Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - In Buffalo to spotlight the importance of early voting in the upcoming primary election, New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul told WBEN questions about why Governor Cuomo still holds emergency powers related to the COVID pandemic are "logical".
"I believe there'll be a resolution to that very soon," Hochul told WBEN's Mike Baggerman. "We needed those powers and certainly we're in a different place now than we were when those powers were first instituted."
"It's up to the governor," Hochul added.
Hochul defended the Cuomo emergency powers remaining in place, noting the much-anticipated key metric of 70 percent of the state population receiving a single dose of the vaccine was just officially reached today.
The lieutenant governor also raised concerns over the fact that 30 percent of the state's population remains unvaccinated and the possible spread of the 'delta variant' that is spreading in parts of the country.
"We're concerned about that."
Hochul has been widely criticized in recent months for avoiding local media in Western New York and for holding entirely virtual press events across the state. The Tuesday appearance was Hochul's first with press access in months.
Hochul capped off her day by throwing out the first pitch at the Toronto Blue Jays game against the New York Yankees at Sahlen Field.
