B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos, & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces Completion of Oswego's Downtown Revitalization Initiative

"Good morning, Oswego. Wow. I was in search of fun, so where in the entire state of New York can I go? And I said, "Let's go to Oswego." And I love waterparks. I will not participate today, but someday I'm going to slip in here and you won't recognize me. I'll be incognito and maybe I'll bring my new granddaughter when she's a little bit older, how about that?

So, this is a celebration of a community that never gave up through some really tough times and challenges and setbacks, and sometimes just wondering, "Is this really going to happen?" I just want to congratulate the entire community for powering through a pandemic, powering through flooding, powering through all kinds of extreme weather, and as a result of you never giving up, we are here to celebrate the first DRI community to have completed all 10 projects. You did it here. Give yourselves a round of applause.

Well, I first of all want to thank some of the people I've now called my friends, people I've gotten to know since I was lieutenant governor coming here so many times. And you have been blessed with an extraordinary leader in your mayor - Billy Barlow is a visionary. He is the kind of leader that small towns like this, small cities, when they have someone like this who believes so deeply to their core that this could be even better, and they get it done. I want to commend him for being an exemplary mayor, and I can't imagine this city without him - Billy Barlow.

You also have the Assembly Minority Leader representing you - William Barclay. We've gotten to know each other. I remember coming here when I was a new lieutenant governor, we had a Chamber of Commerce meeting right here, and he talked about the power plant, the nuclear power plant, how important it was for this economy and the workers and the identity of this community.

And I said, "We'll do everything we can to keep this here and keep those jobs alive." And you've been a great champion for this region. Let's give a round of applause to Minority Assembly Leader William Barclay.

I also brought our Secretary of State. He's usually traveling the world as the Secretary of the State, but Robert Rodriguez, who has been the champion for our Regional Economic Development Councils and our DRI program, it all falls under the Secretary of State, the DRI program. I want to thank Robert Rodriguez for being here today.

As I mentioned, the REDC, Randy Wolken, is our Regional Council Co-chair for the Central New York region. I've known him for many, many years as well. And again, a true believer in this region. Let's give a round of applause to Randy Wolken.

Sara Broadwell, who I've seen every time I'm here - she has done an incredible job making sure that people like me have a chance to understand the depth of feeling about this community and how the businesses are so unique and they're so special, and this is part of your identity as a community. I want to thank Sara Broadwell for her leadership of the Chamber of Commerce. Sara, congratulations.

And then there's another Broadwell - Shane Broadwell, former County Legislator - someone who 10 years ago had a vision to do something pretty audacious. Most communities this size don't have something as sophisticated and cool and edgy as a waterpark, especially one that's indoors. But Shane also said, "We're going to get this done."

And there were setbacks, and especially with the pandemic and trying to figure out how we're going to make this happen. But as a result of community leaders like Shane, we're here today. And I want to congratulate him on seeing the realization of his vision as well. Shane Broadwell.

Well, you know, I love this part of the state - first governor from Upstate in 100 years. And I know it's something special, especially when you come from an area that you know is spectacular, but others don't always think of when they think of New York, they think of skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, and I spend a lot - I was literally there this morning. But I'm also such a believer in Upstate. I want to make sure that everybody understands that this is part of our identity as well.

So, this is part of our state that I'll never forget. I'm going to continue to celebrate. And I think with projects like these, we have one more attraction to bring even more tourists here, not just for the great fishing up here and the great boating and the recreation outdoors, but year-round. Year round, you can come to this facility and have a great place to come, even when the weather's not quite as warm as it is today.

And of course, they have a children's museum right down the block. I said this when I was here before, for a community of 17,000, you really punch above your weight. These are world class attractions - and never take that for granted.

And also, just even having the charm of a local bookstore. To the Reillys, I know you weren't at the River's End, but I just spent a lot of money in your store because I said, "Get me there early enough that I can buy some books for my one-year-old granddaughter, Sophia." And I'm going to make sure she does come here because bookstores are the heart of a community, and I've been there so many times. So let me say hello to the Reillys as well. So, congratulations you.

I remember cutting the ribbon at Wright's Landing Marina. I remember the before and the after, and I also remember the floods and how devastating that was in this part of our state. And I love the fact that someone labeled the 2017 flood a 100-year flood. So, you're thinking we're going to be good now. We got a lot of years. We're good - until two years later, we had another 100-year flood in 2019 and that was devastating.

So, we had to build back, never give up. State brought the resources, I came in just to say, "We're going to get this done. We're going to be okay. We're going to get through this." So, it is amazing to have a river, the locks, the connection to the Erie Canal, and one of the great wonders of the world, one of the greatest freshwater bodies on this planet, Lake Ontario, all part of your community. Don't ever take that for granted.

