Governor Kathy Hochul: It's great to be back in Puerto Rico for the 40th gathering of Somos, joined by our chair of Somos, Karines Reyes, also Frankie Miranda, the head of the incredible Hispanic Federation. And a great partner of mine in governing is our mayor, Zohran Mamdani. And I want to thank all the representatives from El Puente, which means the bridges, right?
We're building bridges between New York and Puerto Rico every way we can. I want to thank them for their participation in this roundtable. We talked about the needs of this community, particularly in light of a historic drought, but also the ongoing challenges with the resiliency of the grid and the delivery of water, etc. So, we found some ideas. I've already told my team we were going to be delivering even more, so stay tuned for some post-conference announcements.
Question: I have a question about - for Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul, while you're down here - Mayor Mamdani, I know you're going to a meeting for the Esencia Project.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Yes.
Question: Do you support Council Member Alexa Avilés' resolution supporting efforts to block the project? And will you visit Cabo Rojo - and for the both of you - sorry not to ignore you, Governor Hochul - will you visit Cabo Rojo, which is the town where the project is located?
Mayor Mamdani: I'm looking forward to the meeting this afternoon with Puerto Ricans, including [those] from Cabo Rojo, to speak about the impact of this project. And to me, that is one of the most critical parts of being here in San Juan, is also having this be an opportunity to listen to Puerto Ricans about the ways in which New York City and New York State can stand in solidarity with them. I'm not as familiar with the specifics of the Council member's resolution, but I will look at that and get back to you.
Question: And who will, I mean, will it be people who are opposed to the project as well because there was some concern about the infrastructure issues and it was still passed through by the Puerto Rican government?
Mayor Mamdani: I think a lot of the people that we'll be meeting with have been on the front lines of pushing back against this project, and they're going to be illuminating why.
Question: And you, Governor Hochul, as well?
Governor Hochul: No, I'm going to stay in touch with the people on the ground here and ask them [about] their concerns. I'm not familiar with the legislation.
Question: Could you tell me what hopes do you have that things for Puerto Rico will change or improve given the results of the midterms?
Mayor Mamdani: Well, I think we've seen a few days ago a new chapter in our country's history, and there's a potential in that, that we can finally start to deliver for working-class people across this country, and what we heard today was the fact that so often what's described as a natural crisis here in Puerto Rico is in fact a political crisis, one that is the result of political choices. And we're excited that we are starting to take different political choices across our country, and we hope to see different political results.
Governor Hochul: Particularly, the influence of the Puerto Rican community is very strong in New York State and New York City. And to have leadership in Congress that knows those challenges from firsthand and representing them, I think, is a real advantage. This is not a community that has to be understood. It is well understood by our leaders in Congress that we'll be sending there.
Secondly, it's a whole new day of responsibility of the federal government to Puerto Rico. And what we've seen over the last two years is really an abandonment of that commitment. And we hope to have all those wounds heal, making sure that we continue bringing resources for resiliency, energy projects, building up the grid, as well as healthcare being restored, nutrition programs. And so, I would say it's a whole new day for Puerto Rico with this election.
Question: Governor Hochul, coming off your decisive win on Tuesday, will you now renew your pledge to not raise taxes in New York State? And then separately for you, Mr. Mayor, you know, you have a lot of officials down here this year, a lot of commissioners, a lot of deputy mayors; this is your first term in office in Somos. Who authorized the fire commissioner coming here with four staff, and what is her agenda here?
Mayor Mamdani: So, the fire commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore, is here as part of long-standing administrative practice to have a number of representatives from our administration here at this conference. And her primary responsibilities, they range from meeting with legislators, meeting with government partners, as well as meeting with local fire officials to exchange best practices.
And I think you've heard from the governor earlier that whenever Puerto Rico has been in a crisis, we've sought to be there. And we also heard from a number Puerto Rican leaders today that the best way to prevent the next crisis is to prepare in advance of it, and we view the bond between our city and Puerto Rico as an unbreakable one, one that also requires us to share as much as we can across government officials.
Question: Just following up with Governor Hochul.
Governor Hochul: My takeaway from the election is that the voters of New York State have overwhelmingly supported our policy agenda. They want me to keep fighting to deliver affordability for New Yorkers. They want me to keep building more housing. They want me to focus on energy resiliency and focusing on the threat of climate change. And the other major one is childcare. And I will work hard to manage within our existing resources, but if we need more, we'll find a path as I've done before. When there's a particular need, a very specific need, like helping the city just less than a year ago with the Pied-à-terre tax, a dedicated revenue source for a specific purpose to help the city.
Or the time we had to stop the MTA from going literally off a fiscal cliff when I first became governor, had to increase the revenues coming in from the payroll mobility tax. So, I want to make sure that we have a path forward that is sustainable to fully fund childcare, because this is how New York will be defined for generations to come: did we have the ambition, the boldness, but also the resources to make sure that that is guaranteed for many years to come?
