In the wake of Governor Kathy Hochul’s State of the State speech, Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) is praising the governor’s intention of broadening affordability for middle class New Yorkers, as well as her commitment to ramping up public safety efforts, particularly on New York’s City public transportation.

“I am pleased that Governor Hochul has announced her intentions of working to make living in New York more affordable for New Yorkers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet,” said Assemblyman Colton. “A package of tax cuts and refunds, as well as financial support targeted at families with school-age children, has the potential to ease the burden for my constituents and residents across the state. I’m also glad that Governor Hochul has chosen to focus on critical safety issues with her call to expand involuntary commitment of individuals with severe mental health issues that make them a danger to themselves and others, her call to ramp up long-term supportive services for those who need them, her call for judges to enforce revised bail laws, and her renewed focus on subway safety, by committing to having uniformed police on trains during nighttime hours as well as working across the train system to make stations safer.”

The governor’s Tuesday, January 14 speech called for $1 billion worth of tax cuts that would impact 8.3 million New York residents, as well as inflation refunds of $300 for individual taxpayers and $500 for families that would give back some of the added revenue the state collected because of rising prices. Governor Hochul also announced that she would push for increasing the state’s Child Tax Credit, which would benefit both families and the local businesses they patronize, as well as beginning the state’s push toward universal childcare and making school breakfasts and lunches free for all students.

On the safety front, the governor’s proposals include installing physical barriers in 100 subway stations, making sure all stations have bright lighting by the end of the year and upgrading stations with modernized gates intended to discourage fare evaders. She also called for expanding Kendra’s Law, a 1999 law which mandates psychiatric treatment for mentally ill individuals with a history of violence or repeat hospitalizations. Based on the recent reform of New York’s bail law, Governor Hochul also urged judges to hold suspects who are repeat offenders in custody.

The State of the State speech provides a broad overview of the governor’s priorities for 2025. Her budget, which will be released next week, will offer an overview of how she proposes to finance them.