Hochul Bars NY From Business With Companies Still In Russia

NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul chose a Westchester County warehouse where desperately needed medical supplies are being collected for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine to announce an expansion of the state-level sanctions against Russia.

Speaking at the AFYA Foundation warehouse in Yonkers, Hochul announced an executive order that not only prohibits New York government from doing business with sanctioned Russian firms but also expands the scope to include companies that continue to do business in Russia.

The governor cited efforts to pressure South Africa to end apartheid as evidence that the state-level measures can make a difference. She noted that it was only after local governments, universities and individuals began to divest from companies who refused to pull out of the country's economy that the boycott efforts started to effect change and eventually the end of a long-standing racist institution.

Hochul recounted her efforts along with fellow students at Syracuse University to persuade the school to divest from South Africa at that time — a move she said made a difference. She noted that, in this case, the State of New York has much more power to effect change that a single university.

"We are continuing to put the pressure on and I saw this as a young college student when we were trying to stop Apartheid in South Africa," Hochul told those gathered on Thursday. "It was when people started divesting holdings in companies that were doing business in South Africa, we finally created the economic pressure that resulted in change. We got our university and other universities across the nation to divest their holdings. So, I know the impact of what even a college can do, but I certainly know the power of New York State."

Hochul also took time to praise the work of the New York-based AFYA Foundation to get potentially lifesaving supplies into the hands of medical workers in Ukraine.

From their Disaster Response Hub in Yonkers, the AFYA Foundation is working with the US-Ukraine-Foundation and others to support the Ukrainian medical community and refugees seeking aid.

AFYA has been preparing wound care, surgical equipment and biomedical equipment to be shipped. They are partnering with several groups to gather supplies and coordinate shipments, including the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry and Greater New York Hospital Association.

Information on how to support the AFYA Foundation's efforts in Ukraine and around the world can be found here.