Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Celebrates Major Construction Milestone at Belmont Park

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul joined The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA), AECOM Tishman, Populous and unionized construction workers for a topping out ceremony, marking the placement of the final beam at the new Belmont Park, where New York State and NYRA are engaged in a multi-year redevelopment project to create a world-class racing and entertainment destination in Elmont.

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 of the event will be available on the Governor's Flickr page here.

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

 Please be seated, everyone. Wow. I know a lot of people were acknowledged, but I'm really, really excited to see all of you here today. This is a vision that has come to reality, and sometimes in government there's lots of great ideas and there's many, many shelves built to house all those ideas because they never happen — and this is one. You are here witnessing history and I could not be more excited.

I want to thank our host, David O'Rourke, President of NYRA, here today, and, of course, Mark Holliday, who brought this concept to me. I was one of the first to see it, and there's a phrase, “It knocked your socks off.” It knocked my socks off. It was such a “wow” factor to it.

And I said, “That could be brilliant. I love it. I love it. I love it. Can we make this happen?”

And so, he showed us the path forward and I want to thank him for being our resident visionary who's really the genesis of this, as well as our entire commission, and NYRA and everybody who stood together and said that we can do something better here. This community deserves more and I want to give a special round of applause to Mark Holliday and everyone at NYRA for making this happen today.

All my colleagues in State government have been recognized as well, and I see the Assemblymember who represents this area, Assemblymember Solages. And she's a driving force, and I know she's dedicated to this community. She wants to create jobs, good-paying jobs, for everyone. She wanted us to be cleaned up and to be able to be proud of this, and I want to thank her — let's give her a special round of applause as well. Assemblymember Solages.

So all my partners in government, again, have been recognized and also I know we have some members of my team. Our Commissioner of the Gaming Commission, Brian O'Dwyer, has been recognized. I want to give a special shout out to Brian and Kevin Law, the Empire State Development Chair as well.

So two and a half years ago, we made a big bet on this place. People weren't sure, and it was just a small amount of money that was required to make it happen — $455 million loan. You had me at “hello” when you said loan, okay? Because usually people don't ask to put that word loan behind it. But to launch one of the greatest, largest race track projects ever in history right here and a world class facility.

Mark and I were talking about the tracks we have here — is there anything else like it? Perhaps in Dubai? I don't know. I haven't been there lately, but I'm going to say no because I have not seen it. And so what it does is it projects us into the future, but it honors Belmont’s storied past, and that's the genius behind this. And we can carry racing into the future and this bold vision is going to continue.

And those of you who were here just last April — pile of rubble; and the Assemblymember and I were talking about what this was like. And for people who live around here, it just didn't seem to have a sense of pride around it. This is an antiquated facility, its days were numbered, no one had the vision to take it from the status quo to the future, and everyone here was involved in making that happen. But also, 18 months of hard work; 3,700 union members with our hard hats on — let's give them a round of applause. All of our members, Vinnie Alu, the laborers, Local 66 and everyone else involved in this.

These are the projects I love the best. Transforming something that needed transformation, but also how we get that done and to know, as you've got to — I'm a daughter of union workers. My father and grandfathers wore hard hats. They worked hard with their hands and made steel by day. And I see that in all of you, that pride when you get to come back with your families and say, “I made this happen.”

So I tip my hat to all of you as well. But also, the racing world is paying attention to this. This is what we wanted, right? Breeders' Cup. I made a few arguments to the principals at the Breeders' Cup and they saw what we were doing here and knew that it was time to bring back racing's most prestigious event back to Belmont. So two years from now, there'll be over 50,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs as they descend on Elmont for the Breeders Cup Championships. It's been a long time coming. I don't think it's been since 2005. And so, luckily we didn't have to wait any longer for that.

But I just want to say, Mark can describe all the amenities, but the high end dining, and the beverage outlets, and the suites, and the tunnels to connect fans and all the great things that are happening here. And also what makes me so excited — the $155 million economic impact. This is what this community needs and deserves. So, let's give a round of applause to the people who will spend the money here.

But this is more than just the money. It's about, again, enshrining that place forever in the future. A place where Julie Krone wrote her way into history — the first and only woman to win a Triple Crown race. The place where Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a stunning 31 lengths. So let's continue building on that legacy, a great story, but let's think about what the future holds for all of us, and the great milestones and history that'll be made into the future.

So, I'm so excited to be here. Can't wait to come back. Mark gave me the date — next September for the ribbon cutting. I'm sharpening up my scissors right now, but let me turn it over to a man who understands the power of place and making a place be as magnificent as it possibly can, and that person is Mark Holliday. Congratulations, Mark, you made this happen. Ladies and gentlemen, our NYPA Chair.