Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces Major Construction Underway to Enhance Passenger Experience at North Country Airports

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that work is getting underway on projects that will modernize the Watertown International Airport and the Adirondack Regional Airport, creating welcoming travel gateways that will help attract new visitors and bring added economic activity to the North Country. Additionally, work is progressing on the expansion of the main terminal and other enhancements at the Ogdensburg International Airport, further energizing the region. The three projects were awarded funds from the Governor's $230 million Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition representing a $54.5 million investment in the North Country's vital transportation infrastructure.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

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

 Wow, this looks fabulous. What a great day here in the North Country. First of all, it's pretty cool to live in a place called its own country, right? Everywhere else in the state, we call it like the Southern Tier region, the Hudson Valley region. You have your own country. So, I just want to know how impressive that is to me.

I've been here so many times. I cherish this part of our state: its people, its places, its attractions, but also the strong sense of patriotism that is steeped in our DNA here. And as a member of the House Armed Services Committee in Congress, I was fighting for this base. To make sure that they kept their hands off, that they understood how critical this was, not just for us and our economy, not just for our reputation here, but also for our national security.

So, I had many conversations also as Lieutenant Governor coming here and welcoming home individuals, saying goodbye to them as we saw families separated. But this is a place that I really think is special and we have to continue to protect. And I think about the fact, in the dead of winter - it seems like a long way off. We used to be known for our winter storms here, now we're getting a reputation for our summer storms, which I hope doesn't last too long, but we'll talk about that a little bit later.

But in the middle of winter, it's not unusual to have a soldier returning through Fort Drum, greeted by a spouse and a child, and trying to be bundled up in the middle of winter going off to wherever their home is if they don't live here.

The reason they're bundled up and cold is that they're trying to board a plane outside, right? That is the image. This is what we do when we welcome home our heroes. We put them out in the cold and say, "Sorry, this is your welcome home." We can do better than that, my friends. That's just one example of what this transformation will do for this community, and I'm so excited about it. Right now, there's no jet bridge, the space is cramped, and these American heroes and their families are literally left out in the cold.

So, I'm here today to say that I believe in these individuals. I believe we should honor their service every single day of our lives. We owe our freedom to them and that their families in this region truly deserve better.

So today, I want to acknowledge the people who have helped bring us to this place. We have a very ambitious Commissioner of DOT. She and I have been shoulder to shoulder on so many important initiatives like this, but also there in a time of crisis and I have seen what leadership looks like.

We were just down in Steuben County hugging families whose homes were washed away. People literally escaped with their lives. We came up here, she spent time in Lowville. I was just up in Canton here today to talk to our local officials about what we can do to be their partners. But I want to thank Commissioner Dominguez for her incredible work and the fact that she has over 200 DOT members working around the clock to bring back our roads that were damaged just over the weekend. Let's give her another round of applause.

We have two Assemblymembers here that I work closely with. And you don't always expect to hear that from a member of a different party, right? But when it comes down to taking care of our people, the party labels don't matter. I had the chance to work with Scott Gray when he was in local government. We were talking about promoting tourism and hosting tourism roundtables after this area was battered during the pandemic; just walking the downtowns and trying to say, "Come on back. We're going to be okay now." And we went through a lot of challenges together and to be able to partner with him in the Assembly now is really an honor of mine. So, let's give a round of applause to our Assemblymember, Scott Gray.

Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush, we've done a lot together. Keep in mind, we were in a Humvee together. We've toured this site together a number of times and I know how important this is to him and his constituents, but he was also the person who first introduced me to the Maple Museum, and we had the best time there having a chance to sample everything you could possibly dream of that's made with maple - maple beer, maple wine, maple cheesecake. It was really good. So, I want to thank you for how well you represent your area and how passionate you are about the people you serve. Let's give him a round of applause, our Assemblyman, Ken Blankenbush.

As you know, Senator Walczyk is still on deployment. Talk about American heroes. He would be here, but he's out there serving not just his constituents, but serving our nation. And I want to give that a round of applause because we should never take for granted people who are putting themselves in harm's way.

Bill Johnson, Chairman of Jefferson County, I want to thank him. We've worked closely together and all the Jefferson County Board of Legislators and all the elected officials. I think we may have overlooked our Mayor Mike of Waddington. Where are you, Mayor? I named you Mayor Mike. There you are. Hope all things are going well in Waddington. I was up there for some incredible fishing tournaments. All going well up there? Alright. Great to see you.

Today, we're breaking ground on the largest expansion for the Watertown International Airport since its inception in 1928. That's a long time without major investment - 1928. Assemblyman Blankenbush actually told me he was here at the beginning. I said, I don't think you were. I think he meant when it was transferred to the county 18 years ago. I said no, you were not here at the beginning. I'm not going to accept that.

So, this project is going to elevate the passenger experience for anyone who travels through Watertown. Whether you're stationed at Fort Drum or escaping to Thousand Islands where you may or not know this, but one of the reasons I'm so gutsy and I'm such a risk taker is my parents would let us jump off the cliffs at Wellesley Island State Park and we camped there every summer. We were very unattended children. We took the boats out by ourselves, sometimes escaping in a boat, just paddling and all of a sudden, we're out in the river. And there's a major cargo ship coming just about to swamp us and knock us over. So, I got this whole sense of adventure and excitement and loving this area just as a child.

