Governor Hochul Chats on NY1’s “Inside City Hall"

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on NY1’s “Inside City Hall.”

AUDIO: The Governor’s interview is available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor’s interview is available below:

Ayana Harry, NY1: Joining me now for an exclusive interview from our Washington D.C. studio is Governor Kathy Hochul. Governor, welcome back to the program.

Governor Hochul: Thank you. Great to see you again.

Ayana Harry, NY1: Governor, did you have an opportunity to speak with or meet with the President one-on-one during your time in Washington? And, if so, what can you share about the conversation?

Governor Hochul: No. I would say I was at the meeting with the governors this morning, and there were a number of issues that pertain to New York that were being discussed. One is, when he was asked the question, “What is the lesson you learned from what happened in Minneapolis?” He said, “We're only going to go places where we're welcome, where they want to have us there.” And he said, “For example, New York. I'll only go there if Kathy wants me to come to the city.”

So that was actually pretty reassuring, and rather unexpected in that environment, but he says he's worked with me before, and we'll keep working together. And he knows I'll stand up when I disagree, like I have on this unconscionable surge in ICE arrests around the country for people who are not committing crimes but who are here lawfully. So if that's the situation that holds, I will not be making a call to the President to bring the National Guard and ICE to our cities. And so, I thought that was a very interesting outcome from the meeting.

Ayana Harry, NY1: Any conditions that might change here in New York that would prompt you to make that call to the President for a greater ICE presence here?

Governor Hochul: No, I don't see it at all. We'll continue working with ICE, as we have for decades, when it comes to people who committed crimes in their home country, committing crimes here. My job is to keep New Yorkers safe. But what is happening from an agency that's literally out of control, arresting children and teenagers and people who've been here for years trying to make a better life for themselves — it is unconscionable; not to mention what happened in Minneapolis with the murder of two U.S. citizens.

But we're seeing raids in schools and in places of worship and in child care centers. And I put up a plan to have a ban on all of that. So what we have here is already more than enough. I think it's unnecessary. It's over the top. These are not well-trained individuals. And we need to rethink the whole issue of ICE's role here, and they need to be reformed dramatically. But you will not hear from me ever saying to President Trump, “I want you to come in greater numbers, I want a surge and I want the National Guard.” That is not happening.

Ayana Harry, NY1: I want to talk a bit about the National Governors Association meeting. It’s usually a bipartisan event at the White House — seemed to take a different tone when the President moved to not invite two Democratic governors. Just talk to me a bit about what your reaction was to this back and forth, and how you think it changed the tone of the meeting this year.

Governor Hochul: It was ridiculous to go back and forth and say it's a meeting of national governors that's been happening for — I mean, Teddy Roosevelt started this organization when he was President to bring Democrat and Republican governors together and give advice to the President. So two governors, Wes Moore from Maryland and Jared Polis from Colorado, were told they're not welcome at this meeting. So we were all saying, “Well we're not going either, then. We're going to stand with our other Democratic governors.”

But they relented, and they ended up inviting them, so I did go today, and both those governors were present. But unnecessary drama. Just more of the chaos out of Washington. This is a bipartisan organization dedicated to try and foster cooperative agreements and understanding. So, it just doesn't stop.

Ayana Harry, NY1: We’ve seen you clash with the President over funding for the Gateway Tunnel project. Funding was restored earlier this week, construction is back underway. Is this fight over, or are you worried that there could be a future threat from Washington?

Governor Hochul: You know, I called the President, third call I made, and I talked to him Monday night, and I said, “Mr. President, I'm going to the Gateway Tunnel construction site, where there are now 1,000 individuals, unemployed union members, and what would you like me to tell them, Mr. President? That you just killed their jobs?” So he said he would look at it. Within two days, the money was all restored. And I'm so proud that they're back to work.

But we don't need this on and off again dynamic. It's going to slow down the project. It'll make it more expensive. And I don't — I cannot say for sure that they won't play games again, but right now, it's a very good outcome from that call, the fact that these people are back to work and the project is moving forward.

Ayana Harry, NY1: What is it about your relationship with the President that you’re able to pick up the phone and get him to move on the Gateway Tunnel project? That he’s referencing you when speaking about ICE agents and where he’s going to, perhaps, send or not send more agents?

