By Gus Saltonstall
West Side Rag interviewed the governor of New York this weekend.
Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the West 79th Street Greenmarket and the Grand Bazaar outdoor market on Sunday afternoon.
She made her way through the popular Upper West Side market, shaking hands with vendors and taking photos with families, before she strolled into the Bazaar to check out the wares.
“Meet the governor, meet the governor,” Councilmember Gale Brewer called out to those passing by. She was there in support of Hochul, along with Assemblymember Micah Lasher.
Hochul is running as the incumbent against Republican Bruce Blakeman in the General Election this November.
“Why is it important to campaign on the Upper West Side?” the Rag asked.
“I’ve been to this Greenmarket before. It’s a great place for the community to come together, and people are really surprised to see the governor here, but I love to surprise them,” Hochul answered. “I just got the chance to thank some of the vendors for the hard work they do. I see families that are out with their little kids. It’s a wonderful, positive experience, and it speaks to the quality of life here on the Upper West Side.”
She added, “I’ve spent a lot of time on the Upper West Side. Gale’s been my ambassador since 2014 when I first started running, and Micah worked for me, so being here with my friends is very special to me.”
Lasher worked as Hochul’s policy director before announcing his candidacy for Assembly District 69 in 2024. He is now the Democratic nominee for Congressional District 12.
Hochul received an overwhelmingly positive response from the Upper West Side crowds on Sunday, with multiple people calling out in support of the governor’s candidacy and others waiting in lines for a photo. True to neighborhood form, one person walking by yelled out, “When’s the 72nd Street bike lane getting approved?” But his voice got muffled out in the throng.
Someone who did hear the question, though, quickly shot back, “Hopefully never!”
“The state almost has a stranglehold over New York City in many ways,” Brewer told the Rag when asked about the importance of a statewide election on the local level. “Everything from red light cameras to transportation dollars, healthcare dollars — you can list a million different ways we either split money with the state or have them provide it all. Upper West Siders need to care about who represents them at the top of state leadership.”
Lasher added, “Everyone needs to understand that the governor’s election is not a parallel of the presidential election. There is no electoral college when it comes to electing the governor, and so, a vote on the Upper West Side matters just as much as a vote in Long Island or in Upstate New York. You can’t take these elections for granted.”
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Queen Kathy Hochul for the win! New York outside of Manhattan and Buffalo is hostile ground for her!
She’s from upstate actually.
I wonder why that would be? Maybe because no one in this one party state government seems to care about anyone north of Westchester as anything other than tax cattle. Upstate cities are a mess, and the state has already lost a million residents this decade. The next census in 2030 will mean another loss of congressional representation and electoral college votes.
Micah is right, very important for heavily Dem districts like the UWS get out and vote for Hochul!
““The state almost has a stranglehold over New York City in many ways,” Brewer told the Rag when asked about the importance of a statewide election on the local level.
This is why I am voting for Blakeman this fall. I have nothing against Hochul, other than her tolerance for our out-of-control Mayor who needs a “stranglehold. “
Manhattan has a stranglehold over New York State and the metro area including other states too!
He needs a “stranglehold”, as you so violently put it, because politicians are worried he might do just too much good in this city
If by too much good you mean making unlivable for our Jewish neighbors, he’s well on his way.
Name one specific thing Mamdani has done (other than be a Muslim) that has made life “unlivable” for Jewish New Yorkers.
I find the selective outrage of the NYPost-fueled backlash to Mamdani very revealing. When he accurately states the findings of the UN and ICC they lose their minds, but these same people stayed relatively quiet on the incredible corruption of the Adams administration.
How so? And we live in New York, not Tel Aviv.
I’m one of your Jewish neighbors. I fully support Mamdani. Stop speaking for people whom you don’t understand.
Me, too, and I fully support him.
To his credit, nine months in and no one in his administration has been charged with corruption.
They lie constantly, just not in an illegal way.
I despise Mamdani. But what would you like Hochul to do? And do you think that over-reacting and voting for Blakeman is a wise response? Really? That is how we ended up with Trump. How is that going for us? Enjoy having a childish lunatic running the country. Awesome!
SMDH.
Mamdani doesn’t despise you
Truer words have never been spoken.
Please tell us how our mayor is “out of control”? You don’t have to agree with him, but he’s probably the most popular mayor since Bloomberg
So what! Bloomberg was not popular among intellectual people , cultured people, artistis, etc.
“Bloomberg was not popular among intellectual people , cultured people, artistis, etc.” I don’t think that was true. What data do you have to back that statement?
You betcha. And let us not forget Adams and his “everyone deserves
a second chance” hand=picked associates.
His obsession with Jews and Israel. Pretty out of control.
NYC has nothing much to do with Israel. Lots of Jews like Mamdani just fine and oppose everything Israel is doing.
Popularity ratings I’ve seen tend to be around 40%. Maybe that sounds high to you, but in a city that’s dominated by Democrats that seems pretty low to me.
