- 5/21/2025
On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) held a press briefing to discuss infrastructure investments.
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NewsTranscript
00:00The 57th governor of the great state of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul.
00:06Applause
00:25For over 400 years, Albany has been an important part of New York State's history.
00:31From its beginnings as a bustling trade hub to its legacy as our capital city,
00:35Albany has always led with strength, purpose, and pride. This is the place where New York's
00:41laws are written, where progress takes root, and where generations of hard-working New Yorkers
00:45have built lives, families, and futures. After COVID, downtown Albany faced real challenges.
00:53Offices went dark, some businesses closed, and concerns about safety grew.
00:58In Governor Hochul's executive budget, New York State committed $400 million
01:02to rebuild the downtown core and boost efforts already underway that will transform the one-mile
01:08radius surrounding the downtown core into a thriving community. And we're proud to say
01:13we are moving forward. New York is investing $400 million to build safer streets, stronger
01:20neighborhoods, and a thriving downtown economy that will attract businesses, visitors, and
01:25residents alike. This isn't just about rebuilding. It's about reimagining what Albany can be for
01:31generations to come. Together, we are honoring Albany's legacy and securing its future, brighter,
01:38safer, and full of promise. Albany isn't just our capital. It's a cornerstone of New York's future.
01:50Once again, please stand and welcome Governor Kathy Hochul.
02:08Thank you. Great announcer. Is he from some game show somewhere?
02:13Well done, well done. It is so great to be here. This is a place I have visited more often than I'm
02:20going to admit. After watching something at Capitol Repertory Theater or stopping by the Irish Museum
02:28and hearing one of my, I think it's called the Capital Region's first ever all-female Gaelic
02:34band, Triscali. Anybody see them? Okay, I have to discover your own local talent here.
02:39But they're really funny and they're great. I've actually had them over to the residence
02:42to entertain. So, came over here for drinks afterward is my point. So,
02:47I want to thank Christian and his family for welcoming us here.
02:50And I'm here because I believe in Albany. I believe in the city. I love it here.
02:59I love it.
03:00I'm enthralled with its history. I'm enamored of its people.
03:10And now I'm inspired by its great potential. I have so much faith in Albany and its people
03:18that in this year's budget, I propose to spend $400 million to reinvigorate our downtown.
03:31Actually, then Assemblymember Pat Fahey said it was the best Christmas present ever.
03:40So, I want to thank her and all the local officials for believing in this. So,
03:44my friends, we fought, we envisioned, we won, and we got it done. And many of you
03:51played a role in this once in a generational opportunity. And I want to thank each and
03:56everyone. And I want to acknowledge my leadership team. They look a little battled and bruised.
04:02They probably are the people that would really like to be done with the budget March 31st,
04:06even more than me. But they have fought hard. They've worked so hard. And I want to thank
04:09Karen Persichilli-Keough, the Secretary of the Governor, for being such a great champion of this
04:15city. It didn't hurt that the budget director is from here, so I didn't have to twist his arm
04:25too hard to get this money. I think he might have even gone a little higher. Hey, there's
04:28always next year, Blake. Let's see if we have any money left after the feds are done with us.
04:34Hope Knight, thank you for your leadership in driving economic change and development,
04:39especially in downtowns like Albany. And Jeanette Moy, the Commissioner of OGS,
04:43who basically owns more property than God. I want to thank her for all she does as well.
04:48And Marie-Therese Dominguez, our Commissioner of DOT, making sure these roads are looking good.
04:53And she's very excited about 787. She'll get it done. She'll get it done.
05:00Our County Executive, Dan McToy, who's so optimistic and positive about what we can do
05:05together, the county, the state, the city working together. And of course, someone who's been a
05:10friend of mine long before I was Governor, before I was Lieutenant Governor, our great Mayor,
05:14Kathy Sheehan. This is always going to be part of your legacy, your story.
05:17All our local officials, members of the RADC, our business owners, especially those who never gave
05:26up on the city, even when some counted it down and out, because we never did. And all of our
05:31friends in labor who can't wait to get the shovels in the ground. So I want to say this. Thank you,
05:37all labor. I'll give you a little insight into how this came about. I invited George
05:47Hurst over for breakfast at the Governor's residence. Everybody said, you got to get to
05:52know George. Get him to like you. Maybe they'll write really nice stories about you in the TU.
