Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces Ribbon Cutting for Eckhardts in East Buffalo

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the ribbon cutting for the Eckhardts building in East Buffalo. The $13.5 million project, by Cedarland Development LLC, renovated and converted a 50,000-square-foot, vacant and underutilized building at 950 Broadway into a mixed-use development, featuring 28 affordable housing units and a free Head Start child education program. The building has been unused for 18 years, with portions of the building being vacant for decades. The renovated structure brings new life to the former retail store- turned-office building near one of the most visible intersections in East Buffalo. Governor Hochul previously announced 950 Broadway LLC was chosen with 10 other transformational projects in Buffalo's Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood as part of a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award.

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

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.

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

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

Good morning, everyone. Good morning. What a great looking crowd so early. Have a seat. Have a seat.

This neighborhood holds a special place in my heart. My family has brought us to the iconic and historic Broadway Market since I was a little girl. I brought my own children to the Broadway Market - and not just during Easter week, okay? So there you go. There you go.

And just not far from here my husband's uncle had the Hochul Funeral Home that many people later - in later years, told me how Uncle Richard would often just forego the cost of the funeral for very poor families and just was really part of the community.

And this market itself has been here - the market itself was there since 1888, right around when John Eckhardt founded his store that became this incredible landmark at 950 Broadway. This building has had a long history of tenants, including the New York State Department of Labor at one point. So, I always want to say this was our home.

But in recent - I was going to say years, but decades - it's a well known story that East Buffalo was overlooked. The decline began, families moved out. Buildings deteriorated. And despite the best efforts of elected officials, it was just hard to stem the tide, right? It was just really hard and the community just felt they were forgotten.

Investments slowed, as I mentioned, buildings decayed, businesses left, and that always just struck me right here. Because this is a vibrant community that truly matters. And the historic nature of it, the history is incredible. But I also believe, beyond just the history, that its future can also be incredible. And so I vowed as Governor, because I know this area, I would keep coming back and back until we start restoring faith in the people, the places and the possibilities.

I said I was going to help rewrite the Buffalo comeback story. I knew I couldn't do it alone. I needed great partners in government. And one of them you're going to hear from in a couple of moments. Someone who wears this community on her sleeve and in her heart, and that's our Majority Leader, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, who is right there on the front lines. Right there making sure that we know that she wants a lot of money. And she delivers. She certainly delivers.

We also have a Mayor who understands the needs of this community so deeply, and is a great champion, has always been for the entire city, but particularly putting a spotlight on these neighborhoods, our Mayor, Byron Brown. Let's give him a round of applause.

And a County Executive who lives in the city, who cares about the city, has also been having my ear when it comes to projects that are so important to the transformation and the comeback of Buffalo. And I want to thank the great partnership of our County Executive, Mark Poloncarz. Let's give him a round of applause. Legislator Larry Dupre. Larry, raise your hand. Everybody knows Larry is brand new. He's a brand-new county legislator from here and I look forward to deepening our relationship and working closely together.

And also, the people who've invested in this project. Dr. Fadi Dagher, Kevin Dagher, the CEO and the President of Cedarland Development Group. Companies like this help us do what we want to do. They help us achieve our goals of giving people the dignity of a roof over their heads. And I honor them and thank them for having the faith, the confidence, and the wherewithal to get this project done. Let's give them both a round of applause.

You're also going to hear from Marie Cannon, the President and CEO of the Community Action Organization. Marie, welcome to the job and welcome to the work you're doing.

Why you're here is because we're talking about something that I believe in to my core is making sure that every child has the best start in life. Best start. I just walk past a room that is going to be open to children who participate in the Head Start program. It was filled with toys and little books and crafts, and I said "This is life changing for the families that'll be able to come to this place right from birth to age three and a half years old. Setting them up on a path to success that'll never be reversed." If you could get them when they're that young, you can change their life forever. So, I thank you, the Community Action Organization, and everyone who also is working hard.

You know, we talked about this, I was here in November 2022, I think I'd been a governor just maybe about a year. I think I had an election around that time, I'm pretty sure. The memory is foggy, but I came here because I had to say this. We had a program called the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. I love this program. I have been all over the state, especially in my time as Lieutenant Governor. When you announce to a community that they matter enough to have won $10 million, all of a sudden, there's this mojo that starts coming back. People start feeling like, "Yeah, we matter, we won." It's like the Olympics, we bring home the gold. And that's what this community did. It put forth a winning proposal.

