Fireside Chat, Conference Presentation, Interview
A Conversation With Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York
- New York State is preparing to announce significant financial reserves within days to ensure resource availability for future crises absent federal support.
- Significant short-term federal funds received by the MTA will not be committed to long-term budgeting due to uncertainty regarding the continuity of such money.
- State leadership aims to establish a strong financial position to support pandemic-hit businesses and signal resource availability for future challenges.
- Economic rebuilding efforts will prioritize industries and businesses hardest hit by the pandemic to facilitate a long-term recovery.
- The governor expects to avoid raising taxes to prevent deterring individuals and businesses, thereby protecting the creation of thousands of jobs.
- State officials plan to collaborate with the new mayor to position New York as pro-business and pro-worker to encourage retention and return of the population.
- Visible police presence in subways is expected to serve as an incentive for people to return to the city.
- Ensuring the success of New York City as the state's economic engine is a priority to encourage those who have left to return before missing the state's comeback.
- Congestion pricing is intended to provide a steady revenue source for MTA maintenance and expansion, with the federal review process expected to conclude by the end of the year.
- Closing schools has been ruled out as an option; the strategy to maintain open schools includes a statewide mask mandate and continuous deployment of test kits.
- Quarantine time for exposed students is planned to be reduced from 10 days to 5 days based on the short duration of illness in vaccinated individuals.
- Vaccinating every school-aged child is the primary strategy to keep schools open, driven by data indicating 91 percent of hospitalized children were unvaccinated.
- The state will continue using the tax code to incentivize the private sector to build affordable and mixed-use housing, acknowledging these projects are not profitable on their own.
- Homelessness solutions involve building housing integrated with mental health and substance abuse services to provide alternatives to living on the streets.
- Converting formerly occupied commercial space into residential units is identified as a method to increase housing stock and suppress prices, despite high conversion costs.
- The state plans to construct 100,000 additional affordable housing units with a major role for the private sector.
- Legislative efforts will focus on electing candidates who support state values and priorities following primary victories.
- The goal is for Democrats to retain a legislative majority to fully support programs, with the capacity to persuade Republicans if they gain leverage during deliberations.