Think New York, drink New York will take on a new level of importance as Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was as comfortable behind a still or a brewing system as the best of them, becomes governor just after midnight tonight.
When Andrew Cuomo became governor in 2011, his administration identified craft beverage manufacturing as an attractive, bipartisan economic development initiative that sought to improve New York’s standing for craft alcohol. Was it conceivable to think that the Finger Lakes could be seen at the same level as wines made in Napa or Sonoma? Or the state’s breweries could reach the heights of those in California or Colorado? How about breaking that myth that bourbon had to made in Kentucky?
Cuomo established Taste NY, an initiative to provide the funding and marketing for these products, in addition to many New York grown and made foods. Summits held in the early 2010s brought the industry and state government together to remove remnants of Prohibition-era laws. Since then, the state’s progress on removing restrictions has slowed, but the industry has continued to go as expected – eliciting praise from both sides of the aisle as a bonafide economic development success without scandal.
Hochul, during her seven years as lieutenant governor, has been a very visible presence in the craft beverage industry across the state – visiting cideries, breweries, meaderies, wineries, and distilleries that utilize New York agricultural products. In these visits, Hochul genuinely cared and learned about the challenges facing the industry – from sourcing grain, the state of the apple crop, rising costs of aluminum for canning, inequity in the law that makes out of state wineries more competitive, and a multitude of issues. Her visits to manufacturers were often joined by local officials in each community, in which these manufacturers were able to get facetime with their mayor or town supervisor, in addition to the state’s second highest ranking elected official.
With her experience at both the town and county government level, Hochul understands the nuances of what codes, building compliance, water quality, and so much more that manufacturers deal with besides state regulations. Many manufacturers are, in fact, small businesses that employ tens of thousands of New Yorkers across the state.
As she ascends to become the state’s 57th governor, Hochul will be in a position to directly help and support the industry. In ways front and center and behind the curtain, the Hochul administration can implement policies to immediately provide relief for the industry (increasing number of license examiners at the State Liquor Authority, continued modernization of regulatory filings) and use the bully pulpit to push the state legislature in passing bills that have languished (to-go beverages, alcohol in movie theaters, selling cherries in liquor stores, etc.).
The Hochul administration could also restore marketing funds for the trade associations for each beverage sector. These funds were available in 2014 to jumpstart marketing efforts for the trade groups and their manufacturers.
Whatever the initiatives or the drive may be, the beverage industry can rest easier knowing that the state will have a chief executive that fundamentally understands their role in the state’s economic picture.
