Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke about the budget that was passed in New York on Wednesday, despite it being several days late.
The $212 billion spending plan was an agreement between leaders from the state Assembly, Senate, and Governor’s office.
Final details in the agreement have not yet been made public- the deal is viewed as a long-term recovery solution from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our plan – we have three main goals – number one, manage COVID. Number two is COVID relief, make up for the damage that has been done over the past year. And third, seize this moment to actually reposition New York, reimagine New York, reconstruct New York, renew New York for the next 20, 30, 40 years, Cuomo said. “The future belongs to the economy and the region that adjusts to our new reality the fastest and I think this is an opportunity for New York to capitalize. COVID is not just going to go away. COVID had transformative impacts on society and I think it’s important to realize that. If you just think that COVID is going to pass like a season and everything is going to go back to normal, then I think you failed to understand the impact of what we just went through.”
Speaking to that, he noted that COVID-19 is still very much a problem.
“COVID that is still very much alive and well, and it is still causing deaths, and we cannot move past that,” Gov. Cuomo said. “It has to be our main focus. We have to mange COVID and we have to appreciate that COVID is not just a New York experience; it is a global crisis and in that crisis the recovery of COVID creates an opportunity. The future belongs to the economy and the region that adjust to our new reality the fastest — and I think this is New York’s moment to capitalize.”
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