Governor Cuomo: “Criminal justice reform should be done on a national level. And the House has been very aggressive on reform, the Congress, and I applaud them for it. But New York State is the progressive capital. We never sit back and say just what the nation should do, we show the nation what it should do. We lead by example and we lead by getting it done. We are a state of action and that's us at our best.”

Cuomo: “Moving forward, there is still more to do, and we're going to do it in the state of New York. The truth is this, police reform is long overdue, and Mr. Floyd's murder is just the most recent murder. This is not just about Mr. Floyd's murder. It's about being here before, many, many times before. It is about a long list that has been all across this country that always makes the same point, injustice against minorities in America by the criminal justice system. And today is about enough is enough.”

Rev. Al Sharpton: “To give the executive order that he has given — let us be very clear. There is no governor in this country that has said what he said this morning. He and I are debating sometimes, but he has, in many ways, done things that even I did not expect. To say that every mayor must come up with a plan along these areas or they will withhold state money, is a model for where we ought to be dealing with 21st century civil rights in this country. Make no mistake: this is a new level that all other 49 governors ought to look at, because to say, ‘I want to see mayors deal with this’ and ‘I want to see city councils deal with this,’ is one thing. But to say, ‘we're going to hold funds— means that he means it.’”