By Mike Byrne 

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s message of reform and progress has reached Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus. On Wednesday Feb. 3, Kathy Hochul, Lieutenant Governor of the state of New York, presented Cuomo’s State of the State and Executive Budget Address to a crowd of Fordham students and faculty.

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, opened the event by thanking Cuomo for maintaining the funding of opportunity programs such as Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) and the Liberty Partnership. “We look forward to working with the governor and with his administration in ensuring that New York State continues to attract brilliant and talented students regardless of their economic circumstances from across the state and across the nation,” McShane said.

Hochul, who previously served as a New York State Representative, began the address by focusing on the Bronx. “This is a tremendous community…I really sense that there is optimism occurring,” Hochul commented. She explained that since the governor had taken office in 2011, the unemployment rate of the Bronx decreased from over 12 percent to six percent.

She also described the Bronx Unemployment Strike Force which the governor, the borough president and other elected officials formed a year and a half ago. “It’s a strategic way to identify areas of the population in need, the skills that are going unfilled and how to do the training that’s required to step into those jobs,” she explained.
Hochul went on to praise the governor for his accomplishments, such as getting five budgets passed during his time in office. She went on to outline the governor’s economic goals for the future and the administration’s focus on encouraging small businesses.

“I’ve walked down Arthur Avenue and places around here,” she said. “It’s small businesses that are the bread and butter. This is the opportunity for the immigrant community, people bringing their talents and skills from other countries.”

Hochul also discussed various transportation reconstruction projects. She spoke about improving the Tappan Zee Bridge, La Guardia Airport, JKF Airport, Penn Station, the subway system and adding four new Bronx stops to the Metro-North.

The lieutenant governor addressed many of the governor’s other plans such as his $15 minimum wage proposal, focus on green energy, enhancement of family work leave and investment into cancer detection services, especially for low-income individuals and families.

Hochul went on to describe the governor’s education plans. “We need a world-class education system. The governor proposes another record increase in spending for education. Last year we did a record $1.4 billion, we’re gonna spend another billion on top of this.” She went on to explain proposals focused on higher education. “We’re talking about student loan forgiveness programs, because that is the killer. The fact that student loan debt has exceeded $1.3 trillion, higher than credit card debt, is deplorable,” she said.

Hochul expressed her bewilderment at the student interest rates. “I never understood why the student loan interest rate was 6.8 percent, when for a house you could get a three percent mortgage interest rate.” She continued to speak about how the state had to continue to fund educational plans, tuition assistance plans and financial aid packages to give everybody the opportunity to attend college.

Housing, another issue that affects the Bronx community, was also discussed. Hochul spoke about the increasing cost of living in New York and described the problems of people not being able to afford proper housing. She was concerned about the number of children and families living without a proper home and explained the governor’s proposal of $10 billion to be allocated to affordable housing.

Hochul concluded her talk on the importance of voting and student engagement. “We’re going to try and get greater participation among the electorate. If you care about your country and you’re an active citizen and you realize that we do live in an amazing place, why not cast that vote? Why not say, ‘I care about who my leaders are?’ And if you say they’re all corrupt, then vote for someone who’s not. Vote for someone you can believe in. Or get involved yourselves.”

Hochul acknowledged the ambition of the governor’s plans. “You’ve gotta understand, this is the New York state. We dream big, but we also do big.”