This was where you escape. We didn't have a lot of money. We pile into a station wagon and eight of us would just cook out by the fires. And that's a tradition I started with my children when they were preschoolers - loading them up, bring them up to Wellesley Island because I want them to enjoy the kind of childhood that I was so blessed to have.

So, it's been great. And I think about areas like this that sometimes feel like they've been overlooked. A lot of attention in other parts of our state is the perception, right? I hear that a lot. Just remember this. I'm the first Governor from Upstate New York in over 100 years. I know this area. I know the people. I know the places. And I know how hard people work. The small businesses - I think about ROOST and all the work that Jim does with the entire North Country, trying to help these small communities that are just oozing charm. They are so unique. Every one of them has such personality and have beautiful waterways like the rivers we have for whitewater rafting.

I love whitewater rafting. It's extraordinary. You go over to Clayton, the boat museum - It's amazing what we have up here. But it's been sad because a lot of businesses have left, and legacy industries have left. And I want people to know I believe in this area and region. In order to attract businesses and the jobs that come with them - which is what I'm all about - requires a modern, state-of-the-art airport. It just does.

Businesses looking all over the country are going to judge us by the welcome they get when they land, or if by seeing how their customers are going to be brought here. And so, if we can make the expansions occur here, we can open up more opportunities for more flights to come in and out of here. That's what has been holding us back.

We have flights to Philadelphia every day. Great city, but we don't need to go there every day. I need people from other places to be able to come and go right from here, and that's how you get a catalyst to bring people up here who want a vacation but don't want to have the long drive, or someone who wants to start a business here. This is how we're going to do it. And when an airport is outdated and run down, it sends a message that we're not first rate. And I can't have that happen because that can hurt the psyche of a community - a confidence that we should all have and the pride that should be there.

But when you do have a welcoming, world class hub, like the one we're building here, it sends a very different message that we take pride in our infrastructure and how we present ourselves to the world. So, I say this area - Watertown, the whole region - they really punch above their weight here. They have so much to offer, and I want to make sure that we can attract more people here.

And I'll also say this: a lot of people discovered the North Country on April 8. Remember April 8? The eclipse? It was as good as we were going to get. I was watching. There were a few more clouds that I would have liked to have seen, but it drew people here. It was a chance for us to promote that. We launched months and months in advance the North Country attractions so when people came here, they would stay. I believe that many will come back after that day when their jaws dropped at the natural beauty up here, that I think we should continue to capitalize on.

So, knowing all this, knowing that businesses want places to bring their opportunities, it's still an affordable quality of life here that is unmatched in other parts of our state and country - that's why a $230 million investment to help all of our Upstate airports modernize. And also, more than $54 million for three airports right here in the North Country. $54 million right here in the North Country. No Governor has ever made that investment because no Governor has ever understood the full potential of these airports. You can give that a round of applause.

So, the $28 million we're putting into the Watertown International Airport is by far the largest state grant ever given to this airport. And what it's going to do - we have incredible pictures here - twenty-five thousand square foot terminal with a new lobby, expanded ticketing, baggage claim spaces, and for those cold families coming here in the wintertime, we're adding a jet bridge and upgrading the waiting areas, which I mentioned is long overdue. As I said, no one who has served our country should be left standing there waiting in the rain or snow. We can do better. We will do better. And that is our promise. So, as of today, all nine projects in the state are underway. We have official construction starting today on the Adirondack Regional Airport. That'll bring people to Saranac Lake and Lake Placid and Tupper Lake, all those areas.

Up at Ogdensburg, we've been working there since March. That'll be done in the spring. And these airport expansions are really the centerpiece of our efforts to stimulate the economy here in the North Country region. So Jefferson County, Lewis County, we're doing so much.

We're also focused on job training for transitioning Fort Drum soldiers. It makes all the sense in the world. Their families have been here. The kids are in school - when they come back from their deployment, why do they have to pack up and go somewhere else? Let's make it easier for them to stay. They and their spouses. So, a job training program for them. So instead of leaving town, they'll stay here. They can build their lives here and help us grow our population.

So many important jobs unlocking the potential of this area, it's incredible. We also invested $8.6 million to revamp the waterfront in Clayton. I walked those streets, I walked in the basements. I helped them bail out water in a restaurant I always went to, it was tragic to see the flooding that took over that community not long ago - $8.6 million to help there as well. Lowville not far from here, another $10 million to help them with the DRI - so they can tell us their vision for their future that we will fund.

And also, $4.5 million in New York Forward funding. This is something I started because not every community that applies for a Downtown Revitalization Initiative has enough projects to justify $10 million, so they're being left on the sidelines. I said no, let's think about the smaller communities - $4.5 million for a small community - that's a game changer. I know, I represented small communities. So, we're $4.5 million to help fund exciting projects in Alex Bay, and that leverages private investment as well. I'm just excited as you can tell, I love being here. And just to see the momentum that's building here in the North Country.

As I mentioned, there are people who visited once, there'll be many repeat visitors. And I just want to say this is a really special day when we cut the ribbons - the next summer, and I said, "Are we really going to be done next summer?"

Commissioner, say it again? Yes, she said. Yes. She will hold the contractors and everybody. Any contractors here - you should not be here, you should be out there working. Okay, that's my view because we're going to hold you to it. I want this to open next summer. I cannot wait to come back for the ribbon cutting and show that the North Country truly is taking flight.

Thank you, everyone. Let me introduce our next speaker. One of our great North Country partners, Jefferson County Chair Bill Johnson. Mr. Johnson, Come on up.

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