Biden adviser praises infrastructure during Upstate homecoming

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It was a homecoming Tuesday for one of the top advisers to the president of the United States.

Western New York native Tom Perez, White House director of intergovernmental affairs, spent the first half of the day in Syracuse before traveling home to Buffalo, where he visited projects funded in part by the bipartisan federal infrastructure bill.

“The thing about Syracuse, Buffalo and Rochester are tough cities that have had challenges and what these cities and so many others have in common is that this is a moment of incredible opportunity,” Perez said.

Capital tonight Ryan Whalen followed along all day and spoke one-on-one with Perez in both cities. In total, the communities are using hundreds of millions of federal dollars for the projects; Chief among these were the demolition of the I-81 overpass in Syracuse and a partial covering of the Kensington Expressway.

“New York has done well because New York has competed well. The Syracuse project is a compelling project. I mean, the president has referenced that. When he introduced this idea of ​​reconnecting communities, Syracuse, as you know, was one of the good examples that he used,” Perez said.

Local leaders said both the I-81 overpass and the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo divided communities, contributing to racial inequality and poverty. Perez said the trip was not just about seeing the infrastructure, but also talking to people in those divided communities.

“It’s both watching how it’s spent but it’s also listening to the community to see what the next steps are and of course the community doing its work has certainly drawn my attention to the fact that there is unfinished business. grant proposals under consideration are being considered by various agencies and they will receive a full and fair assessment,” he said.

Perez explored several other infrastructure projects in Buffalo, including the expansion of an initiative to bring cars back to Main Street and streetscape improvements on Jefferson Avenue on the city’s impoverished east side, where he also visited the site of the racially motivated mass shooting at a Tops supermarket. . Next week marks the two-year anniversary of the tragedy. He said equality is an important part of President Joe Biden’s agenda.

“It’s not just racial communities, racial populations. It’s rural America,” Perez said. “There are parts of rural America that have historically been disenfranchised, and so you’re seeing unprecedented amounts of investment.”

In an election year, the government is touting its achievements, including the infrastructure bill and the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act. Perez was in Syracuse less than two weeks after Biden made his own visit.

However, he said the journey to a traditionally safe Democratic state was not politically motivated.

“It’s not about red and blue,” he said. “It’s about red, white and blue and Governor Hochul, Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand have been great partners in this remarkable moment that we are having.”

Perez said New York has strong representation in the federal government. In addition to earning his law degree from Syracuse University, the president said he has a long relationship with the governor and her family and speaks with her weekly and that New Yorkers lead the Democratic conference in both the U.S. Senate and the House. Congress.