Gov. Kathy Hochul has vowed that the cost of milk at the annual New York State Fair will remain unchanged as long as she is in office, defying rising costs and inflation. During a visit to Syracuse’s Rainbow Dairy Bar, where she served up glasses of milk, Hochul told The Post on Wednesday that “it will never go up as long as I am governor.
The New York State fair has been providing affordable cups of milk since 1983 when Gov. Mario Cuomo, the current governor’s father, was in office. In 2015, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $90,000 state subsidy to prevent a doubling of milk prices from $0.25 to $0.50 per cup.
New York State Dairy Exhibits, Inc., the organization that operates the dairy bar, reported to Syracuse.com that attendees consume between 350,000-400,000 cups of milk annually. However, a spokesperson for the division of budget has not yet disclosed how much the state is spending on subsidizing the milk bar this year.
Hochul’s promise to keep the milk prices stable came as she toured the fair with reporters, staffers, and members of her cabinet, pausing to speak with other fairgoers along the way. During a conversation with a young girl participating in the 4-H program, Hochul encouraged her to take advantage of every available opportunity, stating that “you never know where you’re going to end up starting in 4H.
The governor also spoke at a women’s breakfast and later signed legislation extending the duration for which prospective sugar bush operators can lease state lands for maple syrup production from five to ten years. After chatting with mounted state troopers and meeting their horse, James Bond, Hochul bumped into GOP Reps. Brandon Williams and Nicole Malliotakis, who enthusiastically exclaimed “Staten Island is in the house.
Hochul also participated in a fair tradition by sharing a sausage from Basilio’s with Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, an independent.
