ICYMI: Andrew M. Cuomo Addresses Congregation at Greater Allen A.M.E. Church in Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica, Queens – Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, joined Reverend Stephen Green this morning, speaking to more than 400 congregants at the historic Greater Allen A.M.E. Church in Jamaica, Queens.
Cuomo, whose family roots run three generations deep in Queens, laid out his vision to restore safety, affordability, and opportunity to New York City.
Full Transcript of Cuomo’s Remarks at Greater Allen A.M.E. Church below:
Good morning, church. God is good. Reverend Stephen Green — isn’t he great? Let’s give him a round of applause. And to the First Lady, let’s give her a round of applause as well. Thank you for all that you do.
This is a pleasure for me because I’m home in Southeast Queens — home to the Cuomos for three generations. My grandfather, Andrea Cuomo — I’m named for him — lived on 150th Street, just south of Jamaica Avenue. He later moved up to 188th Street and Hillside Avenue — a big move. My father was born in that house, and later moved just two blocks away to Hollis. So the entire Cuomo family trajectory was about two and a half miles. That’s how far we traveled. But it’s a pleasure to be back.
I am running for mayor of New York. And you know why: the city has issues. The city is in trouble. You can feel it when you walk down the street. We are losing people. Since COVID, 1.5 million people have left New York. And part of it is that it’s simply too expensive to live here. People across the income spectrum are getting up and moving out — to South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas — places that are cheaper, easier to live in, with less crime, less chaos, less noise.
So we have to get our house in order, and we have to start with three things.
Number one: jobs and education. This city has always been a place of opportunity, where an education could make you anything you want to be. We have to get back to that, because too many schools are failing our young people, especially in the Black and brown community. Let’s be honest about that.
Second: public safety. There is too much gun violence, too much gang violence. We have to get back to what Mayor David Dinkins — God rest his soul — taught us. We need more police officers, working with the community in respect and trust, to stop this violence before it happens.
Third: affordability, especially housing. There is no way to reduce rents without building more housing — and that is a responsibility of city government. But it hasn’t been happening. In New York City, it’s hard to get anything done. Any change is hard. You go to change a light bulb in New York, and the next day you get sued by the Committee to Save Old Light Bulbs. But we have to get past that.
Right now, we have less than a 1% vacancy rate in housing. That’s why landlords can charge whatever they want. My plan is to build 50,000 new units a year — starting in the first 100 days.
This is all doable. It is all achievable — but we have to do it. And what this election comes down to, what government always comes down to, is this: a person with the right ideas, and a person who can get it done. Get it done.
Now, you don’t want to hear me sing, you don’t want to see me dance, and you don’t want to see me swing a golf club. But I’ve done one thing all my life. From the time my father was governor and I started working with him at 18 years old, to my eight years with President Bill Clinton as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, building housing across the nation. I served as Attorney General. I was Governor for 11 years. I ran the state budget and got it done every year on time. The state budget is twice the size of the city budget, and I got it passed through a legislature four times the size of New York City’s.
I built a new LaGuardia Airport. We’re building a new JFK. We built the new Kosciuszko Bridge. We extended the Second Avenue Subway. I will build a new New York — and we are going to do it together. Just give me the chance, because experience matters. Experience matters.
Some jobs require knowing what you’re doing. Mayor of New York City should not be your first job. There is no on-the-job training for mayor. You wake up every morning and anything can happen — a terrorist attack, a mass shooting, God forbid, even another COVID-like crisis. I have been there. I have done it. And I can work with you to turn this city around.
Thank you, and God bless you.
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