Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Slams Federal Cuts to Counterterrorism Funding for New York’s Mass Transit Safety

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul called out Washington Republicans for cutting critical safety and security funding for New York's mass transit system. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) had been slated to receive $34 million in federal Transit Security Grant Program funds, which support essential counter-terror and transit security functions. Last week, lawmakers were notified that the MTA was to be the only agency of 21 applicants nationwide to not receive federal security dollars via this program.

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 have photos of the event here.

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

 Good morning everyone. Welcome to one of our nerve centers here at the MTA as we monitor, through over 15,000 cameras, activities on the MTA. It's one way we keep our riders safe and our employees safe. I want to thank Janno Lieber the Chair and CEO of the MTA for his stewardship of this incredible organization, the lifeblood of our region, but also during these more difficult times when funding that we used to count on has been stripped away. Also very fortunate to have the greatest Police Commissioner in our nation and that is Jessica Tisch, who's really just stepped into a role that was so essential when we started seeing crime rates that were just absolutely unacceptable and has really done a masterful job in terms of calming down the situation in terms of public perception - but also being there with an incredible team that reports to her to keep us safe every single day.

Just want to say a couple things because we looked at what's behind us here, and as we look at one of our objectives is keeping New Yorkers safe, this is how we do it. We have a bird's eye view of what's happening, and we have a very heavy focus on our subways.

We've surged NYPD, working with the City to help cover the cost of overtime over the last couple years. Deployed officers on the overnight trains, which is in large part a reason some of the hot beds, areas where we've seen a lot of crime in the past have declined precipitously.

We installed 33,000 cameras, you heard me talk about this is my goal. Just a couple years ago I wanted it done, and now we have them on every single subway car. And we've added platform barriers and LED lighting. We're going to continue doing that just to brighten up the experience, which gives this sense of more security, but also it's more of a deterrent to would-be wrongdoers as well. And these efforts are starting to pay off.

You cannot argue with the fact that this summer, the months of July and August, we saw crimes hit record lows, lowest in recorded history. Safest summer on the record in over a decade. But as we know, we all say this - one incident is one too many. We just, a couple days ago, we had a horrific attack at a subway station in Brooklyn, a reminder that we can never let up when it comes to safety.

Now let's focus not just on what we're doing. But what the federal government is doing to us. And in a stark moment of hypocrisy, the federal government is literally threatening our ability to keep these operations safe as our ability to protect public transit riders becomes compromised.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is trying her very best to slash $34 million in funds that are essential for security on our subway systems. And this is a person who swore an oath, as we all did, to protect Americans and is truly abandoning that.

But I want to be very clear on what is happening from Washington. They are defunding the police - full stop. They cannot argue with the fact that there was funding to help the police protect our communities, and the federal government, without justification, no rationale - other than a punitive gesture to punish blue states like New York.

But here, New York is very unique. Of the 21 regions that have applied for this funding, the security funding, New York is the only one that's been denied. So this is not hyperbole, this is not exaggerating - this is the reality, we have been singled out. For 20 years Democratic and Republican administrations have funded these essential dollars.

It supports police patrol, security cameras, canine units, and cybersecurity measures. It bolsters security along Metro North and the Long Island Rail Road as well. Two of the busiest Rail Street systems in the entire nation. And now Secretary Noem wants to claw back every penny, and I say this, it's reckless, it's dangerous, and it's illegal.

So what we have here is an opportunity to stand up. We are standing up. I've written, I've cajoled, I've asked. Now we're in court literally at 11:00 AM this morning. We are in court to defend our rights. Thank you, Attorney General Tish James, but we shouldn't have to battle this out in court. We truly should not have to be in court over something as basic as providing security for our systems here.

And I don't need to repeat this, but clearly Washington doesn't understand that when you're assessing applications for security grants to fight terrorism as well, and you put New York State at the bottom of the list, New York City, the bottom of the list - we are the number one terror target in America, not just back to 9/11, but the countless cases that are thwarted by the work of the NYPD in our joint terrorism task force.

Those don't make the headlines, but we are safer because we have invested dollars from the federal government and the City and the State together. That is what they're jeopardizing right now. Our safety has been compromised. So we live to that fear. We do not ever want to see a repeat of it. That sense of anxiety and insecurity still pervades many of our lives.

And I just want to ask Secretary Noem, how do you weaponize the federal government against a place like New York against federal workers as well? How are you playing political games with our lives, the lives of people who call this place their home? And just last week, this is a trend, just like last week, Secretary Noem attempted to cancel $187 million in counter-terrorism grants.

I wrote to her, made our arguments and called the president. And soon after our call, I'm very pleased, and I thank him - the President reversed course and announced plans to restore the funding. Now I need that again, I need that help again. We need to get this money restored, we need this right now.

And I'll say this, I disagree with the President on many issues. In fact, most, but there are areas where we should be aligned. And when people say that they're pro law enforcement the wearing of the blue, and yet they're willing to defund our police. It's hypocrisy and it must be called out, but it's not just that. It's critical infrastructure projects, $18 billion dollars, and 15,000 jobs on the line because of the abrupt cancellation of federal dollars for the Second Avenue subway and the gateway tunnel.

And the Gateway Tunnel is not a vanity project. It's a matter of life and death. If this tunnel cannot be built to replace the aging compromised tunnel that we have that was damaged over a decade ago, in Superstorm Sandy. Then we are compromising people's health and safety, not just in our region, but the entire Northeast.

We also have to make sure that we focus on other members of Congress who have some clout. Let's talk about Long Island Congressman Andrew Garbarino. Now he's on the right committee. I actually served on the Homeland Security Committee as a member of Congress, so I know these grants very well. He helped us, I will say he stepped outside of his party and helped us, had the guts to break out of the ranks and helped us add his voice to our calls to have that $187 million restored.

But this affects his constituents, his riders on the Long Island Rail Road will now know that without these funds, their ride is not as safe as it should be. So I'm calling on him to weigh in as well. Use your voice. In fact, all seven Republican members of Congress who call New York home, find the courage.

Find the courage that's been missing to stand up for the safety of your own residents and stop the defunding of police in the State of New York. So otherwise, you sacrifice the mantle of being the law and order party, which you're not. You're not the party that backs the blue, and you have to start acting like you actually care.

So don't be hypocrites, help us out here. The larger issue is what is happening to our nation with this unjustified government shutdown. Republicans need to provide health care to Americans. It's a basic human right, and we're going to continue these fights. But a subset of all that is a blatant attack on New York, simply because we elect Democrats, there's no other explanation. Look at the states that they continue the funding for these projects. Are they more at risk of a terrorism attack? Texas, Florida, Nevada? Give me a break, this is New York - we need the support. We're demanding that it start being unleashed immediately. Thank you very much, and I'll turn it over to Janno Lieber.

Contact the Governor's Press Office