Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces New Funding to Harden Security Infrastructure in and Around Monsey Following Anti-Semitic Attack

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced new funding to harden security infrastructure and further protect communities in and around the community of Monsey, where a man attacked a home full of Jewish worshipers on the seventh night of Hanukkah on Dec. 28, 2019.

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

Thank you very much. First to Mayor Spitzer, he talks about leadership, he should know. He wants to see leadership he should look in the mirror because that's where leadership exists. You often see what a leader is made of at a time of crisis and how people respond. And Mayor Spitzer has been a rock for the community. He's been comforting and calm, but he's also been a strong advocate for the community. And I have such respect for him, let's give Mayor Spitzer a round of applause.

We have Rabbi Rottenberg here. We are all very sorry for the pain that he has felt, but I have to tell you he came and spoke at the State of the State, speaking to the whole Legislature about what happened. And he was such an inspiration. And again no anger, no retribution. He truly inspired the entire congregation. So let's thank Rabbi Rottenberg for everything he's done and for everything he's been through.

Josef Gluck, who is the hero who thwarted the assailant, and we recognized him at the State of the State. He deserves a round of applause.

We have with us from my team, Robert Mujica who is the Budget Director. We have Michael Kopy, the Director of New York State Emergency Management.

We have Kevin Bruen who you'll hear from in a moment who is the First Deputy Superintendent of the New York State Police. And we have Joe Tripodo, it's an Italian name, I shouldn't have a problem with that; Colonel of New York State Police.

I'm going to put this away also as the mayor did, because this is a message that is easy because it comes from the heart. We still grieve what happened in Monsey. The entire grieves. They're shocked, surprised, repulsed by what happened in Monsey. But the situation is actually worse than just what happened in Monsey. Monsey was not an isolated incident. It was the most egregious, the most violent, the most damaging. But we have seen scored of anti-Semitic activity all throughout the state as recent as this past weekend. We've seen acts of violence and anti-Semitic activity all across this nation. We were observers for a long time and wanted to believe that that could not happen here, right? What happened in Pittsburgh couldn't happen in New York. What happened in California couldn't happen in New York. Until it happened in New York and I refer to it as a cancer an American cancer that is spreading through the body politic. And it's a cancer because one cell in the body attacks other cells in the body. And once this country gets to a place where it starts to demonize by religion or race, well then we have lost who we are. Right? This is a nation founded on religious freedom. George Washington went to a synagogue, worshipped with the congregation, sent a letter afterwards saying essentially what this nation is about it freedom of religion and everyone having the right to pray to their own God and being safe in that practice.

So, hence having lost the soul of the nation, it is ignorant, it is intolerant, it's also illegal. And while we pray for solidarity, we march for solidarity, we gather together for solidarity, government has an additional obligation, which is the obligation to act. Government officials are not in the prayer business. They can join in, but they are in the business of acting. And the number on responsibility of government is to keep people safe that is the first responsibility, to protect the public. So I pledged when I was here last time that the state government would take action and dramatic action and action on all fronts. And we announced a program in the State of the State that does that, and we're going to follow up today to address a specific request that was made the last time I was in this room in response to Monsey.

Statewide, what we're going to be doing is to combat the ignorance, I want to see every New York State public school teach our young people, our children, about diversity and racial tolerance and what it means to be an American and what this nation was really founded on. I want a cultural awareness specifically about the Jewish community. And I want to expand the Holocaust Museum that we have in New York City, which is a great facility, and I want to see schoolchildren going to that Holocaust Museum as part of their education. Understand what happened to the Jewish community. Understand the relationship between the Jewish community and New York State. And understand that New York would not be New York without the Jewish community. We are organizing faith leaders all across the State because whether it is Judaism or Christianity or Hinduism, any religion, has the same basic concept that strongest four letter word is love not hate. It is about tolerance. So, leadership from our faith community and more security because that is the fundamental obligation.

We want more funding for more State Police in the Hate Crimes unit. I want a domestic terrorism law that prosecutes what we saw in Monsey as what it was, which was a form of terrorism. When you attack a large number of people based on their religion, based on their race, you are a terrorist. Terrorists do not have to come in on a plane. They do not have to be a foreign cell. You can have a terrorist who is American born and that is what domestic terrorism speaks to. We want to pass that law.

And we want to pass more funding for schools, religious organizations, to put in security measures. We have great new technology that can go a long way. And when I was here Mayor Spitzer talked about license plate readers which is a fantastic piece of technology. That is actually how we caught the Monsey assailant. We had a human license plate reader, Josef Gluck, who actually got the license plate after the attack. But then an electronic license plate reader found that plate on that car going over the George Washington Bridge.

License plate readers mean you can see everyone coming into the community and everyone going out. You have a time. You have a license plate. And then we have license plate readers all around this state, on highways, tunnels, bridges, etc. So, if anybody thinks about attacking the community they better think again because we will know, we will find out, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.

Mayor Spitzer said he wanted more license plate readers, I said can't we just get 100 Josef Glucks on all the corners. He said no we need an electronic system. So, today it is my pleasure to announce $340,000 to install those license plate readers all around the community.

And this is just the beginning. We are going to implement the agenda that I laid out in the State of the State. I want everyone to know that we have learned from Monsey a painful lesson. We have learned from what is going on and we will respond and we will react, and we will do everything in our power on every level to make sure this horrific act does not happen again.

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