05:57Still working on that part, George.
06:03Maybe they're better than they would have been. I don't know.
06:04But then we said, you know what? Let's do something really unique. Let's bring together
06:12the thought leaders, the movers and shakers, people who love this community to their core,
06:16and have them over for an evening of conversation and ideas at the Governor's residence.
06:22So he had me at hello on that one. That was a great idea. We made it happen just this past
06:27December. And then in my budget just a couple weeks later, we got to yes. And so I want to
06:34thank him for his vision for this community, his family's depth of caring about this community.
06:41It's always been there. And for all they do at Hurst Publications, I want to thank him as well.
06:45Let's give him a round of applause.
06:51You know, this has been my home for over a decade. You can sometimes catch me chatting it up with
06:57everybody who works at the Pearl Street Diner early in the morning. They know exactly what I
07:00want when I walk in the door. Sometimes I have cider at Nine Pin because I just love the story
07:06of the mom and her son right after he got out of school. And was it a chemistry major? And my kids
07:12didn't do that. I mean, anyhow, I could have used something useful, like either someone who owns a
07:16winery, a brewery, or a distillery. Or a cidery. Or a plumber or mechanic. I didn't need another
07:24lawyer in the family, but that's another story. I'll take it up at the family dinners. But
07:28you know, or sometimes I'm just cheering my beloved Buffalo Bills, as many of you at McCreary's.
07:36And for the record, the most popular thing I did for this community was to get the law changed
07:42when the bills were playing. Remember over in London, and we had to have the bars be able to
07:47open at 9 a.m. so we could start drinking early on a Sunday? We got it done. I'm really proud of that.
07:55But I walk the streets and I feel the energy. I feel a city that's just
08:00so poised for greatness. Because that's part of our DNA here. And I want to harness that. I mean,
08:07I see the sold-out crowds at MVP Arena. I mean, I went and watched college basketball there with
08:12my little daughter, granddaughter, so I could let her see what these really tall women could do.
08:16Yeah, they're a lot bigger than your grandma. But we, you know, just all people came for the
08:21basketball. The line stretched around the Palace Theater. Is that not a gorgeous facility? I've
08:26been to theaters all over New York. I mean, that beats a lot of buildings on Broadway. I mean,
08:31this has more charm and more history. Yeah, you go to the Washington Park for the Tula Fest. I mean,
08:36this is just, these are events that bind the community together. Shared experiences,
08:44memories for your children, part of our story here. But while I see all this,
08:50I also have to recognize a different reality in certain parts of our downtown.
08:58There are some boarded-up storefronts, some bleak, rather empty streets, and some places
09:04where crime is very much top of mind and a concern. You know, for decades, a place like
09:10downtown Albany and Albany, the region, has tried to just jumpstart change. I mean,
09:16they wanted something so desperately to happen, but they lost so much of the population in the
09:21later part of the 20th century. All of upstate did. If you want an expert on urban and suburban
09:29decline in upstate New York during the 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s, you know, I'm the person who
09:36can tell that story from personal experience. I have no family left in this state. They all left
09:40for jobs they wanted to stay. Big Irish Catholic family, I'm always having to go down for somebody's
09:45birthday, wedding, baptism, daughter's bridal shower. They don't live here. And it pains me
09:53because they should all be here. And it wasn't anybody's fault. Businesses left.
09:59Manufacturing left. But now we're starting to feel the opportunities. I mean, look at
10:05look at University of Albany. Look at UAlbany. I mean, Javier Don Rodriguez is here. What a
10:10champion for driving change here. That is a catalyst for bringing so many young, smart people here.
10:20But then just when you think you're getting back in, the pandemic comes and slams us.
10:26And it was a devastating blow to small businesses.
10:29But even that, with so many workers, government workers who are working remotely because they
10:35could not go into their offices, we had to protect everyone. It just kind of hard, it was hard to come
10:40back from. And then you get inflation right afterward. Everything's going up. Harder for
10:45our small retail and businesses to make it. And then why don't we just throw some tariffs on top
10:50of that while we're at it. I mean, life has been hard. No fault of anybody's. And I recognize that.