Siena polling had him at ~70% approval for NYC voters, seems pretty good! His state approval number is mid 40% which might be what you’ve seen.
You have a good sense of humor.
Hochul endorsed Mamdani.
She lost my vote.
You have two choices in this election. Not voting for Hochul is voting for Blakeman. Seems like an over-reaction to me. I don’t love her but she is more moderate than Mamdani. And she is a lot more intelligent and sane than Blakeman. Trump just did a rally for Blakeman. The same Trump who thinks it is important to rename Lake Ontario and in doing so is making America look like a bunch of fools. And that is far from the worst thing he is doing.
Amazing how many people don’t understand how elections work and don’t use their brains.
Agree.
New York City is a prime example of brains not being used,
You’re too hard on yourself.
Otis is one of the many Republicans in the comments pretending to have considered voting for Democrats.
You have shown your tribal side repeatedly. Independent thought is a wonderful gift.
Indeed it is, someone should let Mr. Blakeman know.
I disagree with Dems on plenty, but am clear eyed that they are FAR preferable to the personality cult that’s been running the GOP for the last decade.
I want to know where she gets her teeth done
England?
Did anybody thank her for keeping up the price of co-ops on the UWS with their crazy housing policies.
Coops are a lot cheaper than condos! That’s why many of us live in them, we couldn’t possibly have afforded condos.
Which is not to say that I support the exclusionary policies of many coop boards (fortunately not mine). Nor do I support the way Michelama buildings are getting around their intended purposes by requiring all-cash purchases. Nor do I support rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments being available without a means test, so wealthy people have splendid huge apartments overlooking the Hudson River for less than what others are paying for pretty crummy places.
I’m not a housing expert, but it would be great if we could come up with a way for subsidies only to go to those who need them, landlords be able to charge enough to keep their buildings properly maintained, and everyone to be able to find clean safe housing that they can afford. I don’t know what that would be.
Did anybody thank her for her drastic housing policies which keep up price of co-ops on the UWS.
Do you actually live in a co-op? And can you tell me how the governor’s policies influence the price of co-ops? The main influence of pricing of co-ops is due to real estate taxes. We have high real estate taxes because people want city/state government services (which which I’m in near total agreement, even though nobody likes high taxes). I think that’s set by the city, not the governor.
I have met her a few times. She is not smart.
Smart enough to get voted in as Governor, and smart enough not to hide behind no photo and a fake name.
Are you a school teacher, well-versed in intellectual assessments? Doesn’qt sound like!
Before I vote for governor I’d really like to know where she stands on Mamdani’s most insane plan, to raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour. Because it’s hard to think of something worse for the city and for inflation than that. Will she block it or not?
The time has come for her to go.
We need new blood, new ideas and someone who will stop the drain of taxpayers leaving for greener pastures, less taxes and safer streets.
Also, because she backs the anti-semitic Mamdani, is a good enough reason for me to vote for Blakeman.
Stop and think before you fill in the Hochul circle on your ballot.
Jew here. He’s not at all anti-Semitic.
Opposing Israel’s actions is not anti-Semitic. Plenty of Jews oppose what Israel is doing.
Can someone tell me why Eric Bottcher sent me a ‘birthday card’ — like a whole little pamphlet that the mail carrier and everyone can see. My birthday is nobody’s business. And where did he get my date from anyhow and who gave him permission to use it like that to send me a card. He should have just put a postage stamp in my mailbox that I could have used instead of wasting money like that.
I’d venture a guess that our birthdates are public information somewhere.
His Birthdy is 5/9. Send him a card. We all should. Tell him we’re not seeing much improvement in his championed causes of mental illness, employment for public housing residents and sanitation. We are really impressed with his short stays and constant selection of higher office to run for.
Forgive my pedancy, but aren’t the Greenmarket and Grand Bazaar on 77th Street, not 79th Street?
The green market runs from 77 to 79, pending the construction site.
Ian, love your use of ‘pedancy’!
(And didn’t you write about errant plastic bags in The New Yorker?)
After over 25 years in this neighborhood, and seeing how things operate from the inside of our local community councils, it is incredibly frustrating to see people blindly vote for a party label while ignoring the reality on our streets.
We pay some of the highest taxes in the country, but what are we getting from Albany? Governor Hochul controls the MTA, yet she has allowed fare evasion to drain over $900 million from our buses and subways in a single year. She also allowed Con Ed bills to skyrocket 30%.
This isn’t about being a Democrat or a Republican—it’s about basic math and accountability. The ultra-rich don’t feel the pinch, and our lowest-income neighbors get the subsidies they need. But the middle-income residents and local shops are being squeezed to death to subsidize terrible management. We have to start voting for competence, not just a political brand.”
She absolutely stinks and Mamdani cutting a BS deal with her to avoid a primary challenge is a big stain on the neophyte mayor