And I'm sure as I'm standing here someday, and you won't know it's me coming to town, or maybe you will, I'm going to bring my boat from Buffalo, come all the way on the Erie Canal, go up the canal to Oswego and experience how beautiful this is from a boat. I haven't had a lot of time lately, so I hope to do this in my lifetime, and maybe I'll bring Sophia. But I have traveled all the way as far as Syracuse, and it is the Erie Canal - and your connection to it - is also an important, important part of your identity.

But I think a lot of communities that just didn't have confidence and faith in community leaders like we're seeing here might have given up on some of these projects. But you had ideas about what a vibrant future could be, something that you didn't inherit necessarily. This community had a lot of charm. It had a great story, a great past. But as people get older and as communities get older, sometimes a little bit of decline, you slow down. You don't have that same luster you once had.

And that's the beauty and the genesis of the DRI program. With an infusion of money all at once, a $10 million commitment for a community to be able to realize their vision, not what Albany sits there and says in the Capitol. This is not our idea. This is your idea. This was what you wanted to see. And I spent 14 years as a local government official. Small town, little village, 10,000, Village of Hamburg. The idea that all of a sudden you have $10 million in one shot to make projects happen simultaneously and finish at the same time. That's magical. I would've loved that when I was in local government. But you have taken advantage of this, and you have executed this future.

And I want you to know this is really special and the resiliency that I've seen here, not just from the weather but from the setbacks, is a testament to who you are as a people. That your children and grandchildren will know, there was a time when Oswego wasn't as edgy and hip and cool and enticing as it is now, but you made it that way. You gave it its personality, you gave it its charm, and you kept it growing. You made it even better. So, I'm going to be sitting at Rudy's sometime today if you want to sit down with me, going to get some fries, look out at the lake and get that sense of calm and that sense of it's a special place.

Know that you have a governor who understands what that means. It's spectacular and I'm really proud we can show you some of the scenes of what I witnessed, and you experienced the transformation of this. And so, from new housing, and some of you may have heard, I want to build housing. Because as we take advantage of the fact that we're going to have Micron, 50,000 jobs, right. Right, Assemblymember? We talked about the need to build housing. It doesn't have to be all one kind of housing. Just mix it up to give people different degrees, some very affordable, some high end, some mixed use, whatever you want. You're the community in charge.

But from new housing that you created here, over 200 units with this, that was bold. I remember the mayor and I driving around town on a golf cart in a snowstorm. It's what you do when you're a resilient community. Nothing deters you. And we talked about how the fact that above little shops, we need life. We need housing.

And sometimes you need to change rezonings and change the rules on parking and envision an old, abandoned building as a place you could have families and live. You are doing here what I want done all over the state, seeing abandoned buildings or seeing empty parking lot and saying, "I see life there. I see families, I see children. I see seniors who don't have to leave their community when they want to downsize." That's what I'm talking about. And you've done it here, and I want to showcase this to the rest of the state, say, "This is what I'm talking about." So your children will not get priced out of living here if they want to grow up in the same community they did, as it's happening in other parts of our state.

So, it's about housing. It's about safety improvements on local roads. It's connecting the downtown to the waterfront, as I mentioned, the museum, which is amazing. And on top of the 200 housing units, they have 12 new commercial spaces and something I love, we've created over 150 new jobs here through this.

Those are people who live here, who have an opportunity to have a good income or someone from somewhere else, or a student, the SUNY campus, who love wandering the streets and stopping in the bookstore and experiencing life. But they now can move here to start a new life. So, our $10 million investment has yielded almost $64 million in private sector investors. Let me repeat that - 10 million translated into $64 million of private investments. I call that a success. That's what we're talking about, a seven-to-one return on investment.

So, you are the first one to be completed. First one to say, "Finally, the construction is done." No more delays, no more dust, no more scaffolding until the next chapter. But for now, you've done your jobs. You are the caretakers of a community with a lot of charm and character, and you made it even more so. So, I thank you for what you've done here, the stewardship, taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

And now we have an opportunity to do something else: Bring our kids here in the wintertime, celebrate the downtown, this great hotel with 20,000 square feet, 30,000 gallons of water. I have no doubt that this place is just going to be filled with laughter and joy and connections of families who otherwise might be sitting at home on a Saturday afternoon, on a cold winter day, all playing on their own personal devices, into their own world. This will connect families together. The museum connects families together. This downtown connects family together. You're giving the children of this community memories to be part of who they are forever. That's what this is all about. That's what you created here, Shane, and I cannot wait to come back with my family and let them know it's a really special place.

And the man who was the champion of this project, all the projects and his team at city hall who worked so hard, and Sara and everybody just pulled together. I want to thank them as the governor of the greatest state in the nation, and this is one of our greatest communities. Take it from me. I know Mayor Billy Barlow.

Come on up and get a round applause for Mayor Billy Barlow."

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