10:56And I recognize that. But it has not dampened the enthusiasm of the people in this room.
11:00So I know we have a shared belief that Albany can and will achieve new heights.
11:05And I'm very bullish on this community. And we know the history. This is the heart of our
11:09capital. It's the oldest charted city in America. And it's a place where laws are written,
11:17policies are driven, that the rest of the nation pays attention to because we are New York.
11:24Movements start in our state and spread to the rest of the nation. We're still that place. That's
11:30not our past history. That is us today as we meet the challenges that are coming out of Washington
11:36and everything else that's happening because we're tough New Yorkers. And the nation looks to us.
11:43And that's why I am so committed to being this, making this capital, the capital of the great
11:48state of New York, the very best it can be. Very best. I will also say when I first became
12:01lieutenant governor and basically took up residency here in the capital region, hotel,
12:06but was still home, everybody was talking about how come Buffalo got the Buffalo billion.
12:13Remember the envy? Yeah, I heard a lot about it. You can walk around and do a little smack talk
12:21in yourselves because since I've been governor, I didn't deliver a billion dollars for this area. I
12:28didn't do two or three. I have delivered $4 billion of improvements, funding for major
12:35projects that people before could have done and they just ignored. Replacing the Livingston Avenue
12:41Bridge, getting that done. Reimagining 787 because why not? Why don't we open up that
12:50gorgeous river to people to recreate and live and to just embrace it. I mean, look at the
12:57communities all across New York that did not capitalize on having a wonderful waterfront. I
13:03mean, they've got this little spit of a river in San Antonio and they got all this river walk.
13:07I got the Hudson River, right? I got the Hudson River.
13:16As we continue to attract the smartest people here, we're going to make the Wadsworth Lab
13:20worthy of the rest of this community and say we are going to have the best, the world's finest,
13:25the world's finest resident scientists there. And we're looking for bold proposals for Liberty Park,
13:31one of our downtown's largest development site. That is a gift. You know how many communities
13:35would love to have this fresh start, places you can say we can build a whole new future here?
13:41So I'm proud that we're all working so hard to capitalize on this. And as I mentioned,
13:45the outskirts of our community, a national semiconductor resurgence and all kinds of
13:50programs that I can barely pronounce that he's doing over there. All I know is I just gave you
13:54a billion dollars from something that sounds like lithography or something. What is that again?
13:59It's a big word, but big words, big dollars. What the heck? But that's how I bring highly
14:06paid individuals here, right? And what else do we need to do? We need to give them housing.
14:12It's very cool for someone, whether you're a young person starting out or an empty nester
14:18like me that moved to my downtown. You know, the suburbs were nice for raising kids. I want to be
14:22where the energy was. I didn't want to feel so old. I want to be with young people and just feel the
14:26energy. That's why we need a walkable city with more housing. New mixed-use apartments
14:39on Clinton Square. I mean, it's happening. It's happening. And powered by our DRI grants. I mean,
14:45that was a great, great program. We continue to invest that. And now let's talk about that
14:50$400 million. So Blake, is this $4.4 billion by the time I'm done? That's even better breaking
15:02rights than you thought when you walked in the door. So let's break it down. Half of the money,
15:07$200 million, go toward downtown development projects right here. We'll bring
15:13downtown neighborhoods, desolate blocks back to life. The shuttered storefronts,
15:24abandoned buildings. We're teaming with people in business and transforming a project that'll
15:31just make sure people want to be here. Statement projects that are talked about elsewhere.
15:37Not run of the mill because we're unique. This is Albany. No one has our history. No one has
15:41our future. That's what I'm talking about. The boldness, the ambition. We all have that. We just
15:46need it unleashed. And a little bit of money, $400 million, can do just that. So here's what
15:52we're doing. We're going to bring people together. Experts, expert guidance from a planning firm we
15:58just brought on board. And they've done fabulous work. They have a great record of revitalizing
16:03Queens and Long Island City and the Manhattan Garment District. So they know what they're doing.
16:08And we're also committing $150 million to bolster our cultural institutions around the city,
16:13places like the museum. And places that give Albany its richness and its identity.
