Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the state’s $237 billion enacted budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 about three weeks after the deadline. A number of pressing issues, like housing, have been addressed, albeit to mixed reviews.
“We are delivering a common-sense agenda that makes New York safer and more affordable,” Hochul said in a statement. “I promised to fight for New Yorkers and tackle the thorny issues, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
Despite setbacks, and an unusual instance of the state’s bill drafting system being hacked, Hochul was proud of finishing the budget. She said it made record investments into fighting crime, fixing the mental health system, and building more housing for New Yorkers without raising income taxes.
“New Yorkers have struggled as our state faces unprecedented crises—including an acute housing shortage, an influx of asylum-seekers, and skyrocketing hate crimes. New York’s 2024-25 Budget meets the moment, bringing robust relief and realistic solutions—all without raising taxes,” said Assembly Majority Whip Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn in a statement.
Here’s a breakdown of what New York City gets:
Mixed bag on the “historic” housing deal
The housing crisis in the state budget was a huge point of contention according to state lawmakers, but the state managed to strike some kind of balance between housing development and tenant protections. The plan includes a new 485-x tax incentive, which builds on the 421-a tax incentive to construct affordable housing; a change to the outdated 12 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) density cap; incentives to convert unused office space into affordable housing; a new 421-p tax incentive to construct housing outside New York City to spur housing production; a mandatory $650 million in discretionary funding going to pro-housing communities; a version of the “good cause eviction” legislation for tenants with lots more exemptions than advocates are comfortable with; and protections for homeowners from deed theft.
“If lawmakers, tenants, and people experiencing homelessness from upstate and downstate think this housing deal is bad, it doesn’t make it a good compromise—it makes it bad policy,” Joseph Loonam, VOCAL-NY Housing Campaign Coordinator, said in a statement.
Mayoral control has shifted to accountability
The extension of Mayor Eric Adams’ control of New York City schools for the next two years was another sticking point during budget debates. It was initially taken out but has been put back in with some language modification to focus more on accountability and less on control, based on the newly published state Department of Education (DOE) report and demands of reform during the state’s series of public hearings.
Adams was thrilled.
“With the inclusion of mayoral accountability in the state budget, our administration has now secured every single one of our legislative priorities in the budget. Every. Single. One.,” said Adams in a statement. “In the 22 years since mayoral accountability was implemented, New York City’s public schools have transformed—increasing our students’ reading scores, math scores, and graduation rates; reducing the racial disparity gap; allowing the implementation of critical initiatives like ‘NYC Reads’ and universal dyslexia screenings, and ensuring a seamless and timely coordination with partners to welcome, enroll, and support thousands of newly-arriving students and their families on a citywide scale.”
United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Michael Mulgrew added that the state budget finally gives schools adequate funding to reduce overgrown class sizes as well as improve the recruitment and retention of teachers. “While more work needs to be done on mayoral control,” said Mulgres in a statement, “the introduction of independent leadership to the Panel for Educational Policy provides more checks and balances in school governance.”
SUNY Downstate Hospital safe for now
State electeds have been fighting back against the recent onslaught of hospital closures and seem pleased with the allocations made in the budget towards health care, particularly investments in keeping State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Science Center open in Brooklyn. The state budget is putting $7.5 billion into the healthcare system over the next three years, with $350 million in funding for hospital Medicaid repayment rates and $800 million for financially distressed hospitals. It also secures $100 million for SUNY’s Downstate operating costs through at least April 1, 2025, and $300 million in capital funding for the modernization and revitalization of the hospital.
“I am especially pleased that Central Brooklyn was heard, and that this budget rejects the SUNY-Downstate closure plan,” said Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie, one of the hospital’s biggest supporters. “For the past four months, central Brooklyn, along with allies from across the city and state, made it clear that this community opposes any plan to close SUNY-Downstate Medical Center and reduce access to healthcare where we need it most. Because the community fought back from day one, we will now have a year-long process to better determine Downstate’s future.”
The plan is to also create an advisory board for SUNY Downstate consisting of experts, workers, and community leaders that will conduct mandatory public hearings with public notice, Myrie said. Additionally, the advisory board will be required to examine healthcare delivery service trends and financials for SUNY Downstate hospital and campus, the efficiency of operations and quality of healthcare services at Downstate, and training needs for students. They will also be obligated to build infrastructure around capital and community healthcare service needs, outcomes, and disparities. The advisory board can make recommendations of up to $750 million.
“SUNY is proud of our role in finding a solution to the crisis Downstate faces after decades of disinvestment, and working with our partners in government and the community to chart a better path forward,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. “We thank Governor Hochul and the State legislature for recognizing the importance of this essential health sciences university. The newly-formed advisory board will be an invaluable partner in continuing SUNY’s commitment to collaborating with the community and stakeholders on a reasonable, scalable, and fiscally responsible plan for the financial health, viability, and sustainability of SUNY Downstate within a set dollar amount.”
Immigration funding “falls short”
The state budget commits $2.4 billion for migrant services and assistance to help New York City manage the current influx. This includes a $64.2 million restoration for legal services funding, $324 million for the Supplemental Empire State Child Credit Payment for lower and middle income families, and $9.8 million for Adult Literacy Education (ALE). Even though that’s more of an investment than last year, groups like the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) are upset that the Housing Voucher Access Program (HAVP), Coverage for All (C4A) healthcare coverage, Language Access Expansion, and legal representation initiatives were excluded from the budget.
“We applaud these inclusions but believe Albany could have gone further to secure the futures of New York families,” said NYIC President and CEO Murad Awawdeh. “At a time when working families and immigrant New Yorkers are struggling to make ends meet, the budget falls short. Despite the recent spike in demand for vital immigration legal services, the State made the decision to keep legal services funding at nearly the same level as last year, failing to fulfill the mounting needs of legal service providers or the people they serve.”
Sammy’s Law is in
The state budget includes provisions for Sammy’s Law, which allows New York City to lower the speed limit from 25 to 20 miles per hour (mph). The bill is named after Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old boy who was fatally struck by a speeding driver in Brooklyn in 2013 just a few blocks from his home. His mother, Amy Cohen, has been a steadfast safe streets advocate behind the legislation ever since.
[updated Sat, April 27]
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.