B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Goes Grocery Shopping With Western New York Constituent to Highlight 2025 State of the State Affordability Agenda

B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Goes Grocery Shopping With Western New York Constituent to Highlight 2025 State of the State Affordability Agenda

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul went grocery shopping with a Western New York constituent to highlight the 2025 State of the State affordability agenda in Cheektowaga. As her first proposal for the 2025 State of the State, Governor Hochul proposed New York State's first-ever Inflation Refund, which would deliver about $3 billion in direct payments to around 8.6 million New York taxpayers statewide in 2025. This new refund would send a payment of $300 to single taxpayers who make up to $150,000 per year, and a payment of $500 for joint tax filers making up to $300,000 per year. The announcement is one of several proposals to help address the cost of living that will be unveiled as part of the Governor's upcoming State of the State.

B-ROLL: The event 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 has photos of the event here.

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

Hello, everyone. Come on over here, Mandy. Great to be back in my hometown of Buffalo. My husband's from Cheektowaga. I grew up in Woodlawn and Hamburg, and now we live in the City of Buffalo, so it is great to be back in Bills country.

And I wanted to come here to a store that I've shopped in before, just much like the Tops that was around the corner from where we grew up, where I spent countless hours as a young mom. Trying to make ends meet at a time when I wasn't working. My husband was a public servant, so the income was not that high. And I know personally what it was like when those bills would come in every month. And you just pray that you're going to be able to get through with the paycheck you had and get through another month.

And when I see parents today, my own children, same age as our friend Mandy here and Josh, our two year old granddaughter, I see the struggles that so many families are going through. Now a nice store like Tops, they're working hard to keep prices down, there's a lot of items on sale, but when you add up the cost of a grocery cart these days, it is shockingly high all across the country.

Whatever is driving up the cost, whether it's supply chain and climate change affecting the farmers, our citizens are taking it on the chin, and it's too much. And what I realize in walking through the store with Mandy and her little, almost 10-month-old daughter, and she has a son at home, it just feels like you're not getting ahead.

And we need to understand, and leaders like myself need to understand, how hard it is. Not just to show empathy and say, "I understand," but to actually do something about it. And I realize, because New Yorkers have had to pay so much more over the last three years because of inflation, prices going up far beyond what you could have budgeted for. Everything from sneakers to baby clothes to diapers to food.

That we as a state collected more in sales tax revenues than we budgeted for, than we anticipated. Over $3 billion more out of the pockets of hard working New Yorkers. Now that could stay in the state and there'll be a lot of pressure from elected officials and special interest groups who say, "No, no, spend that at the state level, figure out a different way." And I'm saying no.

I'm on the side of hard working people like we have right here in Cheektowaga, New York, who go to work every day, want to live the American Dream, try to pay for their house or their rent, think about college someday, setting aside a little bit of money and just getting through every day.

Those are the people that I'm fighting for because this is where I come from. I know how to stretch to make ends meet. I know what it's like to try to support a family on one income. And I saw what my parents had to do with a family of eight. Stretching the groceries, buying stale bread and Twinkies and stuffing them in the freezer and we'd have them weeks later.

That's what families today are doing and I understand it. So, I said, "Why don't we put our families first and put that money right back in their pockets?" And we can do that. I have a plan - it'll be in my State of the State address as well as many other initiatives to address the affordability challenges in our state.

I will unveil this plan, and what I call it is our inflation rebate. What's that? It says the money should be going back into your pockets. Families earning less than $300,000 will get $500 more. Single individuals will have $300 more to go shopping at a Tops, help pay their bills, or help set aside a little bit of money. And also just take some of that stress off for a time when they can have other things to worry about. That's who I'm going to continue fighting for as governor.

I'm proud to be here with Mandy, who's been sharing with me some of her challenges and why this means so much to her. So at this point, let me turn it over to Mandy, because we don't know how long her little cutie daughter is going to last. It's around nap time and her husband, Josh, he's been a great supporter. But Mandy, what is it like to shop, but what does it also feel like to know that if I'm successful - and I'm going to fight hard to get this money for you - that we can at least make a difference for you for a short time?

Mandy Breniser: It will definitely take the pressure off and can help invest in other things. If that covers a couple of weeks of groceries, maybe I can look at getting a car seat I'm going to need for her in a couple of months. Also, daycare. It feels like every time I think I'm starting to get ahead or catch up, then inflation keeps going, prices change, or the supply chain has an issue. So this would definitely help, not just me, but so many people I know. Affordability is a problem, and thank you for addressing it.

Governor Hochul: Thank you, Mandy. I appreciate you coming here today and we'll let you get back to your little sweetie pie. Thank you. Let's give a round of applause to Mandy and her family, Josh, and everybody.

And I want to acknowledge the leadership of the Tops organization here and the representatives from the union that looks out for all these great workers here. It's really good to be back home again. I recognize the way the food's laid out. I know my path that I used to always follow and it's great to be home again.

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