16:19So I want to make sure that we continue to draw tourists here to our museums, our art galleries,
16:26our theater. And what I love about this project and Albany, we can handle the scale.
16:35We're not talking about, you know, New York City. We're not talking about an area that's
16:40just so big that you do this, you barely notice the difference. These will be high impact projects
16:46that as soon as they're done, people come back if they've not been here a long time and they'll say,
16:50aha, it is different. They were right. And that's what I'm looking for. Those bold statements of
16:58ambition. And I'm real excited that that's exactly what we're planning to deliver on.
17:03I say let's get it done. We also have to capitalize on the proximity to the Hudson River,
17:07as you know. I go boating on that river. I know every nook and cranny of that river.
17:13Even hit the bottom once. There's some places that are a little shallow. It took six months
17:17to get repaired, but that's okay. So we're also committing $40 million for the next phase of 787
17:24redevelopment. I want to connect people and businesses to the water. Just like Henry Hudson
17:35probably would have expected we would have figured out by now, right? All these years later. Because
17:39people know that people congregate near water. Water is healing. Water is calming. Water is a
17:47place you can throw down a blanket and have a picnic with your kids and look at the birds and
17:53it just creates those family memories that I'm so looking for. So it's going to be precious.
17:58And also, we mentioned some of the neighborhoods that people are anxious about crime.
18:03We have leaned hard into dealing with crime all across this state. I've said it 100 times. Public
18:09safety is my number one priority. And Albany PD works so hard. And our state police are helping
18:16support them. And our county sheriffs are supporting them. All working together. And
18:20as governor, I've already invested $47 million in Albany to help drive down crime. We're making
18:28real progress. Mayor knows this. Shootings are down 7% from last year. The lowest point
18:36since the start of the pandemic when people were not talking about crime so much. So lean into that.
18:41But we still have more to do. That's why my plan includes an additional $1 million
18:50directly for Albany PD so they can get the technology and the innovation and the equipment
18:55they need. $500,000 for the sheriff's office. Make sure they have the resources to have what
19:02they need. Paying for overtime shifts. Enhanced nighttime patrols. You want to have a nightlife,
19:08you got to feel safe. People need to see police officers. And again, as I mentioned,
19:12the upgraded police technology. I have seen this work so successfully. We get modernized technology.
19:18Those criminals don't have a chance. And we're coming after them. I'm coming after them. Because
19:24no matter what we build here, if we don't have that foundation of a sense of safety,
19:30and it doesn't matter, they still won't come. So that has to occur now as we're imagining our
19:36future here. So as I wrap up, my friends, you have many more speakers to hear from. This is a
19:40defining moment. Can we meet the challenge that I have laid down? Can we come together?
19:49And I've been involved in so many community reimagining projects, including 31 years ago
19:56when I first became a town board member and we had to work on our update of the master plan.
19:59I'll tell you, it got contentious. Because everybody has their own idea. I am asking you
20:06at the outset, don't squander this opportunity. The money is there now. Right now. You have a
20:14governor, an upstate governor, haven't had one in a hundred years. I am here because I know how
20:19important this is. I want to get this done. So come to the meetings, because this is going to
20:29be driven by the community and the leaders in this room. Come with a spirit of openness and
20:35collaboration, and don't let petty differences drive such a wedge that all of a sudden people
20:40say, well, that was another one for the books that we just put on the shelf. That happened for
20:45my entire life in Buffalo. The shelves filled with ideas that were stopped by different advocacy
20:53groups or this lawsuit or that lawsuit. So much stuff doesn't get done because of obstructionism.
21:00Stand guard against that. If it's coming, you make it go away. You fight hard against it. Use
21:05our media resources, use our voices, use our public officials to stand up and say,
21:10we have a chance, family and team and friends. Let's not blow it. Let's get it done. This is
21:17our moment. Thank you very much, everybody.
21:25With that, let me bring up our county executive, Dan McCoy.
21:37What's left to say? So I do want to say I agree with you on a couple of levels, because
21:43when I met with the governor about a year ago at NISAC when I was president with Steve Aquario,
21:48we went in with all these questions, answers we wanted, and I left going. I thought, you know,
21:55the TU editorial board was bad. I was like, you have to be ready when you walk in there. And
22:00everyone's like, how'd the meeting go? And I go, I'm more confused than I was when I walked in.
