B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Leadership Welcome Back Riders to Rockaway-Bound A Trains

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) leaders welcomed back Rockaway subway riders as A, S service resumed to the Rockaway Peninsula after the line underwent critical resiliency and rehabilitation work. The Rockaway Line, which carries the A, S trains, is the critical connection between the Rockaway peninsula and the rest of New York City, serving nearly 12,500 riders daily and connecting a diverse population of almost 125,000 residents. The project, which continues, is on time and under budget.

B-ROLL of the Governor riding the A train and greeting patrons can be found on YouTube and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.

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: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

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

 Indeed it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Here we are celebrating a major, major accomplishment in a part of the state that is so gorgeous. It is blessed with wonderful beaches, wonderful communities, and wonderful people. So I'm so proud of you back here. We took a beautiful smooth train ride, an A train ride across Jamaica Bay, and we're announcing today the full restoration of service.

The long awaited project construction that — as I said – favorite words on timing and under budget. We got it done. I want to thank Janno Lieber. You'll be hearing from him shortly, but he has been the driver of this train. Making sure that every milestone was kept and he was under a lot of pressure. I said, we're going to get this open before Memorial Day. Right? He got it done. Let's give a round of applause to Janno Lieber.

Our Queens Borough President, Donovan Richards, who's a part of all good things happening here in Queens. I want to thank him for his friendship and leadership as well. Our Senator, James Sanders, thank you for being such a champion, and to you and our Assemblymembers, Stacey Pheffer Amato and Khaleel Anderson working with our constituents, letting them know it's going to be okay. Letting them know what the alternatives are. I mean, that direct contact from you and your offices was really important to the success.

I talked to a number of the riders today. They're all very comfortable with having taken the shuttle bus. They said it worked well, so we are successful in also the management of the consumer experience as well, which I'm so grateful for. And Labor's Local 731 — let's give them a huge round of applause.

This train is an artery for this area. It was so important to — I talk to people, I talk to young people going to school, talk to people going to their jobs and want to live out here because it is spectacularly beautiful. But they work someplace, sometimes an hour, hour and a half away. But they can get there with reliability now because of the work being done on this train. But you saw what happened. Decades of wear and tear from brutal storms and neglect from previous administrations that did not make the proper investments.

The train — it was literally falling apart. Falling apart, and it became very, very dangerous. There was debris on the tracks. We saw a lot of disintegration there, so there was no other choice than to replace the whole section. I assure you. I always say that we have to go that far, and we did. We did, and as I said, “We promised to have the service back by Memorial Day.”

Two hundred construction workers working 20 hours a day for 17 weeks. Again, unbelievable. And this paved the way for thousands, millions to come here and enjoy the summer sand and the beaches. And I can tell you, we're off to a gorgeous start here.

So here's what I want to say. This is an extraordinary undertaking. It was accomplished through the hard work and dedication of many, many people. And to say that this is another example of how government can get things done for the people — for our workers — give them good paying jobs. But to take an area like this that has so much value and the people who live here have so much pride and to give them not just world class transportation, but also a beautiful home.

As you look around, the housing that has been developed here, part of our strategy to keep rebuilding, rebuilding, rebuilding, building more housing supply. So that opportunity of either homeownership or rentals is possible for many, many more. So I want to thank everybody involved. This summer, you won't have to hit your ride to Rockaway Beach, like the Ramones.

Who knows the Ramone song, of course. You can just take the A train. So congratulations to everybody. Let me bring up Janno Lieber.