not built generational wealth in our black and brown communities as a result of this.
08:16And they just are never going to get ahead and be able to pass something down to their kids.
08:21I don't want that to be their existence any longer.
08:24That's unfair.
08:26And we have to keep fighting for them.
08:28And that's what my budget was all about.
08:31I talked about what it's like to struggle.
08:36But can you imagine if we can tell people, with the budget we just enacted and I just signed,
08:43you could have upwards of $5,000 more in your pocket.
08:48That is something that people get excited about.
08:54Let's start with bringing the middle class tax rate to the lowest it's been in 70 years for over 8 million New Yorkers.
09:02That sounds good.
09:03That's how you put money back in evil's pockets.
09:08$55 million in relief right here.
09:10$55 million for over half a million Western New Yorkers.
09:13We got that done.
09:15The state's first ever inflation refund.
09:17Everybody's like, what's the inflation refund?
09:19We never heard of it.
09:20That's because you never had it before.
09:22We thought of it ourselves.
09:24Because of inflation, drove up the cost of everything.
09:27Your kids' sneakers and backpacks and everything you have to buy.
09:31We collected more in sales tax revenue than we expected.
09:35Our controller knows how this works.
09:37So we collected $3 billion more than we even anticipated in our projections
09:43because New Yorkers paid more than they expected as well.
09:47And I said, this doesn't belong to us.
09:51This is their money.
09:52They paid more.
09:53Let's give it back to them.
09:56That's the inflation refund I'm talking about.
09:59Putting up to $400 in pockets of people.
10:02$153 million right back here in Western New York.
10:05$153 million back in the pockets for more than a million people here in Western New York.
10:15And I'll say it for the 450th time, I'm New York's first mom governor.
10:20Okay?
10:21There literally are people keeping track of that all across the state.
10:26But what that means is I know what it's like to be a new mom.
10:30I know how expensive it is.
10:33You literally buy the clothes zero to three months, three to six months.
10:37I mean, they grow that fast.
10:39And you finally get around to getting them out of diapers.
10:42I thought we were going to be rich and we stopped buying diapers and formula.
10:45It's like, yes, yes, money back in our pockets.
10:48So we have said our younger families are the ones who spend the most.
10:53How about $1,000 back in the pockets of families with a four-year-old or under.
10:59And $500 for kids up at the age of 16.
11:03Got that done.
11:06And you add it up, that adds up to over $60 million.
11:09Not statewide, that's for Western New York families.
11:12Another tax credit for them as well.
11:15207,000 children right here in Western New York.
11:19Also, school lunches and breakfasts.
11:22For some little kids, their tummies are growling during school.
11:27Because they didn't have lunch.
11:29And I will say this, and I've heard this from adults who had to live with this.
11:32There's a stigma associated with the fact that if you're one of those kids who has a subsidized meal
11:37and everybody knows about it, you're more likely to skip lunch because you're embarrassed.
11:42And I said, this is going to be something I'm going to equalize across the state.
11:46The state of New York will cover every child, every child's breakfast and lunch.
11:52$1,600.
11:54$1,600 back for each child.
11:57It's not just the money.
12:03Time.
12:04Remember all this?
12:05Mom, moms, dads.
12:06Scrambling around.
12:07Did you buy the Lunchable?
12:08Did you have anything to throw in the plastic bag and pack it all up?
12:11And, you know, just more time for you to just be with your kids in the morning.
12:15Let them not worry about these things.
12:17So that's, I fought hard for that.
12:19We got it done.
12:20As I said, $1,600 a family.
12:22So, also, that all adds up to about $5,000.
12:27You have a few kids, you're over $5,000.
12:30And that's a real difference.
12:31And those who say, oh, it's just a gimmick, doesn't add up to much.
12:35Really?
12:36Have you walked through a grocery store with someone and said, how would you like another $400?
12:40Oh, I see you have a toddler.
12:42How does another $1,000 sound to you?
12:44I have done this.
12:45I have gone in the Wegmans here.
12:48I've gone in stores in Brooklyn, in Harlem.
12:51I've gone everywhere.
12:52I like to shop.
12:53And I see the prices.
12:55They're jaw-droppingly high.
12:57But you tell someone as you're pushing that card around the store, how would you feel about this?
13:02They are ecstatic that someone understands their pain and doing something about it.
13:06And we're investing $2.2 billion for childcare all across the state, more money for childcare vouchers to help with them,
13:19more capital funding for childcare facilities to improve the existing ones as well.
13:24And we're announcing for the first time something called the baby benefit.
13:27All right, what's that $1,800 to families with new babies who are on public assistance?
13:32$1,800 more.
13:33Isn't that something?
13:34Isn't that something?
13:35Help them with the financial stress.
13:38That's 100,000 lower-income families.
13:41You help them with everything they need.
13:43Because you never can have enough diapers.
13:45I know this.
13:47But also, I know because my daughter's expecting a baby.
13:52And I'm very excited to be a grandma again.
13:55And I just did her baby shower.
13:57And I packed up lots of diapers and those little onesies and all those little things.
14:01So I'm very excited about this.
14:03So I'm also New York's first grandmother, Governor, too.
14:07But this is the vision I've laid out.
14:12And I think about families like Christina and others you're going to hear from.
14:16What it's like.
14:17What you worry about.
14:18What keeps you up at night.
14:19And how you look to your government leaders who, if they are really truly public servants, they're serving you.
14:27They're looking out for your family.
14:29That's why I say your family is my fight.
14:32That is the vision I've laid out for this state.
14:34The vision I've laid out for Buffalo.
14:36A place where working families don't just survive.
14:39They thrive.
14:41A place where a Zivco doesn't determine your child's future.
14:45And a place you're so proud to call home.
14:47I promised a more affordable New York.
14:49Where middle-class families, working-class families could just breathe a little bit easier.
14:54And Buffalo, I'm here to tell you, we got it done.
14:59Thank you very much.
15:04Let me bring up Christina Cruz to tell her story.
15:07Christina, come on up here.
15:11Thirty-seven weeks expecting.
15:15Just to be sure.
15:16Any doctors in the house?
15:18Okay, we're good.
15:19You're going to be okay, right?
15:20Yes.
15:21All right, great.
15:22Hello, everyone.
15:23My name is Christina Cruz.
15:25I'm a long-time patient of Neighborhood Health Center.
15:28And born and raised in Buffalo.
15:30Please bear with me.
15:31I'm nervous.
15:32This is my first time doing something like this.
15:34So, a little bit about myself.
15:36I'm 36.
15:37I have a 16-year-old daughter.
15:39I'm expecting number two.
15:42I like to say that this is my little miracle baby.
15:45Because two years ago, I was battling breast cancer.
15:48And I had to go through intense chemo.
15:51They did state that my chances of having another child was kind of slim to none.
15:56But here I am and expecting another one.
15:58And...
15:59Yeah.
16:01Thirty-seven weeks.
16:02And as a mom myself, I know how hard the first years are of raising a child, how tired,
16:11how expensive everything is, how much help you need.
16:14For all the joint excitement there is, it can sometimes get hard throughout the day and challenging with finances and such.
16:21My experience is like so many others who face the same challenges every day.
16:25As a New York mom, I feel fortunate to live in a state where we have a governor, the first mom, governor, who gets it and knows how important it is for our physical and mental health to have support that it does take a village to raise a child in the state.
16:39And with this year's budget, I'm so glad to see that Governor Hochul is keeping new moms like me on top of mind and making sure that New York State is the best place to raise a healthy baby and a young child at each stage of their life.
16:52Sorry.
16:55Okay.
16:56One of the number one concerns that new moms have is how will we make it work financially.
17:02And we all know this.
17:03The new baby bonus, which will provide 1,800 to eligible new moms, will make a difference for so many of us.
17:10And thanks to Buffalo Prenatal, Perinatal Network and Governor Hochul for standing up for us and fighting for the families every day, we are not doing this alone.
17:19And thank you to Governor Hochul for doing all you can to make New York an even better place to have a baby and raise a family.
17:26And now please welcome to the stage, Trina Burris, President of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County.
17:45Good afternoon, everybody.
17:55Good afternoon.
17:56So, Christina kept telling me she was nervous.