22:04She turned it on us, flipped and said, what are you doing here? What are you going to do there?
22:08How are you going to figure out this? What are you going to do when you get St. Rose? I'm like,
22:12I don't think we got what we wanted across the table. But it showed me a governor that was
22:18battle-ready, that understood the 57 counties in upstate New York and the rest of the state
22:22in New York. And I go, what better governor in this time than to have our great Governor Hogle.
22:27So thank you, Governor, for everything. Who's crisscrossed upstate New York,
22:35downstate when she was Lieutenant Governor, and continues to keep that pace as governor.
22:40And when you sit there and you're like, you don't know what we're understanding from counties,
22:44and she summed it up 31 years ago on the town board, when we're like, all right, we can't use
22:48that with her. She understands county government and city governments. Other governors didn't.
22:52But you get that. And you understand we need the money now. And I have to say thank you to have
22:58the $200 million investment in downtown Albany, $150 million for the museums, the other $50 million
23:04going out to public safety and other good issues. This is an opportunity for us to shine. But to
23:09the leadership of the Senate and the Assembly, to the Assembly members, to the senators that
23:12have believed in this, that have voted in this. And she's right. It's not easy. Now we can brag,
23:18because I'm sick of listening to Mark Poloncart's about his billion dollars. Now I'm giving it back
23:22to all the investment you did. So thank you about that. But when you have this investment
23:27and so many members believing in it, six or three senators, 150 Assembly members,
23:32all agreeing that this needs to get done, it says something. We have an opportunity here in Albany
23:38to prove something, to make it fix, get it to work. And I always say, Albany is like the heart
23:44of the body, because the rest of the counties, the arms and the legs and the chest and the head,
23:49what happens here affects everyone, and in the capital region. So this is so important that we
23:54do this right. We do it going out of the gate with a great vision and a great plan. And that's
24:00because we have you for the next five years, Governor. So thank you for your leadership.
24:04Thank you for the belief in us, and continue doing your great work across the state of New York. So
24:09thank you. Oh, sorry, I forget. I get to bring up our great Mayor Kathy Sheehan to the podium.
24:17All right. Well, Governor, to say that it is a thrill, that it is exciting to be here,
24:29those are all understatements. This is a day, and I want to give a shout out to my team. I have so
24:34many commissioners and directors and City of Albany employees here. Make yourselves heard. Come on.
24:41Shout. And they have really poured their heart and souls into this city. I've had the honor of
24:50being the mayor here for the last 11 and a half years. When I started out, things were rough.
24:56It was a rough road out of that recession, and Albany was hit pretty hard. We had a structural
25:01deficit. We had no rainy day fund. And so for the state to look at investing 200 million or
25:07400 million dollars here, they probably would have taken a pause and said, what are they going
25:13to do with that money? And we've worked so hard to completely eliminate our reliance on the landfill
25:21that we were using like an ATM machine, of shoring up how we do business, being more effective and
25:27efficient, making those investments in the things that nobody can see. You know, if anybody questions
25:35whether I did this job for the glory, think about what I invested in, right? A 46 million
25:42dollar project to get floatables out of the Hudson River. No one's ever going to see it.
25:47But we can't imagine what we could do with the Hudson River unless it's clean. I was just in
25:53Washington, and I went down to the wharf, and that whole project happened because they finally
25:58cleaned the water. And so doing the things that we needed to do, investing in our infrastructure,
26:04investing in those neighborhoods where we see challenges, where we see concentrations of poverty,
26:10two new community centers, a new pool, those are all things that are happening to strengthen our
26:16city so that we're ready for this investment. And we have a governor who is here at the right time
26:23with the right ideas, who listens, who makes sure that she's reaching out to everyone from our
26:31business community to people who have been here for a long time, newer folks who are here, to say
26:37if we're going to do this, we want to see it. And we've done a lot of great things here. Prior to the
26:45the pandemic, we were making the investments, turning class B and C office space into residential.
