New York’s Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is facing criticism from her opponents for telling black congregants at a megachurch in Buffalo not to spend their upcoming inflation refund checks at the “liquor store.” She insists, however, that the jab was a “lighthearted joke,” and the church’s pastor has come to her defense.
The checks, which are expected to be mailed out to more than 8 million eligible New Yorkers beginning at the end of September, are “one-time payments” to “provide relief to New Yorkers who have paid increased sales taxes due to inflation,” according to state officials. Individual taxpayers can receive as much as $200, while a household can collect a maximum of $400.
In her address at the more than 3,000-member True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo on Sunday, Hochul reminded members that the checks “are coming out soon” before warning them not to waste the money on “liquor.”
“We collected more in sales tax. I said, ‘That’s not my money. That’s their money,’ you people across the State of New York,” Hochul told the congregation during her just over 14-minute speech at the church shared on YouTube. “Checks are coming out soon. Watch the mail, OK? OK? Don’t spend it all one day. Get something you really need, OK? Don’t stop by the liquor store, OK? Buy something for the kids – buy them some food.”
“Sometimes I have to stop by the liquor store, too,” she added. “I understand. It’s all right. It’s all right. But listen, the inflation rebate, the middle class tax cut, a $1,000 tax credit for everyone who has a child under the age of 4, all your grandbabies. Let’s take care of the grandbabies that we know.”
Asked about Hochul’s remarks at the church, her black Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who announced his plans to run against her in the 2026 Democratic primary in June, told WKTV’s Luke Radel that the governor’s remarks are “racist” even though he does not believe she is a racist.
“It’s deeply offensive. I think it reveals a level of disconnect the governor clearly possesses as it pertains to the black community in particular, and this is a pattern. This is something that revealed itself when she said that black kids in the Bronx don’t know what the word ‘computer’ is,” the Harvard-trained lawyer-turned-politician said.
In May 2024, Hochul claimed while speaking at an event in Los Angeles that some black children in the Bronx don’t know what computers are.
“It’s like the soft bigotry of low expectations,” Delgado said. “There’s a certain level of low bar that you expect from a community that is reflective of a value judgment on what our young people are capable of knowing. How black communities spend their dollars. It reveals a bias that is very problematic.”
“You can make racist comments because the nature of the comment speaks to a devaluation of a community,” he continued. “It’s rooted in an understanding of how a community is perceived and the narrative attached to that community. So people can say things that are racist insofar as those things are rooted in a perception about what a community typically does.”
Delgado accused Hochul of making a “value judgment about that community.”
“If you say a community might use this money to go to a liquor store, that is a value judgement about that community,” he said. “If you say kids in the Bronx don’t know what the word ‘computer’ is in the 21st century, that is a value judgment of that community. And there is a way in which it is a reflection of whether or not that community is equal in its positioning in society.”
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is also considering a run for governor, blasted Hochul as racially insensitive as well.
“This is not the first time Kathy Hochul has insulted the black community and spoken in a condescending, lecturing tone towards African Americans,” she told The New York Post. “Hochul is now showing a disturbing pattern of racial insensitivity by doubling down on her arrogant and patronizing tone towards the African American community.”
The church’s pastor, Bishop Darius Pridgen, told Radel that neither he nor his congregants interpreted Hochul’s comments as being racist because she is a well-known friend of the church, and her family spent their early years living in a trailer park.
“I’ll say I was totally surprised with the people saying that it was in any way racist, because I think people … purely for political reason jump to a conclusion because they didn’t know the context nor the relationship that the governor has with our church,” he argued.
“Governor has been a part of our church since before she was governor, dating back to her early political career, and has always been seen more as a friend to our congregation than the governor of the state of New York,” he continued.
“She grew up in Lackawanna, New York, and in the trailer home, so she definitely understands the urban experience. But I didn’t feel like the comments were about the urban experience. … It is unfortunate that such as special moment is now being politicized.”
Asked about the remarks at an event in Manhattan on Wednesday, Hochul suggested to the New York Post that her comment about the liquor store was a “lighthearted joke” and it “was not the best way” to make her case about the checks.
“Just for context. I was in my hometown at a church I’ve gone to for 20 years. I’m dear friends with the bishop, the congregation. They’re all my friends. And I was acknowledging a lot of the stress people are under in our communities. I made a lighthearted joke,” she said.
“I also said I’d be willing to stop by a store. And in that context, I wasn’t making any generalization about any particular community at all. Also, as I reflect on it, it’s not the best way to talk about — I was trying to make an argument of how to put money back in people’s pockets.”
Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost
