B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Attends Ribbon Cutting for Montauk Playhouse

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul attended the ribbon cutting for Montauk playhouse in Suffolk county.

B-ROLL: B-Roll 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 have photos of the event here.

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

Thank you very much. Well if this is the friendliest place in the entire State of New York, I don't think I'm ever leaving. And it is truly God's country here. Faith, thank you for that beautiful rendition of a song that I've never heard quite sung like that, it is so inspiring. I want to thank you for bringing your talents here to us. Let's give Faith Muhally another round applause for that.

Jennifer Carney Lacono, I want to thank you for leading this incredible place, it's extraordinary. I have got to peek at the pool even. Maureen, my good friend Maureen Cahill tells me it's 23 years in the making to have that swimming pool. So little kids a long time ago were waiting — they can bring their kids, it's how long it took. But it's visionaries like those and many of the leaders that we have here today that really are profoundly changing people's lives. And that's what this center has been all about for over 100 years, a gathering place, and I know many of you realize that this must be preserved not just for us today, but for generations to come.

So I want to thank former Assemblyman Fred Thiele. Fred, where are you? Fred, thank you. Thank you for all you did for this. Tommy John, our new Assemblymember, Tommy John Schiavoni. Ann Welker, our County Legislator, Ann. Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, our Town Supervisor. Former Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc is here, Peter. And again, Jennifer and Maureen thank you, thank you. Extraordinary. Thank you. And all the town board members because I'm a former town board member and we never get recognized.

If you're a town board member, raise your hand. We'll recognize you as well here — there we go, town board. Do they still do things like they used to do to me when I was on the town board? Like when you go grocery shopping at midnight, after you finish the Budget and you're trying to get home because your kids need cereal for breakfast in the morning and they start talking about how a snowplow that you're in charge of hit their mailbox. That happened down here? That wouldn't happen here, would it? I'm from Buffalo.

But no, you're very right in front of the public and I do miss that sometimes that direct engagement. It is a beautiful, beautiful day here. And again, back to Fred. He is responsible for delivering $1.7 million that he fought for to this project, I want to thank him. And we have DASNY, our State Dormitory Authority, also put in money. But you know, you think about places like this, I know the community's anxious to see the aquatic center. I know you've seen some approvals, some If you need something from the state, you got it right now. Do you need anything from the state on that? Just give me a pen. I hate government bureaucracy. Always have, always will. Tommy, let's get it done.

But I cannot wait to see the children experiencing that opportunity to learn to swim. And my God, if you don't know how to swim in this area and you go in the water it could be life threatening. So this will literally save people's lives, and for our seniors incredible therapy they can get by being in the water. It relaxes all the muscles, I know what I'm talking about. You know I got to tell you one thing. The residents that I live in, blessed to live in up in Albany, was the former home of Franklin Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt.

But Franklin Roosevelt, as you know, had polio. So he turned the greenhouse into a therapy pool — very narrow, but there's a way to get him in there from his wheelchair. And every day he would do this to relax his muscles. I didn't want to break tradition, so I go in that pool every day too and relax my muscles as well, that's why I'm so calm.

So I know that water's very therapeutic, whether it's in a pool or just this magnificent community where you get to look at the water anytime you want. This is God's gift to the world. Montauk and the eastern part of our beautiful Long Island here. And so what you're doing here is — I saw the people playing pickleball. Any other pickleball players here? Man, they're a competitive bunch. I thought it was a game. This is like a blood sport in some of these communities. And I actually like it too. I'm very competitive or I probably wouldn't be where I am today.

But places like this for families to feel at home, connected, pass on traditions to each other, and for seniors to interact with children and families, it's just really special to me as New York's first Mom Governor. It's all about the kids and families being able to be connected. and that's really what I'm trying to do all over the state.

We launched a $100 million initiative talking about how we can help some of the older pools across our state be refurbished and community centers and places for particularly our kids to be together. I'm so focused on public safety and keeping every New Yorker safe. But sometimes our younger kids, teenagers, they don't have other creative outlets, healthy outlets, and they aren't gravitated. They draw into the streets. And so we've invested a tremendous amount of money for products like that.