26:51We've built nearly a thousand units of housing down here already, but what we've learned is
26:56we need more, and we can support more. So it is, but it is going to take investment because
27:02post-pandemic, downtown's changed. We're not unique there either. We'd like to think that we are,
27:09but we're not. Downtowns are still trying to figure out what they're going to do with this new
27:15hybrid work schedule that so many people have, but we're ready. We are ready for this, and we are
27:23going to make you so proud because we are going to come together. We are going to listen, and we're
27:28going to focus and make sure that the investments that we make in this downtown are something that
27:34everyone can see, that people can benefit from, and we're going to go big. And I want to end with just
27:40again a cautionary tale. You know, I'm not from here. People like to remind me of that all the time,
27:48but I think that that makes my passion for the city of Albany all that more compelling.
27:54I'm here because I love this city. I fell in love with this place. It's history. It's people. The
28:01sense of community here. The fact that you can really have an impact and make a difference here,
28:08but it's time for us to ensure that we are only looking forward. I don't want to hear about
28:16yesterday, right? I don't want to hear about what was. We have to talk about what is. The Empire
28:24State Plaza is here. 787 is here. We don't want it here anymore. Thank you for being here.
28:32But we need to think about the future. What do we want for our future? And as everyone knows,
28:38we found a little time capsule that had a letter in it from a hundred years ago. A hundred years
28:43ago where a business leader said leading and influential men desired apparently to keep Albany
28:49for the most part, a characteristically residential city. In many ways, the capital of the Empire
28:55State was decidedly backward as compared with other leading cities of this state and nation.
29:03I am proud of this city. We are a city that is powered by pride and potential. We need to go
29:11for this. This isn't about small things. The governor put it perfectly. We've got to get out
29:16of our own way. We've got to take this opportunity and move this city forward and create an incredible,
29:24wonderful, amazing city for our future generations. And this would not be happening
29:31without the leadership of Governor Hochul, without her vision, and as somebody, as she said,
29:38who saw this in Buffalo. We're not going to have that here. We are going to take this and we are
29:43going to move the city forward and we are going to build a place that is going to create more and
29:49more and more and more opportunity. I'm so excited for what we have coming and again, thank you so
29:55much, Governor. And now I want to invite somebody who is going to be very involved in what is
30:11happening in our downtown, the executive director of our downtown bid, Georgette Steffens.
30:17Thank you so much, Mayor. Today is an incredible day for Albany. In my 25 years of being in the
30:26economic development industry, there has never been an investment of this scale and size in
30:32downtown Albany. And so on behalf of our 200 property owners, our 120 restaurants, retail and
30:39retail-related businesses, I want to offer my profound gratitude to Governor Hochul and the
30:45legislature for their commitment to Albany. Again, this is once-in-a-lifetime. We've never seen it,
30:50at least in my professional career, and it wouldn't happen without your commitment to our
30:55capital city. So thank you so much. As you know, downtowns across the nation were
31:04decimated by COVID. And while our tourism industry has rebounded and our residential demand remains
31:16strong, the economic impact to our small businesses of hybrid and remote working is still palpable.
31:25But one exciting thing that I hear over and over again, right, our conversation has changed from
31:31what we were hearing during COVID over the last two years. I'm worried about surviving. I'm worried
31:37about keeping my doors open. I'm worried about paying my local employees to now there's hope.
31:43This announcement has brought hope to our small business owners, to our office tenants,
31:49to our residents of our city. And so thank you for creating that hope, Governor Hochul.
31:53So some of you have heard me say this statistic before, but I think it's really important.
32:06Cushman-Wakefield recently did a study that said 70% of foot traffic in cities comes
32:13not from residents and not from commuters, but from visitors. That's the new user of downtown.
32:20And so what a drastic change that is for business districts like ours that have traditionally
32:27served as a center for commerce in a region. So it's critical that we look at our infrastructure
32:33and offerings and begin to adapt to a new way people are utilizing our downtowns.
32:39It's imperative that we offer innovative arts and cultural institutions like the investment you're
32:45making at the State Museum. It's imperative that we offer high quality modern entertainment
32:51and recreational opportunities, as well as vibrant public spaces that both national and
32:57international companies and their employees expect of a capital city. And so this historic
33:04investment allows us to do just that. It affords us an opportunity to reimagine our capital city.
