Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces Nearly 3 Million New Yorkers to Receive Over $2 Billion in Tax Relief This Summer and Fall

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that nearly three million New Yorkers across the state will receive over $2 billion in tax relief this summer and fall through New York's School Tax Relief (STAR) program. STAR provides property tax relief to eligible homeowners and seniors statewide. While some STAR recipients will receive their benefit in the form of a tax exemption this year, many other recipients will receive a tax credit and will be sent a check in the mail this summer and fall.

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 morning, everyone. Any happy homeowners in the audience? Well, you're going to be happier when we're done with this okay. Please sit down, everyone. Thank you for joining us. And I want to acknowledge Barry Kaufmann, as you mentioned, is the President of the New York Alliance for Retired Americans, a great, great champion for our seniors. And I want to thank him for all he does and Martine Ortiz, one of our senior citizens and an advocate. And I want to thank both of them for helping us with this issue in so many more ways.

But affordability has always been the cornerstone of my agenda, whether we're creating jobs or cutting taxes with the largest middle class tax rate cut in 70 years. Tripling the child tax credit, universal childcare, free school meals for children in schools every child, as well as our inflation rebates. We sent out inflation rebates to 8.2 million New Yorkers. All that says that my record and my mission is very simple, putting money back in people's pockets. That's all I'm trying hard to do.

And today, I'm going to talk about supporting homeowners. I believe that homeownership is not just a financial milestone - it's a very big deal to own a home, especially in this day and age. But it's also a cornerstone of our community. It's a place of stability, and it allows people to build wealth in their own lives. As much as it's difficult to get that first home, I remember trying to scrape together all the money for that mortgage. And I'll tell you this, interest rates were 16 percent at the time I did. Anybody have - you're all a lot younger than I am I guess. But inflation was off the charts, and then they said you had to have 20 percent set aside. How does a young couple come up with 20 percent of a down payment for a house? And it was a tiny little house. But we struggled, we waited for a long time and we were finally able to achieve that. But that's why I know that so many people, this is a marker of progress, this is a sign of success, especially as my parents used to live in a trailer park.

And for them to get that first little tiny apartment and then the other little apartment, and then finally a little tiny house where they raised six children. And so I understand what this means, how important it is to have that piece, something that's yours. It's tangible that you can call your own and it's your home. It's a marker of progress for many people, a point of pride, a place to raise a family, perhaps a place to grow old, and maybe even an asset to hand down to your own children. And whether you made your first mortgage payment recently or you have grandchildren playing in the backyard, it really allows us to understand the challenges that this home can be for you. It's a great asset, it's a wonderful point of pride, but it also comes with a lot of expenses, right? And a little breathing room can make a world of difference. You have the property taxes and for so many it's just another bill at the end of the month sitting on the kitchen table saying, "Do I pay this one? Do I pay this one? Can I put anything off? How am I going to make this all work?" And so, this is what I think about is the struggling families across our state who are blessed to have a home.

It is fantastic for those who are homeowners, it's hard - out of reach for many. But also, I need to make sure that we're doing everything we can at the State level to put money back in your pockets and help you out with these costs. And that's why today I'm proud to announce that New York homeowners will receive $2 billion in property tax relief. $2 billion is going out. That's going to come through our STAR program, our "School Tax Relief Program." And for many homeowners, it'll be an extra $350 to $600 in their pockets. And with that money, you can maybe fill up your gas tank - hopefully more than once and make a couple of car payments and get some groceries and buy some school clothes if you've got little kids. But for seniors, the benefit is even bigger. Many are on fixed income, they're not bringing in income every single paycheck anymore. And eligible seniors will receive between $700 and $1,500 in relief. And so that's the relief that they can count on.

Use that to enjoy your retirement or go out to dinner or movie or like I said, you'll pay some of the bills at the end of the month instead of worrying so much about how you're going to manage. And let me tell you how it works. Most will get the benefits through their school tax on their tax bill. Others will get a check and they're going to start hitting the mailboxes. They're staggered throughout the state because it takes some time to get them out. But they're coming and they'll be coming, some are starting now through the summer and some others in the fall. And so if you want to check out when your check is arriving, if you're really anxious to help pay those bills, go to NY.gov/STAR - it's real simple. You got that? NY.gov/STAR. So check it out and it'll tell you when your check is coming. So you can go to the delivery lookup and look in your location, and it'll make it a lot easier for you. You can also sign up for direct deposit.