And with $10 million, we're investing in 11 projects around the Broadway-Fillmore area that perhaps would not have happened without that. Investing in one of - as I mentioned - one of our oldest and historic neighborhoods. And the vision is not just for this project, but also for parks and retail and better connections between the neighbors and pedestrian bike paths, and really making people feel they're part of a vibrant community.

But of course, the redevelopment of vacant buildings. And last year, I announced the $13.5 million transformation of this building right here as a hub for this community. I'm proud to be able to cut this ribbon today. Now those ground breakings are nice, I go to a lot of them, but when you see the finished product and you know that someone's going to be able to call this their home and their children are going to be safe and nurtured here. This brings back pride. Remember the old "talking proud, walking proud", whatever we were doing proud? Okay, that was a slogan, and it was nice. But now it's real. It's not just something on a sign or a banner, it's what people are living now because this ribbon cutting today will just be a symbol of all the projects, all the initiatives.

They're going to continue building this area up. This will be a place for 28 families. 28 beautiful, affordable apartments, right? Affordable, meaning that families - no matter what their income level - will be able to have a chance at living here. As I mentioned, it's a place where children are going to thrive. It's a good safe place for their kids.

Also focusing on just family, work and education. This is a model for around the state. I want you to know that I'm pointing to this project and what we're doing here, integrating education for children in a place where families can live in the same building - this is how you change people's lives. And I'm working every single day to make sure that this is successful.

I also want to talk about what we accomplished this year - and Crystal Peoples-Stokes was a major driver of this - we put forth an aggressive housing package that many thought would never happen because it was just too bold, it was too audacious, and just too complicated given the politics of the whole state.

But I knew we had to do something to drive more construction, because prices - even a place that was so proud for years to be one of the most affordable places in the country, all those years we'd say, "Affordable housing", it was Buffalo and a few other cities. We were right up there. We're not up there anymore. Now, in one sense, it means that people want to be here. That's good. We're driving young people - they're graduating from our schools, or they're staying here, coming here. But what it has done is the supply hasn't kept pace with the demand, and therefore prices go up, and that's the crunch we're in. Not just here, but all over the state.

So, we had to be aggressive. We had to announce significant amounts of money. We announced $500 million that we're proposing to build on state land, because I can't make everybody rezone. That's a local decision, right? But I have a lot of state land around, and I said, "Why don't we focus on that as an opportunity to build more affordable housing?"

We also have something called our Pro-Housing initiative. A lot of people said, "We don't want to be told what to do. So, give us a lot of carrots. We don't like the sticks." I said, "Okay, I have $650 million worth of carrots for you, including the Downtown Revitalization Initiative."

But communities had to step up like the city of Buffalo did. Mayor, thank you. You're a proud Pro-Housing Community model for others to say that we're stepping up, we're going to have targets, we're going to be able to look at zoning in a different way; create opportunities but also be eligible for programs like this. And those who won't are not eligible for the $650 million. I just want to reinforce that.

So, we've supported this. We've worked on either creating or preserving over 7,500 affordable homes in the city of Buffalo just in the last few years. 7,500 homes - that's extraordinary. And I was just here a few weeks ago to announce the $254 million projects for the Commodore Perry projects that is going to change this city, 405 units of affordable housing, and we have a $25 billion plan that is just getting warmed up.

So, you know why I get excited about this, I didn't want to miss this opportunity. There's also a chance to stop by the Erie County fair, good timing. The fried cookie dough is still next level, the view from the top of the Ferris wheel of this whole community. You can see where the Bills Stadium is being worked on. You can see the waterfront, you can see the lake.

It just reminds me there's no place like home, and it's really a special place for me. And I will continue to invest in this community, invest in the people, and more importantly, invest in the future. The future of Buffalo is so bright and it starts with projects like this. Thank you.

Let me bring up someone who is a force of nature, a strong woman. Her roots are here in Buffalo, but her voice is heard in every corner of the state. The clout that she exercises as the number two - and sometimes right up there at the Speaker's ear, telling him what we need. The Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly, our very own Crystal Peoples-Stokes. Thank you.

Contact the Governor's Press Office