NY Gov. Kathy Hochul Focuses on Affordability, Regulatory Reform in State of the State Address

ALBANY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in her State of the State address on Tuesday promised policies that will enhance affordability in housing, health care, child care, insurance and utility costs in the state, while protecting residents from harmful policies of the Trump administration.

“New Yorkers deserve a state where they can raise a family, keep the lights on, and stay rooted in the communities they love,” Gov. Hochul said. “That is why I am committed to lowering the costs that hit working families the hardest—child care, energy, housing, transportation and groceries. Together we will ensure that our government works for working people and expands opportunities for all New Yorkers.”

Among her signature proposals include partnering with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fund the launch of the new mayor’s 2-Care program (for two-year-olds) and realizing the promise of universal 3K (three-year-olds) access in New York City. Among her child care initiatives include making Pre-K universal child care statewide by making funding available to provide high-quality pre-k seats for all four-year-olds in the state by the start of the 2028-29 school year.

While her address touched on some housing initiatives, including a thorough review of the state’s environmental review process and a commitment to speed up housing, infrastructure and clean energy project approvals, her State of the State presentation provided much more detail.

Among some of her key housing/infrastructure-related proposals include:

• $250 million to accelerate affordable housing development, speeding up the construction of thousands more affordable homes and transformative projects and another $100 million to incentivize manufactured housing.
• A five-year, $3.75 billion commitment to water infrastructure, with $750 million in funding per year, which will continue to support and grow signature water programs;
• The launch of a new Smart Growth Water Grant Program, which will focus on sewer and water projects that directly enable the construction of new housing units and the creation of permanent jobs;
• Modernizing the Jamaica Station in Queens into a world-class station. The reimagined Jamaica Station will help create better traffic flow, reduce crowding, and build out a world-class station complex providing seamless connection between the LIRR Main Line, NYC Transit, and AirTrain JFK for the millions of commuters who depend on this station.
• Advance the expansion of Second Avenue Subway project. Gov. Hochul is proposing to support the next phase of this project with funding for design and preliminary engineering to advance tunneling across 125th Street. The extension along 125th Street will improve commutes for millions of New Yorkers, save significant time for commuters benefiting from intersections with seven north-south subway lines across Manhattan, and connect underserved communities to jobs. She also continued her commitment to the Interborough Express project in Queens.
• Raising her previous goal of attracting 1 gigawatt of new nuclear power to 5 gigawatts of new nuclear power in upstate New York. The Nuclear Reliability Backbone will be developed by a new Department of Public Service process to consider, review, and facilitate a cost-effective pathway to 4 gigawatts of new nuclear energy that will combine with existing nuclear generation and the New York Power Authority's previously announced 1 gigawatt project, to create an 8.4 gigawatt “backbone” of reliable energy for New Yorkers.
• She vowed to have new data centers pay their fair share of the large utility costs those projects generate and eventually require these projects to provide their own power and not to tap into the state’s grid.