Hochul Promises Delta Variant Fight, Rent Relief In First Address

NEW YORK CITY — Direct. Straight-talking. Decisive.

That's how Kathy Hochul described herself to New Yorkers on Tuesday — the day she became the state's 57th governor and the first woman to hold the office.

Hochul offered that introduction during a brisk, 10-minute first address to the Empire State. She tacitly acknowledged that her time as lieutenant governor was often, if not completely, overshadowed by her now-disgraced predecessor, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“To those New Yorkers who’ve yet to meet me, I say this: you may not know me, but I know you,” she said.

The new governor's first address served as both an introduction to Hochul and an opportunity for her to define her priorities — some of which appeared to align with ongoing efforts in New York City.

Hochul said her three priorities out the gate are combating the highly contagious delta variant of coronavirus, getting direct aid to New Yorkers more quickly and changing the state government's "culture."

New York City has largely outpaced the state on coronavirus vaccination requirements in recent weeks — and it appears Hochul aims to catch up. She called for a statewide vaccination-or-testing mandate for school personnel and universal masking for those who enter schools.

The first policy still lags behind the city's upcoming no-opt-out school staff vaccination requirement, but Hochul hinted wider measures could be in the offing.

"With the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday, New Yorkers can expect new vaccine requirements and more on that soon,” she said.

Hochul also promised to clean up the state's still-troubled rollout of rent relief for tenants affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuomo faced criticism from all sides as the state failed to release more than $2 billion in aid — a delay de Blasio had attributed to the former governor being "distracted" by scandals.

“I am not at all satisfied with the pace of this COVID relief is getting out the door,” Hochul said in her address.

The state will launch a targeted campaign and hire more staff to process applications, Hochul said.

“New Yorkers should know if you apply for this money, you will be protected from eviction for a solid year,” she said.

The final priority of changing state government's "culture" is tacit acknowledgement that Cuomo's administration often operated in ways critics deemed "toxic."

Hochul promised no tolerance for people "who cross the line" and said she'd direct state entities to comply with transparency laws.

She also said she has already reached out to elected officials who are eager for a new relationship with the state.

One of those officials is de Blasio, who publicly clashed with Cuomo on a near-daily basis.

"I'm very hopeful you know that she's going to be able to help us turn the page, all of us," he said Tuesday. "And I do think as a human being, she's a good human being, an open person, a person who cares, a person that listens, a person who wants to work with people. And that's exactly what we need for some healing in this state and the ability to move forward."