The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
HOCHUL CHAT
Lt. governor talks to Mohawk Valley residents, officials about budget, future state plans
UTICA, N.Y. » New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul recently spoke with Mohawk Valley area residents and officials about the state’s 2021 proposed budget and other important plans for the future.
The lieutenant governor’s presentation on the topic, given Feb. 23, was hosted by the Genesis Group with the help of the Chamber Alliance of the Mohawk Valley.
Hochul, the highest ranking female elected official in NY, and Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri’s friendly rapport set the presentation’s tone. “We have built a great relationship,” Palmieri said of Hochul. When she’s able to meet in the area in person, she always buys a cup of Utica Coffee. Seeing her ties to the community is appreciated, he said.
The presentation was held virtually online due to COVID restrictions. Hochul regretted not being able to indulge in her traditional Utica coffee, but she also took time to commend the area for keeping the infection rate down as of late.
Everyone has become accustomed to this new way of life during the pandemic: limiting public outings, preventing viral spread, and awaiting the vaccine. NYS has been receiving around 300,000 vaccine doses a week, Hochul said, with around 10 million residents eligible to receive them. This has created a crisis with huge demand and limited supply.
Things are getting better though, Hochul said, speculating that the past month was the roughest patch. With Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine on the horizon, the prospects of getting more doses into people’s arms are becoming more promising, she said.
“In the Mohawk Valley, we’ve had 94,000 people receive their
doses, which is about 84% of the allocation [that] has already gone into people’s arms, and that’s a good dynamic,” Hochul commented.
Hochul also commended area businesses for switching gears to manufacturing PPE supplies and being area leaders at the beginning of the COVID crisis.
It will be a while before life returns to “normal.” Until then, the state has advocated for residents to enjoy local staycations. “Make New York for New Yorkers,” Hochul commented.
Some have worried that Downtown Revitalization projects, like what Rome, Utica, and Amsterdam have benefitted from, will be cut from the state budget. Hochul assured that downtown revitalization is “still on the books.”
The state’s 2021 budget is all about reimagining, rebuilding, and renewing. This includes regaining a spirit of optimism for New Yorkers, that for many, has been lost over the past year during the COVID crisis.
A return of the arts and culture in a safe way is also a priority for NY moving forward, Hochul said. As a result, pop-up performances are happening all across the state. “Really what gives all of us meaning in our lives are the out of office experiences where we get a chance to be with friends and family and enjoy these incredible attractions,” Hochul said of life PRE-COVID.
“We have to continue helping give tax breaks to the most hard-hit industries like restaurants, arts, and tourism,” she added. Many people are struggling financially right now, and so NY is banning penalties and late fees for missed residential payments; this also applies to small businesses, Hochul said.
The lieutenant governor emphasized New York’s planned shift in economy to green energy in the near future. Work force development training in this sector, especially for those who lost their job during the pandemic or due to evolving technologies, will help lift people up while moving NY’S economy forward, she said. There are 16 projects in the Mohawk Valley to build renewables with 16,000 jobs, Hochul said.
Additionally, she noted that COVID has created opportunities that areas like the Mohawk Valley can capitalize on. COVID has proven that people can be productive working from home. “I think we’re poised to market this region as a lower cost, higher quality of life alternative to our downstate populated urban areas,” she commented. “The Mohawk Valley has it all.”
The state’s vaccine roll out plan is highly important. Particularly, officials need to make sure vaccines are brought to Black, Latino, Asain, Native American, rural, and poorer communities, she said. Some communities feel disconnected to the vaccine effort for a multitude of reasons, she said. “There is a hesitation for many who do not trust the government.” Officials will need to get creative and innovative to ensure access is available to these groups in a real and impactful way.
This could mean using a trusted area church as a vaccination center, or some other facility where groups feel comfortable getting the vaccine.
Hochul noted that one of Utica’s greatest strengths is its diverse immigrant community.
Additionally, “there’s too many healthcare desserts,” Hochul remarked.
Telehealth is something the state needs to invest in to ensure all residents have safe and easy access to their trusted physicians and healthcare providers, she said. Making sure the insurance companies will cover it is one of the most important parts. “This is a game changer,” she said.
Legalizing cannabis, a point on the state’s 2021 action plan, is something that Hochul says the state is behind on and paying for because of it. Neighboring states with legal cannabis vendors have parking lots “filled with NYS license plates,” she commented. The time is now to get ahead on this industry, she said, or else NY will miss out on its benefits, which include retail, manufacturing, job opportunities, and tax revenue. “It’s just a justice issue that it should be available in our state, heavily regulated, and make sure that it’s safe,” she said.
The state budget is being finalized, and quite frankly, the state needs more money, Hochul said. Pressure needs to be put on Washington to get the federal government to pay for the state’s pandemic set backs in order to avoid increased taxes and cuts to vital institutions like healthcare, social services, and schools.
“Just like any national disaster, they have to help us pay for this,” she commented.
As the pandemic wages on, ramping up rapid testing as a means to control COVID-19 and create a sense of safety is something the state is exploring. A passport app establishing a person’s test results and vaccination status is also in the works, Hochul said.
Innovating the way society accesses childcare has become a major priority because of COVID-19. Today, many parents are now left without a reliable form of childcare as schools waver in-and-out of in-person instruction. Particularly, women are forfeiting their jobs so they can take care of their children, and this is a huge problem, Hochul said.
Employer-provided child care is something worth exploring, she said. “Anyone who establishes a child care center will have prospective employees banging down the door, men and women,” she said. In the Mohawk Valley, where the space is available, this is definitely something employers should consider and pursue, she said, and NY can help them with tax breaks.
Nourish NY, a state program which reroutes surplus agricultural products to populations who need them most through New York’s network of food banks, was a a great success, and so the state is going to continue investing in it, Hochul said.
Access to high speed broadband is a priority. “Even if a map shows that it’s available in your area, if you can’t afford it, it’s as if it’s not there at all,” Hochul said. NY must make sure providers offer a low-income option for high speed internet at maximum $15 a month, Hochul said.
Regarding the recent election, Hochul said NY saw ways that voting was transformed and how further reforms should continue to give more people easy, safe, and secure access to elections. “Election reform, we saw needs some work in this area, but also we saw how good early voting was,” she commented.
“I think it’s a time for reflection as we look back on this year and to realize when things were at their worst, New Yorkers really did show their best. We will win this war. We’ll master reconstruction, and we will reimagine, rebuild, and renew the great state of New York,” Hochul concluded.