B-roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces Completion of 83-unit Affordable and Supportive Housing Development in the Bronx

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the completion of El Hogar Residence, a $60 million affordable and supportive housing development at 2444 Tiebout Avenue in the Bronx. Developed by nonprofit organization Comunilife, the newly constructed 10-story building includes 83 affordable apartments for older adults, including 50 supportive homes for New York seniors that were experiencing homelessness. Under Governor Hochul's leadership, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) has created or preserved over 11,000 affordable homes in the Bronx. El Hogar Residence continues this effort and is part of the Governor's $25 billion five-year Housing Plan, which is on track to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide.

B-ROLL of the Governor's ribbon cutting is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

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:

Buenos días a todos. Also good morning, good morning. So great to be here. And what beautiful remarks from Blanca. A reminder of the power of place - that this place means something to so many people as a place of hope, a place of a new beginning and a place where they have the dignity that perhaps had been denied. So I thank you and everyone at Communilife.

Always great to be back with one of my favorite BPs, certainly one of the most fun, Vanessa Gibson. We've done a lot together in this borough, and your leadership has been extraordinary. And I'm so proud to partner with you on this project and so many more. Let's give another round of applause to our borough president. Yudelka Tapia, assembly member. She's a fun person at events as well. We dance, we sing, we gather together. But your passion for your district is so profound, the way you carry the message to Albany, and I thank you for being such a dear friend of mine as well personally. Let's give another round of applause to Yudelka Tapia. We all love her. Council Member Oswald Feliz, I want to thank him for his support from City Hall to projects like these. So critically important to have that relationship, that partnership. As well as from my team, Barbara Guinn, the Commissioner of OTDA, I want to thank her for everything she does.

And you're going to be hearing from someone who's probably the most important, one of our residents, and that is Frank Lynch. Let's give a round of applause to Frank. That was just a practice move? Excellent. You'll be ready for prime time. You'll be ready for prime time. But Frank and I had an important conversation. Just moved over from Queens, to the Bronx, so I asked the question he did not want to be asked: Mets or Yankees? So I said, "You don't have to answer that." Okay? So nobody pressure him. We'll see what kind of hat he wears around town, but I'll be watching you. Okay? This is the hard part of being a resident of Queens and the Bronx.

But today is a milestone in our push to bring affordable housing to every single New Yorker who needs it. And it started on a journey, because I knew that housing means so much to people. When my family was starting out, my parents lived in a trailer park. Not those fancy double-wide ones you see near Disney World in Florida. This was a tiny, little space, packed in with other trailers, in the shadow of the steel plant where my dad worked. The air was orange because of the smoke billowing out of the steel plant. The lake right there was polluted from the toxins that were dispersed. It was a tough life. It was a tough life. And then, the next year when I came along - my brother was first, I came along - my parents were able to move to a tiny little apartment, but they were liberated from that space. And that apartment eventually led to other spaces and other spaces. And so my parents in one sense had their dignity, their success defined by the home, but never forgetting where they started.

And I never forget where they started either. I still go back to that trailer park when I'm back in Buffalo. There's a diner around the corner, and I talk to people who've never been able to leave that trailer park, but I know they would've wanted to. So it has been my mission as the governor to give people the security of a roof over their heads. So they don't have to worry. They're taken care of. Especially our seniors - my gosh, they've already gone through so much. They've been contributing. Perhaps they've raised families. Perhaps they're looking out for grandkids - and I'm a grandma, too. And you deserve this. You deserve this. And I'm so proud that one of my top priorities as governor is to build that housing. We launched a $25 billion initiative when I first became governor five years ago - said, "I want to build 100,000 affordable housing units across the state of New York in five years." Guess what? We've already exceeded our goals - exceeded our goals, and getting ready for the next round.

So these 82 apartments, 82 doors, 82 New Yorkers can finally exhale and relax and know they're in a safe place. This is their own place. And what do we do? The state made a $36 million investment. This is almost all state funding. This is our Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative and the homeless housing and assistance program. That's why we built these. Again, not just to give a place to live, but sometimes that supportive system is necessary, and it makes so much more sense when it's right there, so you don't have to go out. The services are brought to you. That is the genius behind this concept and what Communilife does - bring the services right to people so life is just a little less hassle-filled. And to Communilife, 40 years of experience serving vulnerable New Yorkers, I thank you. Because we believe that housing rights are human rights. Housing rights are human rights. You deserve to have a home where you feel safe.

So we're starting to see the results here today, and here you did it right. The building is all electric, energy efficient, free broadband for every resident, light-filled interiors, accessible apartments for seniors with mobility or hearing and visual impairments, a community room to gather. And I took a peek out at the courtyard - I wanted to hang out there - we could play some cards, we could have a good time, have a nice talk. We'll talk some sports with Frank here, kind of work it, see what he's… A place where your grandkids can come over and visit you. You can have them come over outside. It's just - it's your home. It's your home. And how do you describe it? Maya Angelou once said, "The ache for a home lives inside of all of us." Hopefully, for those 82 individuals, that ache is no longer there, that you have your home, you found your place.

And this is what we do in government. And if we can gather people here, let them know we're just getting started fulfilling this, it's a bold ambition - to build more housing than any governor has before me - because the need is so great. All kinds of housing - supportive housing units, rental units, build more housing that people can own. This has been my top priority. But to come here today and reflect on the fact that in the Bronx, Borough President, we've invested 1.2 billion dollars in new or preserving over 11,000 units. That is how you start changing lives in a borough like the Bronx.

In my quest to build more, I'm impatient, I like to move fast, and I don't like anything in my way. Okay? You're all on notice. Don't get in my way. So we had a law, the SEQR law, which was an environmental law important in its time, but basically becoming redundant because localities are doing the same work. It took two extra years for every single housing project to go forward in the State of New York. Two extra years of review, two extra years of state regulations and red tape, plus adding the cost of $82,000 per unit extra, just to comply with State laws. When I heard this I was like "No. No, no. This ends." And it was a fight - had to overcome that fight. You know what we're doing. You know what we're doing up in the legislature. It was a fight, but we got it done, because I would not give up on my vision to make sure that we can move faster, make it less of a hassle, entice more developers who want to do this, because we have more parking lots like this just was.

This was just a parking lot. Look what we've done. This is magical. There's parking lots everywhere. There's state-owned properties that have extra space. I've been looking at psychiatric centers. I've been looking at former prison sites. I'm looking at places where I can see a vision, I can see people living, I can see families gathering, where right now it's a barren piece of property. So that's my vision today, going forward, and all of you are at the center of this. When I think about what I want New York to be, it's a place where everyone feels safe, secure and has a place to call home.

So thank you for helping make this happen. This is a proud day for me. I got a nice letter back in May inviting me to this event. I said, "Wow they're pretty good. Like, 'Would you please come with us in September?"' I can get that to happen. So I am here, but welcome home, everyone. Welcome home. Let me call up our great borough president, Vanessa Gibson.