Governor Hochul: I decided early on I would make the effort to have a relationship that is productive for the people I represent when I agree with the President or I have to get him to back off of something that was harmful for our state, so I want to keep the communication open. But he has even said to me before — he goes, “You have beat the hell out of me sometimes on television,” and he's not happy about it. But I'm not afraid to stand up, especially with cutting off millions and billions of dollars in essential money we need for people's health care, or to cut $3.8 billion in child care and essential services for people.

I call all the time. I fight on that. Sometimes we win, sometimes we don't. But what I've told them with ICE, and I said this to members of his administration this morning, I said, “You have to get ICE under control, and they need to leave our cities.” Leave a presence to go after the criminals if you have to, spend time on the border to help us — the northern border in Canada here in New York State. Help us get drug traffickers and gun runners and people in trafficking in drugs — help us with that, but please leave innocent people who are law-abiding residents alone. And that's where we have constant conflict.

And so my point is, I will pick my fights and stand up to him when I think New York's rights or our values or our people are being challenged by him.

Ayana Harry, NY1: Governor, I want to turn to Mayor Mamdani’s budget proposal address earlier this week. He has persistently called on you to increase taxes, the State Legislature to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, on corporations. Despite you saying that this is a nonstarter for you. Is this beginning to put a strain on your relationship with the Mayor at all?

Governor Hochul: No, I don't think so. We're not going to agree on everything, or even many things sometimes, but that's okay. What I promised the people of this state was that I would work on a productive relationship with the Mayor of New York City, something that we have not seen in a very long time in the state.

And look what we did. The Mayor was on the job for eight days, and I helped him fulfill something that was important to him, but something I've been wanting for many years. Our interests aligned, and we now are on a path for universal child care, with substantial funding from the State of New York. Those are the kind of wins I want him to have, because it's also good for New York City overall. I also represent 8.5 million New Yorkers.

So we don't have to agree on what the funding sources are. And I understand people are frustrated. They feel that the system is rigged and they're not getting ahead. And affordability just makes them crazy when they're trying to pay the bills. How are they going to afford all this?

So I will continue focusing with the Mayor on what we can do together. We've supported him with $1.5 billion this week alone to help him with his budget, and the rest he'll have to work out with the City Council and the Speaker and those elected members who are responsible for all those decisions. But we will continue to be allies to the city, because I need New York City to be successful, and I will not do anything to harm the city. As I said, those are also my constituents.

Ayana Harry, NY1: So if the Mayor came to you with a new plan to tax the wealthy, saying that funding is needed for a specific initiative, you think then you might reconsider your stance?

Governor Hochul: No, I'm very firm in this because I understand the frustration out there, but what I want to do is broaden the pool. If we can bring in more money from having more jobs created, or more businesses coming here, by having an environment where they know what the taxes are — and again, people are paying quite a bit in taxes, I understand that. But, I want to make sure that people are still here and we don't end up having those taxes pushed down to lower levels of income to make up for loss.

So this is the challenge we face. It's not an easy one, and I know there's a lot of passion with this idea. But there is a path forward. I mean this is — we've been through more complicated issues in the past. I know that we can roll up our sleeves and make sure that New Yorkers get what they need, what services they need — public safety being the most important element that a mayor and a governor can work on is driving down crime, making sure people feel that they can go in our subways and not worry about crimes. I'm committed; I put more money in our Budget to help with that alone. So, I think we're going to be fine.

Ayana Harry, NY1: Governor, finally I want to ask you about the weather. We are expecting more snow here in New York coming up later this weekend into the start of next week. What state resources are being mobilized ahead of the potential next storm?

Governor Hochul: We are always ahead of the next storm. As soon as we get the sign, we start bringing in additional utility crews in case the power lines go down. We bring in the snow plows, the trucks, all the emergency vehicles that I need to position around the state so they're ready. What gets complicated is when we have statewide events, when every corner of the state is affected — and I cannot tell you how many of those events we've had this winter alone, it's been a devastating winter.

But New York City residents should be prepared to curtail their activities. The snow is supposed to start 6 a.m. on Sunday and go through 6 p.m. on Monday. And again, we've been fortunate in the past, some of these storms have been on the weekend. This one's going to hit Sunday, but also through Monday, a work day. And so, plan accordingly, try to stay indoors and make sure you check in on your neighbors.

But we've been through a lot this winter. We've got through it so far, and I'll be heading back up here to work on managing the command center and the operations in Albany as early as tomorrow. I'm going to head back earlier than I expected.

Ayana Harry, NY1: Alright, Governor Kathy Hochul. Thank you for joining us from Washington.

Governor Hochul: Thank you very much. Take care. Bye-bye.