Governor Hochul Provides Winter Updates on 1010 WINS

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on 1010 WINS with Paul Murnane to update New Yorkers on winter weather.

AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

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

Paul Murnane, 1010 WINS:  But we want to continue with the latest on the storm right now as we continue the storm beat with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who's joining us on the line. Governor, are you there? We appreciate your time.

Governor Hochul: Yes, I am. Good afternoon, everyone.

Paul Murnane, 1010 WINS: Have you spoken yet with any of the state agencies, the MTA, Thruway Authority and the rest? Are you confident at this point everyone involved in battling the storm has everything they need? And are you happy with the plans that they told you about?

Governor Hochul: Well, we are battle tested. We have been through so many of these major storms. And I'm from Buffalo, I've had to manage storms like this for decades. So, we know what we have to do. It's all about the preemptive action you take.

It is about getting, for example, thousands of workers to be able to plow the streets, and roads and salt in advance, pre-positioned before the snow even starts to fly.

Same thing with utility crews. When you think about how devastating it is for a family to have the power go out and they have children, and there's no heat and light at night. The most important thing we have to do is get the utility crews in the positions so they can be ready to be deployed on a second's notice if the power goes down.

So I am very much involved. We've been having conversations throughout the day. My emergency management team is in coordination with all the other counties, and certainly the City of New York, because we've worked so well together for such a long time that it's pretty much muscle memory. We know what to do in these circumstances.

But mother nature can be unpredictable and that's why I'm declaring a State of Emergency right now in 35 counties. This will include New York City, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, the Central New York Region, the Capital Region and much of the Southern Tier, because I don't want to take any chances.

I want people to know that this is a serious storm, and that gives me the ability to, if necessary, suspend laws to do things like, for example, allowing our State DOT trucks to operate on local roads which they otherwise cannot do. So that is in effect immediately. And I also want people to be aware that the best thing they can do to help us get through this storm is stay home.

Paul Murnane, 1010 WINS: Yeah. That's best advice.

You mentioned the utilities there; anything that they're saying that is a particular concern or does this really seem like — I mean, it's potentially the worst storm in four years around the city, but is this anything worse than an ordinary winter storm for them?

Governor Hochul: What really triggers our concern is the wind velocity, and we are not foreseeing the kind of wind that you would see associated with the blizzard, for example, when it's 50, 60, 70 miles an hour. In those situations, you are at high risk of having the trees fall on utility lines, utility lines come crashing to the ground and can do damage to vehicles and homes, and, as I mentioned, cut off the power.

We're not predicting that, and that is the situation right now. But if that does change, that is what we'll be more concerned and why it is essential to have the utility crews really on standby watching for that. But if this is just a high volume snow event where the snow comes down without it blowing, and drifting and creating havoc on our roads, in that sense, that is a better than expected storm. But it's just too early to say exactly what form this is going to take.

Like I said, I've seen dozens of storms from a few feet to seven feet of snow. And so, I never underestimate the power of Mother Nature, especially with this Christmas gift. She seems to want to give us a belated white Christmas.

Paul Murnane, 1010 WINS: Anything that you've heard — given the storm moving in from the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North, the subways, the buses — is there going to be a point at which these cannot operate, and what would be that point? We haven't really heard specifics of the MTA on that, at least not yet.

Governor Hochul: No, but yeah, everybody needs to be tuning in. If you're relying on the MTA, you need to be able to communicate with them and get the latest updates. MTA.info is going to get you information. But here's what we need to have people do is be aware that if you can not even take public transportation, then just stay home — that is the best scenario.

But we're literally putting, for example, chains on the tires of our MTA buses that'll help them have better traction in the snow. We're already positioning people to clear the subway platforms and the outdoor stations. We have 220 miles of outdoor track that has to be maintained and cleared in the storm events.

You can imagine what a nightmare that can be when the snow comes down in heavy volumes and we have to manage that. So we're ready for it. We're experienced. We know how to deal with this. But right now, everything's fine. But it's all about preparation and we have extra staff ready to go. The MTA has a virtual situation room fully staffed. And these are real pros. They know what to do.

Paul Murnane, 1010 WINS: Have you heard from the Port Authority? They could be dealing with lots of angry passengers – well, more than they usually do at the airports – but they could be dealing with a crowd this weekend with a storm.

Governor Hochul: Right, and this is the challenging part of this storm. It is good that it's hitting really the bulk of it after rush hour on a Friday, but it's also a holiday and a lot of kids are off school. People are not heading into work, and they'll be vacationing perhaps, but that also means people are traveling back home this weekend.

So the communications are important for people to be checking in with their flights and stay away from the airports if you're pretty certain your flight's going to be delayed for a long time. And yeah, we are concerned about that. It's been a very frustrating year for our air passengers across the country — everything from government shutdowns and now the weather that's really started in force over the Thanksgiving holiday, and it seems unrelenting around the holiday season.

So no, it's going to be frustrating for passengers and we're in regular communication to do anything we can to make it smoother and less painful. But there's a lot, again, that's just affected when we have to delay flights simply because of the volume of snow, and the de-icing that has to take place and the clearing of the runways. There's a lot involved in a snow event. And we just ask people, if you can be as patient as possible. We'll do our very best.

And all these agencies, the Port Authority, the MTA, the DOT — everybody is activated on high alert just to help New Yorkers stay safe.

Paul Murnane, 1010 WINS: One final question: Have you checked in with Mayor Adams — and we'll be hearing from him at 4:30 about the city prep — and what was that conversation like if you had it?

Governor Hochul: No, we've not spoken personally, but our teams have been in communication since the first forecast. This is what they do best. Our emergency management teams are really embedded with each other and shared communication, and it's really been a strong partnership for the last four years with Mayor Adams and his team — nothing but cooperation during these crises.

Paul Murnane, 1010 WINS: I know a storm like this is a light springtime thing in Buffalo, but we appreciate your time in taking the storm seriously and passing along the information. Governor Kathy Hochul, we appreciate it. Thank you.

Governor Hochul: All right. Thank you. Bye-bye.