Transcript: Governor Cuomo Delivers Remarks in Co-op City on Juneteenth
New Yorkers started the call for Juneteenth. We passed it in New York back in 2020. And when you pass something in New York, it echoes across the nation. So we were one of the first here in New York State to make Juneteenth a holiday. So let's give New York State a round of applause. And it is about justice, and it is about equality. And we have a lot to celebrate, there's no doubt. But it's also a day that we have to remember the journey is not over. We have not reached full justice and full equality, and we have more to do.
- Governor Andrew Cuomo
Photos from Event Here
Governor Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, delivered remarks in Co-op City at a Juneteenth Celebration alongside Assembly Member Michael Benedetto and former Assembly Member Jeff Aubry. In a passionate Juneteenth address at Co-op City, Cuomo emphasized the ongoing fight for justice and equality, highlighting New York’s leadership in making Juneteenth a state holiday and addressing systemic issues like poverty and incarceration. Cuomo criticized former President Trump’s policies, vowing unity and resilience in the face of political threats while calling on New Yorkers to unify in this moment.
A transcript of remarks is below:
How are we doing, Co-op City? Oh, we're doing better than that. How are we doing, Co-op City?
Happy Juneteenth. It's my pleasure to be back in Co-op City. Been there many, many times and it's a pleasure to be back.
Let me say a couple of things first about your great Assemblyman Michael Benedetto. He's right. We worked together for 10 years. I look a lot younger than Mike looks because Mike worked a lot harder than I worked when we were in Albany. But what we did was we got things done that nobody thought could get done, because the purpose of government is to actually get results for people, right?
And that's what we lost somewhere along the way. We have politicians who talk a lot. It's a lot of this, a lot of this. You know what this means? It's universal—a lot of this by politicians—but not a lot of progress. And what we did was we focused on the tough issues, and we got things done.
We brought taxes down for the middle class. We got more young people working. We built the Second Avenue Subway. We built a new Mario Cuomo Bridge. We built a new Kosciuszko Bridge in Brooklyn. We did things that nobody thought we could do. We built a new LaGuardia Airport, which is beautiful if you haven't been there.
So let's give Mike a big round of applause, and thank you for everything you said.
We also have Jeff Aubry here, former Assemblyman, who's a real star. Let's give him a round of applause and let's celebrate Juneteenth.
Juneteenth—I don't wanna be a parochial New Yorker, but New Yorkers started the call for Juneteenth. We passed it in New York back in 2020. And when you pass something in New York, it echoes across the nation. So we were one of the first here in New York State to make Juneteenth a holiday.
So let's give New York State a round of applause. And it is about justice, and it is about equality. And we have a lot to celebrate, there's no doubt. But it's also a day that we have to remember the journey is not over. We have not reached full justice and full equality, and we have more to do.
90% of those kids locked up in Rikers Island are Black and Brown. 90%—in that hellhole, Rikers Island.
We still have twice the poverty rate among Black and Brown people as opposed to white people. Unemployment is still six points below white people for Black and Brown youth.
So yes, we celebrate, but we also remember the work that we have to do.
And we are especially mindful that we are in the middle of a war right now. We're in the middle of a war. You don't see it day in, day out, but when you turn on the TV news and you see a president named Mr. Trump. Have you seen the President Trump on TV?
President Trump has declared war on Democratic states. Democratic cities. He's declared war on working families. He's declared war on immigrants. He's declared war on minorities. And he's declared war on New York City and New York State.
Now, the good news is this. We know Mr. Trump, because this is Trump Two. I was there for Trump One. And you were there for Trump. And he did the same thing in the first administration. He sent, literally, federal troops into cities all across the country. He sent them into Chicago, sent them into Detroit, Indianapolis, Albuquerque.
You know the one place he didn't send troops? He didn't send troops into New York. That's right. Why? Because he doesn't want to pick a fight that he's gonna lose. And he knew if he picked a fight with me and New Yorkers, Trump is going to lose.
Remember what he did? We were in the middle of COVID, and he was doing his briefings in Washington. And New York was the hardest-hit place on the globe for COVID—hardest-hit place on the globe. And we were on our own. We weren't getting anything from the federal government.
He would get on and do his briefings. Remember what he was saying in his briefings? Remember his advice? Drink Clorox. Remember that? Drink Clorox and COVID won't kill you. Of course COVID won't kill you—the Clorox will kill you. That's his advice.
But we were New Yorkers, and we came together and we supported each other. And we got through COVID and we saved lives, because that's who we are as New Yorkers. We are unified and we have each other's backs.
And don't ever forget that we beat Trump once. We're gonna beat him again. And we're gonna make this city better than it has ever been before—together.
Thank you. God bless.
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