Outlining her vision for the coming year, Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday pledged to make New York a more affordable place to live by lowering taxes for the middle class and providing additional safety measures, especially for city residents.
As part of her 2025 State of the State Address in Albany, Hochul pledged to place a police officer on every single train overnight, or from 9:00pm to 5:00am, over the next six months.
In addition, she called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to install subway barriers in 100 additional stations, along with brighter LED lighting in every station by the end of the year. She also asked the transit agency to modernize entry gates to stop fare evaders and establish triage centers at the end of all the major routes where people can get assistance.
The governor emphasized the need to expand involuntary commitment into a hospital to include someone who does not possess the mental capacity to care for themselves such as refusing help with the basics: clothing, food, shelter and medical care.
"We cannot allow our subway to be a rolling homeless shelter," she said. "This is about having the humanity and the compassion to help people incapable of helping themselves, fellow human beings who are suffering from mental illness that is literally putting their lives and the lives of others in danger."
The governor said the term "involuntary commitment" conjures up images of prison-like institutions from the past. However, Hochul said the state has moved on and can now offer compassionate mental health services with more doctors and more beds.
The promises come after a string of high profile subway crimes that included one man setting a homeless woman on fire on the F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station.
As for providing financial relief to New Yorkers, Hochul said she would cut middle class taxes that would lower rates for more than 8 million state residents; send inflation refund checks of up to $500 to over 8.6 million households; expand New York’s child tax credit to provide up to $1,000 per child to 1.6 million families; and fight for the full restoration of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction.
The governor said she wants to set aside $110 million to build new child care centers, renovate existing ones and expand options for families and communities all over New York. In addition, the governor said she wants to establish a corps of substitute child care professionals so "someone’s always on call."
The state should also provide a so-called birth allowance, distribute free diapers and other supplies and expand access to infertility treatments. As children grow older, every student should be able to get free breakfast and free lunch at school, the governor said.
"The research is abundantly clear. Children who grow up hungry score lower on tests and underperform. It pains me as a mom to think of little kids’ stomachs growling while they’re in school while they’re supposed to be learning. In the wealthiest country in the world this can no longer be tolerated," Hochul said.
The governor also pledged to make more youth sports and culture programs so kids stay offline longer.
She emphasized her commitment to spend an additional $100 million to build starter homes and provide down payment assistance for first-time home buyers. She also proposed to appoint a housing development ombudsman to streamline permit approvals to build homes faster.
Hochul also promised to make community college completely free for students ages 25-55 who enter high-demand fields like advanced manufacturing, education and healthcare.
There were additional commitments made to boosting green energy initiatives, decarbonize the state, increase funding for disability programs, supporting agriculture and boosting consumer protection policies.
