Cuomo Addresses Congregants at the Sikh Center of New York
A lot of politicians talk but don't do. I'm the exact opposite. I'm all about getting things done, getting them done right, getting them done fast. I don't believe government is about talking. I believe government is about doing.
Queens, N.Y. – Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City today addressed congregants at Sikh Center of New York.
A rush transcript of his remarks is below
"Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here. This is very close to my home. The Cuomos, we're all from Queens, all three generations. My grandfather, my father, myself, we all lived in Queens. My grandfather was at 1 88th Street in Hillside Avenue. My father was on 197th Street near Francis Lewis Boulevard. So this is home and it's a pleasure to be with you. I have my daughter with me, Cara, which is fitting because our relationship goes way back. It's a generational relationship. My father, Mario Cuomo was governor before me, obviously 1982 to 1994, and he was very close to your community and he would bring me to events with your community.
So Cara, my daughter, this is now the fourth generation, and that gives me joy. I have tremendous respect for your community and your culture and for the difficulties that you have had to deal with, which have been many. I have always been there to stand up for you and with you what New York City is all about, which is important, especially now when we have President Trump in the White House. New York City is the welcoming city, is the accepting city, is the tolerant city. Enjoys diversity, enjoys people with different religions and different cultures who come from different countries. That's what New York City is all about, and we have mutual respect for each other. We don't always have to agree. You like the Yankees, I like the Mets. We can have disagreements, but we respect each other and we respect each other's religion and culture and customs.
There was a disturbing incident a few years back where people were being discriminated against because of religious garb. To me, that was the exact opposite of what New York is all about, what America is all about, what democracy is all about. So I passed the first law in the country that made it illegal to discriminate against anyone because of their religious garb, and that was a very important statement for New York and for the country. I was governor for 11 years. Before that, I was in the federal government with Bill Clinton. I was the secretary of housing, the minister of Housing, and I built housing all across the country. I'm running for mayor because I'm very worried about this city. The city is at a very difficult point. It's at a tipping point. We have a lot of significant problems and depending on what we do is how the city will go.
We have economic problems. The number of jobs are way down in this city. In the first six months of this year, we only created about 100 new jobs, six months last year, 66,000 jobs. So the economy is slow, slow across the nation. A lot of industries are suffering. The yellow cab industry had an especially difficult circumstance. People bought medallions, invested in medallions. That was their life savings in the medallion. That was their entire family's worth in the medallion and then came Uber and black cars and Lyft and the medallions were virtually worthless and that was unfair and that was a mistake by government and we did everything we could to restore the medallions and the yellow taxis because it was a terrible injustice through no fault of your own, just an evolution of the technology. But it's an example of being responsive to your needs and I will always be responsive to your community.
We have economic issues, we have affordable housing issues, which are a major problem. The rents are just too high everywhere, we have to build more affordable housing in this city and we have to do it very quickly.
Public safety is a major issue. Crime is a major issue. You have too many guns, too many gangs. There's too much violence, too many innocent people getting killed. And the city over the past few years did the exact opposite thing they should have done. The city reduced the police force. Remember, they were calling to defund the police defund the police. They took a billion dollars out of the police budget. They reduced the police budget. What do you think happens when you reduce the police budget? I want to hire an additional 5,000 police officers and I want to put them on the street and 1,500 in the subways because if people don't feel safe in the city, then nothing else matters, then nothing else matters.
Our public education system in some areas is very good, but in many areas of the city, the public education schools are failing. And public education is important because that's how we keep the American dream alive. My grandfather, Andrea Andrew, named for him, came from Italy, settled in Jamaica, came and he was a ditch digger when he started, a laborer, but his son went to public school and from public school, his son wound up becoming governor of the state of New York.
The American Dream is that you can come, you work hard and your child can have a better life than you. That's what America's all about. And the public education system is that ladder of opportunity. If those schools are not educated, then we lose that dream, and that's where we are now. And that's why a major focus has to be on fixing the public education system.
A lot of politicians talk but don't do. I'm the exact opposite. I'm all about getting things done, getting them done right, getting them done fast. I don't believe government is about talking. I believe government is about doing, if you look at my tenure as governor, I built more major projects than any governor in modern political history. You go look at LaGuardia Airport. That was the worst airport in the United States. LaGuardia the worst. Today it was voted the best airport in the United States. Kennedy Airport is coming out of the ground, not done yet, but it's coming. New Kosciuszko Bridge, new Mario Cuomo Bridge across the Hudson, new Second Avenue Subway, new Moynihan Train Hall by Penn Station in Manhattan. These were all projects that were impossible. You couldn't do them, you couldn't do them for decades. They said you couldn't do them. I got them done and I will get things done. As made, I will fix the public education system. I will build 50,000 units of affordable housing per year. I will hire 5,000 new police officers, and I will start that the first 100 days in office and I will be there to protect and respect your community whenever and whatever you need. Thank you very much for taking the time to see me. Thank you."
###