Gov. Kathy Hochul presented her third budget proposal since her ascension to the office of New York’s governor, and like each proposal before it, it asked to continue ballooning New York’s spending with little consideration for the long-term fiscal health of the state. While she tried to contrast this year’s proposal with talk of reining in spending we no longer have the money for, particularly because federal COVID-19 funds have run dry, her proposal still asked for New York taxpayers to be prepared to offer $4 billion more than last year.
Admittedly, she did cede on issues that my colleagues and I have been championing, such as the housing shortage that she deems the most prominent crisis in New York. Instead of using her gubernatorial powers to steamroll local zoning laws and operations, she is claiming she will commit to partnering with localities and incentivizing new housing developments. I would again argue that housing is not an issue New York needs to address, particularly because our year-over-year statewide population drops due to outmigration, but I will acknowledge that the governor has at least heard our concerns, which is a positive result if a minor one.
What I won’t accept as progress is her willingness to throw even more money at the migrant crisis encompassing New York City, which continually threatens the surrounding regions of the state, including the Hudson Valley. She is offering $2.4 billion for New York City to use to combat this migrant crisis, supposedly to reimburse the city for migrant-related expenses, cover state-funded initiatives like bolstering the National Guard’s presence and providing health care for migrants and support and develop congregate shelters. She acknowledged the problem is indeed tied intrinsically to federal policy, with the federal government being the final guard against the ever-increasing influx of migrants. However, it’s quite the dodge of accountability to pretend New York could not regulate its own borders much more strictly. If throwing billions at the migrant crisis was enough to solve it, we wouldn’t have a migrant crisis anymore. New York City, and this governor, need to make the tough calls no matter how poor they look to her base supporters. What that choice is, and how it would take shape, I can only speculate, but I guarantee that her office has had these conversations already and is trying its hardest to pass the buck of responsibility to the federal government. It shows a weakness in leadership to me, and it’s emblematic of this administration’s weakness as a whole.
The governor touched on a number of issues, a lot of which will be debated and discussed in the weeks before our state budget deadline arrives, but know that in the meantime, I will continue to advocate for the needs of Orange and Rockland county residents first and foremost, as I always have, and always will.
Assemblyman Brabenec represents the 98th District, which includes the city of Port Jervis, the towns of Deerpark, Greenville, Mount Hope, Wawayanda, Minisink, Warwick, Tuxedo, and portions of the towns of Goshen, Monroe, and Ramapo. For more information, please visit his Official Website at www.yourfavoriteassemblyman.com.
###