You just want to see that without any hassle. It's right on the portal and you can do that very easily. So property tax relief is just one way we're delivering on our affordability agenda. It's a stark contrast to what is happening in Washington when many of their policies are just driving the cost of living up and up and up. There's chaos, there's corruption. You have a president who's using taxpayer money not to give you relief, but to build a ballroom and arches and UFC fights on the White House lawn. And paying off rioters who attacked police officers. And it's just unrelenting, this reckless war that is maybe coming to a conclusion on Iran, we don't really know. We've heard it over a couple of times, but all that has sent the cost of gasoline soaring and no one counted on that. You couldn't have budgeted for that, you didn't expect it and all that as we head into summer. And those gas prices, I hope they come down soon. But we know gas prices go up like a rocket and come down like a feather is the saying. So this is what we're dealing with. So you have a president and an administration that's focused on enriching family and friends of the President. And I'm focused on enriching families and people who call New York their home. We're fighting for New Yorkers and that's why I've been focused on this since I've been Governor. We've had over $5.5 billion in real relief for people across the state. And this year, some of the fights we took on in the Budget, they weren't easy - they weren't easy. If it's easy, it's probably already been done. Sign me up for the hard fights every single time, including taking on the high cost of auto insurance.

That was something that we were told would not be possible. Told it was dead on arrival to change something that had been part of our - part of Albany's culture for a long time. And no one was willing to make the changes to do what we could to lower what are the highest auto insurance rates in the country. That's just not fair to New Yorkers. We're not any worse drivers. Are you any worse drivers? I don't think you are, none of us are. You're all good drivers. You're the best - you're the best. So I'll stand up for my drivers any day of the week. So don't tell me our insurance premiums have to be this high because of our drivers, I'm not accepting it - I'll defend every one of you. So we had to change the laws, it was hard but you know what? As a result of what we did, not only will insurance rates stop going up sky high, they will plateau and then they'll be coming down. And that is a commitment I have to make sure that happens, because we're rooting out the fraud and the liability laws that make it insanely impossible for people just to be able to pay their bills.

And I want to make sure the insurance companies respond to that as well. We also realize your energy bills. How painful are they to look at? Now we're heading into air conditioning time in the summer and winter time was so cold this year. So we're delivering $1 billion in energy rebate tax to offset utility costs that have spiked because of the war with Iran and just other circumstances. So we're also anybody out there a waitress, waiter? Okay, maybe not anymore. I used to be one. You used to be one? It's good work, right? Do you get a lot of tips?

[...]

Where'd you work?

[...]

Because you're the nice waiter.

[...]

You're just popular. I bet your personality came right through. I would've gone to your section too. I'm a former waitress for five years too and I used to be the short order cook. I made the food and I had to serve it and so I didn't get real big tips. I did not get real big tips. But for those who do, we're ending the tax on tips in the State of New York. So you can just keep a little more of that money in your pocket. So a lot of people who work in that industry have to work two jobs to make ends meet. And we're just trying to find all the ways we can just to take the pressure off of New Yorkers because, it's just it's a lot.

So let me conclude by saying this, homeownership is an amazing achievement. Don't ever take for granted the ability to own that home. But also, I know how hard it is for the upkeep. Things are always going wrong, you're always having to call the plumber something. There's someone nodding their head right there. That was me not too long ago, and my air conditioner broke the other day too. So luckily I am a renter and I had to make someone else fix it. But I cannot imagine if that's in your house. It's an additional cost, but it's an achievement but it's also expensive. And your finances, your budgets, your stresses, your burdens are always top of mind for me and I feel them deeply. And I'm going to continue fighting, not just with what we did last year, but this year and onward, and making sure we can just make life easier for all of you because your family and your future are my fight.

Thank you very much, everyone. Let me bring up our next speaker, one of New York senior's greatest advocates, the President of the New York State Alliance of Retired Americans, Barry Kaufmann

Barry, take it away.