Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Makes a Long Island Rail Road Announcement

Earlier tonight, Governor Kathy Hochul made a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) announcement.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good evening, everyone. I'm truly pleased to share that the five Long Island Rail Road unions and the MTA were able to come together and reach a fair deal this evening.

Now, negotiations are rarely easy, but I have a lot of respect for the collective bargaining process that unfolded over the last few days. And I always believed that we could reach a good, fair compromise, a contract that achieved two principles: Number one, protecting affordability for Long Islanders and commuters while giving fair wages to the employees. And by working and negotiating together, we have reached that kind of deal.

Now, this contract will ensure that 3,500 Long Island Rail Road employees will be paid fairly for their labor. I want them to know this, I deeply value and respect the hard work they do. They're out there every single day making sure the job gets done. Their work is critical for the entire region, and they deserve a fair wage.

I also would not accept a deal that would compromise affordability for Long Islanders. At a time when everything is going up, we all know the story, I was not going to allow taxes or fares to go up. And that's why we stood firm for a deal that would not require any additional fare increases or tax increases, period. Full stop. Got it done.

Now, the Long Island Rail Road service will resume tomorrow at noon, with the full service time, expected in time for the evening rush hour, and yes, in time for the Knicks game. Knicks fans will be able to take the trains to MSG tomorrow in time for game one of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Finally, I want to thank so many people. I want to thank New Yorkers, Long Islanders particularly, who made all the accommodations, who had to work from home, who sacrificed, who had to put up with inconveniences. We are so grateful for their patience and understanding. And for those who helped us weather the storm over the last few days, to their employers who made the accommodations, helped get this done, the elected officials who helped get the word out. I also want to say, the MTA negotiating team, led by Janno Lieber, did an exceptional job. I want to thank every single one of them. And also the preparations that I came down to see over many days, going to the command centers and talking to the people that were deciding how many shuttle buses, how many trains, how many workers need to be out there greeting people. The job was done like a military operation, and I was very impressed with that, Janno, so I want to thank you and your entire team for anticipating the worst and preparing all of our commuters for a better experience than they would have had otherwise.

I also want to thank our labor leaders, who fought hard for a fair deal, and I respect them for that. They're looking out for their members. Also, Mario Cilento, the state leader of the AFL-CIO, played an integral role in this process as well. I want to thank, finally, the extra people who showed up every single day to make sure this ran smoothly. We got the deal done. It is a very good night for everyone, and I'm really proud of the work that was accomplished by an extraordinary team and our partners in labor. Thank you.