33:11We keep on saying it, but we really need to think big and think future forward. This is not
33:18what can we do tomorrow and the next day. It's about thinking about my middle school age girls
33:23and what will keep them here to go to college and what will keep them here to have a job
33:28when they're that age. And so we cannot squander this opportunity. This impact is going, the impact
33:35is going to be transformational and the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District is pleased
33:40to work with you, Governor Hochul. Your leadership, your vision, your commitment to our capital city
33:46had the opportunity actually over the holidays to see you and your family at Capitol Rep and join
33:52the Sherlock Holmes Christmas Carol. You are part of the city. We've brought you and many
33:57of your commissioners around to meet and speak with our small businesses. I know you mean
34:02what you say. You walk the walk, you talk the talk. And so we are appreciative of your commitment and
34:07I promise you we are not going to squander it. The amount of phone calls and emails I get,
34:12when is the public process going to start? How do I get involved? We are going to pack the houses
34:17for every public meeting and we're excited to be a partner with you on this journey. Thank you so much.
34:26So talking about making an investment at just the right time, many of you are probably familiar
34:34with Fort Orange General Store. They are an incredibly creative retail store in Downtown Albany
34:43that actually is building brand loyalty for Albany, right? They support local and regional makers.
34:50It's New York state products, it's Albany products. And co-owner Joe Slicko recently, he and his
34:58partner purchased Fort Orange because they saw Albany's potential. And so I'm really excited. We
35:04were talking about how excited we are about this investment and how involved they want to be. So
35:09I'm excited to ask him to say a few words. Good afternoon everyone. As you just heard, my name is
35:20Joe Slicko and alongside my partner Erica Cabello, we are the proud owners of the Fort Orange General
35:26Store right here in the heart of Downtown Albany. And we're here today to acknowledge and sincerely
35:32thank Governor Hochul for her unprecedented investment in our capital, our community, and
35:37our home. So thank you Governor. With the continued leadership of Mayor Sheehan, the dedication of
35:49County Executive McCoy, and the unwavering support of organizations like the Albany Bid, we're
35:54witnessing real and meaningful transformation in our beloved city and it's happening right before
35:59our eyes. As lifelong residents of the Capital Region, Erica and I were thrilled to take ownership
36:05of the Fort Orange General Store this past November. And one of our primary goals has been to champion
36:11and support our local community. We do this by sourcing from local vendors who create products
36:16inspired by the landmarks we cherish and the rich history that defines Albany. Engaging with our
36:22neighborhood and uplifting the local community is at the core of everything we do. From launching
36:27our Capital Collection, which highlights the iconic places we grew up loving, to hosting hands-on
36:33workshops with local artists, to collaborating with fellow businesses to ensure the new Alive
36:38at Five Concert Series location feels authentically Albany. At Fort Orange, we're deeply committed
36:44to celebrating and contributing to the vibrant culture of our city. But that's only part of the
36:51story. Erica and I are both lifelong educators. Erica serves as an art teacher in the City School
36:57District of Albany and I'm the principal of Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education
37:02Center's Albany campus. Every day we see how this investment in our city translates to broader
37:16opportunities, not just for businesses like ours, but for the next generation of professionals who
37:22will shape Albany's future. At Capital Region BOCES CTE, we prepare students for high demand,
37:28skilled professions, fields that are in critical need of trained and dedicated workers. Through
37:33partnerships with local industries, many of the folks in this room today, we offer students
37:38meaningful industry-aligned learning experiences. And thanks to this investment, we're seeing not
37:44just more of these opportunities, but a greater diversity in these opportunities for all of our
37:50students. Governor Hochul's commitment to downtown Albany, bolstered by the support of Mayor Sheehan
38:02and our city leadership, is creating lasting, life-changing impact. It's building a stronger,
38:07more resilient community that supports small businesses, empowers our students, and welcomes
38:13everyone who lives, works, plays, or visits our great city. As a business owner, educator, parent,
38:21and lifelong resident, I want to express my heartfelt thanks. We invite everyone to come
38:27downtown, experience the revitalization for yourselves, and be part of Albany's continued
38:32renaissance. Thank you.