Governor Cuomo Delivers Remarks at The Bronx Church, Church of God of Prophecy
As we’re going through this period of transition and we’re trying to find our way, let’s find our way here at home, and let’s show people what we mean when we talk about our vision of this country and our vision of opportunity for all in a society that works for all. And we can do it. But it has to be we. It has to be we.
Governor Cuomo, candidate for New York City mayor, today attended The Bronx Church, Church of God of Prophecy, where he called for urgent action to address inequality and neglect in New York City, urging community engagement and outlining his belief that government must deliver real change for New Yorkers.
A transcript of his remarks appears below:
Good morning, church. Good morning. Thank you so much for having me today. And Minister Brown, thank you, and thank you for your service. Let's give the minister a round of applause. Reverend Dr. Bishop Beckford—he is a legend, and we thank him for what he does, not just for the congregation but for the entire community. Let's give the bishop a round of applause in absentia. Thank you for having me.
I'm not going to quibble with the minister about who the favorite governor is because my favorite governor was Mario Cuomo. Now, if he started to get into who his favorite son was, then we would have a discussion between me and Christopher. That would be a problem, Minister. But no, no quibble on who the best governor is.
Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of you. I was thinking about my father this weekend. You know, Memorial Day, we celebrate those people who gave their lives for this country because they believed in this country. Over one million Americans died defending this country. One million. Think about it—because they believed in what this country stands for. They believed in freedom, they believed in democracy, they believed in the American dream, and they fought for it, and they gave their lives for it. Over one million. And when you think about this Memorial Day weekend and where the country is, there are troubled waters going on right now in this country. There is a lot of fear among the people in this country. There is a lot of frustration. There is a lot of division in this country right now. And we're still trying to find our path through these troubled times. There's a lot of anxiety.
And thinking of my father—he gave a great speech at the Democratic Convention. 1984 it was. The speech was called Tale of Two Cities. A lot of people have stolen it since, but it was his originally. And the tale of two cities was his vision of what the country was supposed to be all about and the Democratic vision of what the country was supposed to be all about. And basically, it said—a tale of two cities—we have two cities. We have one city for the rich. We have one city for the poor. There is an extreme divide. And that is not who we are and what we celebrate. When we say opportunity for all, we mean opportunity for all. We mean that we believe the greatest feast has the greatest number of people at the table, sharing in that feast. We want to raise people up, and we want to help people raise themselves up, because when you raise one, you raise us all.
That is our vision of what America means. That's why people came to this country. That was the promise of America. That was the essence of what this country is all about. And that was The Tale of Two Cities. And as we're watching this country and we're doing our part to help get this country through these troubled times, we also have to think about New York City and what we're doing right here at home—and talk about the tale of two cities in New York City, because there are two cities right here. There are.
We have the greatest wealth, and we have the greatest poverty. And we have the greatest opportunity, and we have the greatest places of despair—right here in this city. And the Bronx is the area of the five boroughs—the five outer boroughs, sorry, four outer boroughs. I love the expression “outer borough." I'm from Queens. I'm from an “outer borough." Brooklyn—you’re from an “outer borough.” Staten Island—you’re from an “outer borough.” Bronx—you’re from an “outer borough.” There is no “inner borough,” right? Only the outer borough. But if there’s an outer borough, there must be an inner borough. And you are not in it. That’s what they’re saying—when you are from an outer borough.
But of the outer boroughs, the Bronx has the greatest need. The Bronx—by far—highest unemployment rate, highest poverty rate, highest crime rate, highest murder rate, highest high school dropout rate, which means another generation becomes lost. It is the Bronx. And what are we doing about resolving that? And what are we doing for the Bronx? Because, by the way, this is not this year or the past two years or the past three years. This has gone on for years and years and years. And if we believe in equity, in equity and raising all—then what are we doing right here at home? And what are we doing for the Bronx? God believes in righteousness and justice. Justice is to help the neediest, which is the Bronx. So what are we doing? Are we practicing what we preach?
And right now, we are not. And we must. We know what we need to do in the Bronx. We know how to help the Bronx. Get affordable housing—because we’re pricing people out of housing right now and forcing them to leave because the rent is just too darn high. Get services into those schools—because you know those children are coming with additional problems. Make the community safe and reduce the crime rate—so we’re not losing children to stray bullets. We know how to do it. We just are not doing it. And now we got to a place where we have become paralyzed by inaction. Why aren’t we doing it? Why isn’t government doing something? And why are we accepting this premise that it is okay—that we’ve come up with a government that talks a lot but does nothing? That is all about words. But there are no deeds. There are promises, but there is no performance. There is rhetoric, but there are no results.
Why are we accepting it when we know it can be better? And don’t tell me that government can’t get things done. I know it can. I took over the state. The state was in bad shape when we took over the state. I know you weren’t paying attention 'cause it was state government. It was in Albany, and you think Albany’s up by Canada. You don’t even know where Albany is—by Montreal.
We took over the state. We had the largest deficit in history. The legislature wasn’t passing anything. We had to turn the whole state around, and we did. And we got that legislature functioning. It passed the budget on time every year for 11 years. Hadn’t done that in modern political times. We passed laws that made a difference in people’s lives—raised the minimum wage to put more money in their pocket. Free college tuition for the middle class. And we got things done.
Go look at the new LaGuardia Airport, which was the worst in the United States—now it’s the best. Go look at the Bronx Sheridan Expressway and look at the changes in Hunts Point. Go look at the new Mario Cuomo Bridge when you’re going over the Hudson River. Don’t tell me we can’t get things done. We can. We just have to demand that the government do it.
And as we’re going through this period of transition and we’re trying to find our way, let’s find our way here at home, and let’s show people what we mean when we talk about our vision of this country and our vision of opportunity for all in a society that works for all. And we can do it. But it has to be we. It has to be we. Don’t point your finger to someone else. Don’t look at me.
“I'm gonna come in and wave a wand”—it’s not gonna work like that. You have to do your part. And you have to stand up. And you have to demand better. And you have to demand change. And you have to say to those politicians, I’m not giving you my vote until you do something in my backyard. You have to participate. And when you stand up, they will hear.
I am running for mayor because I believe we can fix this city. I believe we need to fix this city. I believe the time is now. I believe we need to make change and make dramatic change and make it fast and let people believe in this city once again and save lives that we are losing out there every night unnecessarily. But I need you to make it happen. I need you to stand and fight with me. I know how to make change. I’ve done it before. I’ll do it again. But I need you beside me.
Thank you for having me, and God bless.
Video of Remarks Here
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