Whether you have teenagers, or nieces and nephews as I do — my kids are older now. I'm a grandma, by the way. Little one-month-old — it's fun; little 3-year-old. But, you can't help but notice there's been a dramatic change in the experience of being a young person or teenager, and I have to draw the through line from the rise in addictive algorithms on social media platforms, and the fact that these kids cannot even sit eight hours a day in school without constantly staring at this and being bombarded with notifications. And so, I'm really proud — and I hope you are as well — that I've decided we're going to save this next generation of kids and take away the cell phones during the school day.

The teachers will be so appreciative. It starts in a couple of weeks. That's how we save the next generation. Our kids will be smarter, more well educated, more adjusted. They'll actually know how to make something called “eye contact,” and they'll laugh again in the halls and they'll do what one young girl told me — I've been on a year and a half journey. I've been to every corner of the State talking about this. One girl said, “We know we should put down the phone. We know. I'm looking at it all day long because I'm being mocked for what I'm wearing, and people are gathering in the bathroom and they're not inviting me, and they're talking about plans.”

She goes, “I'm so stressed out. If I put it down, I'm going to miss out on something.” And I said, “You’ve got to put it down, sweetheart.” She said, “You've got to save us from ourselves.” And when a child says that to you, you know you have to do something. There's young people all over our State like that. So, I hope you're proud that we are the largest State in America to adopt a bell-to-bell cell phone-free experience starting in a couple weeks.

If you have kids, start weaning them — it's going to be tough. I'm telling you right now, it's going to be a tough experience, but so worth it. As I talk to teenagers in schools where they've already done this. And one girl said to me, “I have my first friend in person ever.” She's in middle school. She never had a real friend because they don't talk to each other. So, this is what — I'm kind of off script, but I'm in a community center, I'm thinking about kids. And so, many of you are parents, or grandparents or know people’s family members. Let's get people ready for that.

But, so I'm going to continue making these investments. You know, we've invested more in swimming pools than anytime since the New Deal, and investing in places for young people to gather and our seniors to gather. So I will continue that effort, but you did it right here — you did it right here and I'm so impressed with this building that could have been torn down.

Maureen was telling me that people are talking about possibly tearing this down. What a crime that would've been, and all of you knew the value of this in this magnificent community, and I thank all of you for stepping up and saving this masterpiece.

There's another issue I want to chat about before I go — thank you.

Less fun issues. We talk about water, we're going to also talk about fire. And I know it was a very frightening time for the people living out here when we had the brush fire, and it required the closure of Montauk Highway, the Long Island Railroad out here — and, literally, the community was almost cut off completely.

And I know that's kind of a helpless feeling and it's frightening, and this is happening more and more throughout our country. And again, I never miss a chance to thank our local fire departments for all they do. Our volunteers are amazing — thank you, thank you.

But we have to address the root causes of the fires. And there's this little creature, the Southern Pine Beetle, which is the cause for much of this now, because it can destroy a healthy tree in a matter of months — this invasive species. And so, I wanted you to know we're on this because I told my team, get on it.

We cannot — I mean, the people are so worried about this spreading to their homes and business, and this could have gone everywhere. Look what happened in Los Angeles? Right around that time, people saw those images and they're terrified they're going to lose our beautiful communities. So we got involved, and our Office of Parks of Recreation — I just want to announce this here today, a $2.2 million contract to manage the ongoing fire hazards as a result of the Southern Pine Beetles. So, what we're trying to do is prevent flare ups.

There you go — got to do something.

Thank you. Thank you.

This will help reduce the fire in our Napeague State Park, our Hither Hills State Park. We’ve got to protect our State Parks. And also, we're going to have staffing around the clock during these dry seasons — staffing around the clock. It's that early warning. If you catch it early enough, you might be able to prevent countless acres of devastation.

We'll make sure it's reported very quickly. So, if you think of any other ideas for us to do — you're the experts, you're on the ground. If there's something else we can do to protect your community from what has been happening, I want to do that as well because you live in such a beautiful place. I hope you appreciate it. As someone who doesn't get to hear nearly as often as I would like to someday. I just hope you know you have something really special here. It's the natural wonder here, the beauty, God's gift of nature, but also a tight knit community that cares about each other — never take that for granted.

Congratulations, everyone. And with that, let me invite up maybe the most popular person around here, our Supervisor, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. We've worked together a long time. I want to thank you so much for your leadership with this extraordinary community. Come on up and say a few words.