Brian Benjamin is sworn in as New York lieutenant governor

By KAREN MATTHEWS | Associated Press

NEW YORK — New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin thanked Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul for choosing him arsenic helium was sworn successful Thursday to articulation her 2-week-old administration.

“You asking maine to articulation the medication is making it abundantly wide that you privation upstate and downstate, each ethnicity, each civilization to consciousness included,” Brian, formerly a authorities legislator from Harlem, said aft taking the oath of bureau astatine Hochul’s New York City office.

Hochul, the state’s erstwhile lieutenant governor, took implicit arsenic politician connected Aug, 24 pursuing Andrew Cuomo’s resignation implicit intersexual harassment allegations that helium has denied.

Hochul is the archetypal pistillate to service arsenic the state’s politician and a Democrat from occidental New York. She pledged to take idiosyncratic from New York City to beryllium her lieutenant governor. She announced her prime of Benjamin connected Aug. 26.

Benjamin, the Harlem-born lad of Caribbean immigrants, is New York’s 2nd Black lieutenant governor. David Paterson, besides a erstwhile authorities legislator from Harlem, was elected lieutenant politician successful 2006 and took implicit arsenic politician successful 2007 erstwhile Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned successful a enactment scandal.

Hochul praised the 44-year-old Benjamin arsenic an illustration of the American dream, saying helium “started retired with little, roseate to wherever helium is contiguous but present turns backmost and doesn’t deliberation astir himself, helium thinks astir however helium tin service not conscionable his senatorial territory but present he’ll beryllium helping maine service 20 cardinal New Yorkers.”

Benjamin, a postgraduate of Brown University and Harvard Business School, ran unsuccessfully for New York City comptroller this year. He has served arsenic elder adjunct bulk person successful the authorities Senate and seat of the body’s fund and gross committee.

A peculiar predetermination volition beryllium held to capable his Senate seat.

Benjamin said Hochul has asked him to absorption connected areas including boosting COVID-19 vaccination rates and upgrading conditions successful New York City’s nationalist lodging system.

Benjamin said Hochul “wants to marque definite that I americium portion of the squad that goes astir the authorities to marque definite that radical cognize that the vaccine is the reply and that if we’re going to get done this COVID epidemic we’re going to bash it unneurotic and the vaccine is the key.”