Transcript: Cuomo Endorsed by Local 3 I.B.E.W. Allied Union Club of Queens
"They’re having a political fight in Washington, and they decided to take it out on us. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation announced they were cutting off $18 billion in funding for the Cross-Hudson train tunnels. Those tunnels don’t just bring trains to New York—they bring trains throughout the Northeast." - Andrew Cuomo
Queens, N.Y. - Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for mayor of New York City was proudly endorsed by the hardworking men and women on Local 3 I.B.E.W. Allied Union Club of Queens today in front of a raucous crowd of hundreds of members.
A rush transcript of his remarks is below:
It is my honor—my honor to be with you today, and my honor to be endorsed by you—because I respect every single person in this room.
See this gentleman right here, Harry Van Arsdale. Remember the tradition that you represent. Mr. Van Arsdale was head of this union when my father first became governor, and I was 23, 24 years old. I was helping my father, and I remember meeting Harry Van Arsdale at the Labor Day Parade. I was standing next to him as he spoke with my father, and Mr. Van Arsdale turned to me and said, “You can call me Harry, kid.” Then he walked away. My father turned to me and said, “You never call him Harry. That is the greatest labor leader of our lifetime.”
To Mr. Van Arsdale, Tommy Benardsville, Chris Erickson—these are the leaders who carved the path for all of us to follow.
And you’re exactly right: New York is not what it used to be, and it’s not what New York needs to be. We have too many businesses leaving New York. We have too many people leaving New York. New York has become an exit rather than an entrance. That has to change.
We have to make New York City what it once was—the greatest city on the globe. And you built it. You built it. This didn’t just happen. Organized labor built the greatest city in the world, and we are going to rebuild it again.
We will start by making New York City safe once more. Safe for your family, safe for my family. I’m at a point now where, when my daughter takes the subway, I wait up until I know she’s home safely. That’s not what New York is supposed to be.
We went through this period in New York City when the far left said: Defund the police. Defund the police. Defund the police. And they did. They took a billion dollars out of the NYPD budget. We now have the lowest police staffing levels in modern history. That was a mistake. I want to hire 5,000 more officers and restore safety to where it was when Mayor Giuliani was in office.
The city is also too expensive. Why? Because we have just a 1% vacancy rate in housing. That means landlords can charge whatever they want. The answer is simple: build more housing—and build more affordable housing. And we know how to build. Question our capacity? Look at LaGuardia. Look at Kennedy. Look at the Second Avenue Subway. You can build anything—just let labor build it. Let labor build affordable housing, and we’ll bring rents down and create new units.
Now, my opponent, Zohran Mamdani—a Democratic Socialist from the far left—has a very different vision. His theory is that government should control everything: pure socialism. Socialism hasn’t worked anywhere—Venezuela, Cuba—and it won’t work in New York City.
He’s anti-police. He pushed to defund, disarm, and disband the police. He supports eliminating misdemeanors, legalizing the drug trade, legalizing shoplifting, legalizing prostitution. It would be anarchy. Absolute anarchy in New York City.
And normally, when you apply for a job, the first question is: Do you have any experience? Do you have any qualifications? This is a 33-year-old assemblyman with the worst attendance record in Albany, who never even shows up for the job. He’s never had a real job. Born on third base, thought he hit a triple. His parents own millionaire homes around the world—including a mansion in Uganda. He’s a mansion boy, and he thinks it’s enough just to spout rhetoric without knowing how to do the job.
He would be running a workforce of 300,000 people and a $115 billion budget—and he’s never managed anything in his life. It would be a disaster. And when asked who his favorite mayor was, you know who he named? Bill de Blasio. His favorite mayor. This kid is a shorter de Blasio. You think de Blasio was bad? This would be worse. It is the last thing we can let happen to this city.
One last point: We need a mayor who will stand up and fight for New York City. Because these are tough times for this country, and Washington is targeting New York.
What happened today? They’re having a political fight in Washington, and they decided to take it out on us. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation announced they were cutting off $18 billion in funding for the Cross-Hudson train tunnels. Those tunnels don’t just bring trains to New York—they bring trains throughout the Northeast. We’ve been talking about building them for years, they’re finally under construction, and now they want to stop.
They also announced they’re cutting $187 million in counterterrorism funding for the NYPD. Playing politics with terrorism funding? God forbid someone slips through while they’re playing political games—there will be blood on their hands.
Well, if you want to fight with New York, you’re picking the wrong fight. You put your finger in our chest, we’re going to knock you on your rear end.
We built the greatest city on the globe once before, and we’re going to do it again. And we’re going to leave our children a New York City that is better, brighter, and stronger than the city we grew up in. That will be our legacy to the next generation.
November 4th, we change the trajectory of New York City.
Thank you, and God bless.
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