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Governor, given the question that Craig just asked, I was wondering if you see a need for the legislature to come back this year to finish any unfinished business? We just started talking about taxation-
[Crosstalk.]
Question: You have leveraged your relationship with the president in a number of immigrant success stories in terms of getting the Ghanaian mother to the United States and releasing an Algerian student at Columbia University when she was in detention. Because we're at Somos, which is really centering Latino leadership, I just wondered if you could talk a little bit about what immigration looks like for that community; given that you have a relationship with the president, but now you have [a] more progressive Congress. So, could you just outline what you see as some of your commitment to the Latino community?
Mayor Mamdani: Absolutely. It is a commitment to ensure that Latino New Yorkers can continue not only to live in New York City, but to flourish in New York City. And what you have heard today has also been the stories we've heard in New York City. We heard about stories of people who don't want to leave their homes out of fear of ICE here in Puerto Rico; those are the same stories we hear in New York City. And what we talk about - the governor and I care deeply about public safety. And one of the reasons I'm so opposed to ICE's immigration enforcement actions is because they do nothing to contribute towards that safety. In fact, they threaten that safety. We're talking about an agency that opened fire on a moving vehicle in broad daylight, right after school was let out, opening fire on a man and his five-year-old child.
And what that does, it instills fear in New Yorkers about their ability to leave their homes, live in their neighborhoods, live the lives that they sought to live. And we hear it from New Yorkers; we hear it from small business owners; we hear from, you know, our brother Frankie Miranda; we hear that from anyone who interacts with Latino New Yorkers, because it is a fear that has become in some senses almost permanent since we've seen this kind of federal policy.
And as the governor said, it feels like a Michael Bublé song: "It's a new day, it's a new dawn." It is a real opportunity for us.
[Crosstalk.]
It's a real opportunity for us in our country to finally see the values of humanity reflected also in federal policy.
Governor Hochul: There is a tremendous opportunity for Congress to finally do what this country has been asking for in red states and blue states, which is a common-sense policy related to immigration; increasing the legal entrance to bail-to-commit; dealing with border issues, yes, but also making sure that we deal with asylum seekers in a very different way; and to stop the overreach of ICE in small communities in upstate New York, the streets of New York or here in San Juan.
And that's something that I believe will be a benefit to this country rejecting Republican leadership in Washington. They have had enough. In a nonpartisan way, they've had enough for the overreach of ICE. So, I'm familiar with immigration reform. I worked on a bill when I was an attorney for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan before most of you were born. But it was a path that the country could work together on - a Democratic House, Republican president at the time - and they got it together and had meaningful reform. I think the possibility is there.
If Donald Trump wants to try to create a different legacy than one he's going to leave with in two years, one of it could be doing something that has been breaking that stranglehold on not being able to move forward on meaningful immigration reform, because I think our country is hurting when we don't open the doors to people who want to come here to get an education, to be able build their families, start new businesses for us. And that's something I'm expecting from this Congress as well.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: What was I asking you - whether you see a need for the legislature to come back this year to finish any particular unfinished business and on the question that Craig raised, are you saying now then that if you see a need, potential income tax increases are on the table?
Governor Hochul: I've always operated that way; that is not a newsflash. That's how I've - if you look at my record, I've reduced taxes, the largest middle-class tax rate cut in seven years, but when I've had to find the resources to further policy goals like keeping the MTA alive, I did that. When it came to helping the city out in a severe financial crisis that the mayor inherited, I stepped up with a creative way to do that. I'm telling you that I want to find a creative path to make sure we have the resources necessary to be able to have a long-term commitment to childcare.
I said we got through this year; I'm committed to next year. But now that we have the time to put together a thoughtful approach to how we make sure this is here for decades to come, I'm going to continue doing that. So, there's no answers on that yet, but I'm listening and understanding what our real projections are of costs and how we get there. I don't raise taxes for the sake of raising taxes. I've said that many times, and that's not going to happen with me. But I point out a couple of examples where the need was so great that something had [to] happen.
Question: Mayor, I just wanted to ask really quickly - Mayor, given what we saw in the midterms, I think it's fair to say that the President is looking pretty weak right now. You've maintained a very friendly relationship with him. Do you still see a need to maintain that at this point, or are you going to shift your posture toward him in any way given the outcome of the midterm?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that our responsibility is to work with anyone and everyone that can deliver for the people that we represent. And the president and I, as we know, have significant numbers of policy disagreements, vehement ones that we've shared in private and in public. And also, we have found a place of common interest in the welfare of New York City. And so, I will continue to leave that door open so long as it can deliver for our city.