17:59Yeah, okay.
18:00I saw no evidence of that.
18:02And I wish I had actually gone right after the governor.
18:05So, so thank you so much, Governor Hochul and your team for having me here today.
18:10I'm really honored to be speaking not only on behalf of our community, but on behalf of the nonprofit colleagues of mine who know how important all this help is.
18:24So, for those of you who follow what United Way does, we do everything we do for families called ALICE, which are asset limited, income constrained, employed.
18:39And so, as the acronym would imply, it's about people who are working really hard every single day in our community to try to not only just make ends meet, but to thrive and be happy and successful with their family and their children.
18:56And so, in our county, 42% of our community struggle to make that happen.
19:03And so, the things that are contained in the governor's budget are going to go a super long way in making that load a little lighter for that 42%.
19:14And so, Governor, again, we thank you so much for that.
19:18There's going to be a theme here, guys, in case you were wondering.
19:21So, at United Way, we have a program called Work Life Solutions.
19:26And in that work that we're doing, we have an opportunity to hear firsthand and to help firsthand those families that are having these struggles that we're talking about.
19:37And so often, a key part of that program that gets used and has been used over a thousand times, families just need money.
19:49That's it.
19:51No matter what the issue is, money sometimes is what is needed.
19:56And so, Governor, when you're giving these dollar amounts that may seem small and their own and their collective, they are meaningful.
20:04In our Work Life Solutions program, folks often borrow $1,000 from our partner, MBT Bank, in order to meet those needs.
20:12And again, we've done over 1,000 of those loans.
20:16So, that tells you how many car repairs are needed, how much childcare needs to be paid for, things connected to your house.
20:24These are all things that are affecting lives every day and preventing people from showing up the way that they need or want to at their jobs.
20:33And so, when the governor expands the tax credit, that helps with financial security.
20:39When the governor does things like put money in the budget for the Chuck Dolly Parton Imagination Library, that helps students be ready for school by sending books out to children every month with their name on it.
20:54I have a four-year-old granddaughter. I'm telling you, she loves to see mail with her name on it.
21:00Her granddad and I are less enamored with seeing our names with mail on it.
21:04But we have, I see I have people in the choir who feel my pain.
21:09So, for United Way, because of what the governor is doing, we are in 35 zip codes, 2,200 children that are receiving a book every month.
21:20That's over 7,000 books just since we've started.
21:24Y'all should clap for that.
21:27Including, including in rural communities.
21:31So, we know that the community is vast and needs our help.
21:36When the governor puts money in the budget for healthy communities and universal school meals, we know that that means students are going to be ready to receive the education which they so deserve and so want.
21:51And then lastly, when the governor gives money for inflation reduction, she is getting after resilient communities.
22:00Those Alice folks we talked about, it's worse than just not being able to meet a $400 budget or whatever the data is.
22:08It's about all the trains have to run on time.
22:11Nothing can go wrong.
22:13Not a snowstorm, nothing.
22:15Everything has to go right.
22:17And when the governor puts in all these components and fights for us in the budget, she is a person, a mom, a grandmother that recognizes that.
22:27And on behalf of particularly of the nonprofit sector, Governor Hochul, I really want to give you a heartfelt thank you for that as well.
22:36And so lastly, I'll leave you with two things.
22:45One, one woman that we work with was telling us about what these sorts of things will mean for her and what it means.
22:53She said it jokingly, but I will tell you because it is meaningful.
22:56That it means she'll be able to buy berries for her two sons when she goes to the grocery store.
23:01That's real.
23:02That is real.
23:04So, and the last thing I will leave you with is in Buffalo, we are fearless when it comes down to driving in the winter.
23:12Because what we know every time we get behind the wheel and there's a snowstorm, that if the car starts to get unsteady, that we have to drive into it in order to come out of it.
23:24And Governor, that's what you've done with this budget.
23:28You've driven in to the problems and created action that helps our community stay in control of our overall destiny and our ability to drive.
23:38So, one last time, I told you there was a theme.
23:41Governor, thank you.
23:42Thank you, folks.
23:47That concludes today's announcements.
23:52Please give another round of applause for Governor Hochul.