Question: Given the left's dissatisfaction with Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, are you planning to back primary challenges against them?
Mayor Mamdani: This is three days after the recent election victories? My focus right now is on reflecting on the incredible victories that we saw across the country. The specificity of those victories - James Talarico running on Universal Pre-K, and Keisha Lance Bottoms running on streamlining the affordable housing production in Georgia, and Jocelyn Benson running on a moratorium of data centers - looking at how we can find in that the unity of purpose as well. And then working with the governor to keep delivering for New Yorkers in the upcoming session.
Question: Mr. Mayor and Governor, good to see you here in Puerto Rico. Two questions. Mr. Mayor, not to put you on the spot sitting next to the Governor, but you have been a proponent of raising taxes specifically on the wealthy, and yes, you got the pied-à-terre tax, but now that you have such a Democratic majority in the House - even more so than you did before - are you going to ask to raise taxes on the wealthy? That's question number one. And on question number two, it's about lithium-ion batteries. Will there be legislation both in Albany, Governor, or in the city, to do something with these batteries that are causing massive fires?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'll take the second question. We've seen the number of fires as a result of lithium-ion batteries go beyond 400 this year. And it continues to be a major source of concern and a priority of focus for our administration. Whether it's exploring additional legislation or it's exploring additional policy that we can make at the administrative angle, this is something that we're talking about every single day. Because, as we have seen, it can take the lives of New Yorkers. And we are just a couple of days from the deadliest fire that we've seen, over the course of our administration, not that long since we saw four New Yorkers lose their lives as a result of a lithium-ion battery fire, and that is why this is something that we're looking at every single angle.
Governor Hochul: I totally agree with that. We'll look at legislation in the state capitol, but also, I want to find a time when we wake up to the news and do not see yet another fatal fire in Brooklyn or the Bronx and families lives devastated. There has to be an answer. We need to work hard together to find it.
Question: And on raising taxes, specifically on the wealthy, is that's something you still want to do?
Mayor Mamdani: I've always been clear about where I stand. I continue to hold those positions. And I'm also looking forward to continuing a productive working relationship with our governor to deliver for working people. And something that excited so many New Yorkers over the course of this recent election was that the fruits of this partnership [were] ones that they could feel in their wallets.
Question: [Inaudible] that seems like a bit of a change from that no. You and I have had many conversations -
Governor Hochul: No, I'm saying I'm pointing out to my record over the last five years, and it shows that when we have a severe need to do something extraordinary, I am willing to do what has to happen. I had to increase the Payroll Mobility Tax to make sure that we would keep the lifeline of New York City functioning, and that is the subway system. I did that for the MTA.
Again, I couldn't let New York City have its bond rating downgraded, causing chaos. I needed to help the mayor get out of a problem he didn't create. So, I think you'll see a very thoughtful approach to this. It is not ideological; it is pragmatic and what we need to do to deliver for the people who put us in office.
Question: Because childcare is supposed to cost in the billions, is cutting spending one of the options, or do you think raising taxes is the only option?
Governor Hochul: We'll be announcing our path forward. We already committed to funding it for this year, and we announced the 2K program with - there'll be 12,000 slots next year. We're also expanding our pilots across the state, but I'm gonna take the time over the next few weeks to put some touches on our path forward for the next legislative session. So, stay tuned for the State of the State of 2027, everybody.
Question: Mr. Mayor, who paid for the hotel rooms and the security of not just your fire commissioner, the DOT commissioner and the chancellor? Who paid for that?
Mayor Mamdani: It's long-standing practice that the City pays for administration officials to visit.
Question: And why did the fire commissioner need to be here again?
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'll just say that, as I have said before, I have full confidence in our fire commissioner. I was there in Sunset Park yesterday with the first deputy commissioner, and I saw firsthand the devastation of that fire and also how firefighters ensured that devastation did not claim the lives of more New Yorkers. And what we are seeing is an FDNY that continues to do its job. They responded to that call in close to three minutes, and I have whole confidence in every single member of the department.
Question: You've been a vocal supporter of the Delivery Protection Act, and I understand that there are some amendments or some discussions that are going on behind the scenes. I was just wondering: would you be open to a bill that would do licensing and regulation, but not a ban on these facilities? And also, are there any pieces of the bill that you think are sacrosanct that you would not be comfortable having taken out or changing?
Mayor Mamdani: I don't think that we need to have a conversation about a new bill. I think we have all of the answers in the bill as it currently stands. It's why I've been proud to stand in support of Council Member Cabán's legislation alongside Teamsters and a broad coalition of elected officials and organized labor. And I think what it speaks to is the importance of accountability in the largest city in the United States of America. We have some of the most profitable corporations the world has ever seen offloading their liabilities on to companies that leave our streets less safe and leave workers less protected.
