Kathy Hochul

November 15, 2024

MTA to offer free shuttle buses, discounted LIRR rides during Rockaway A line shutdown

Rockaway residents won't be left stranded this winter while the A and S subway lines undergo rehabilitation. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced a substitute service plan to ensure reliable transit options for Rockaway residents while the MTA conducts vital resilience upgrades to the A and S lines. The plan includes two free shuttle buses, heavily discounted Long Island Rail Road fares, and a free Rockaway subway shuttle train serving all stations on the peninsula between Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park.
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Congestion pricing to start in January with $9 toll, Hochul announces

Photo by Pranay Pareek on Unsplash

November 14, 2024

Congestion pricing to start in January with $9 toll, Hochul announces

By Aaron Ginsburg

Congestion pricing will resume by early January with a lower toll of $9, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday, in an attempt to save the program before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The new plan, which cuts the toll by 40 percent from the original $15 fee, is fast-tracked for implementation and slated for approval next week by the MTA board. Hochul abruptly paused the program in June, weeks before it was scheduled to begin, citing inflation and economic conditions. If approved, the fee will go into effect at midnight on Sunday, January 5.
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Hochul considers resuming congestion pricing after Trump win

Credit: Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

November 11, 2024

Hochul considers resuming congestion pricing after Trump win

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul is reportedly exploring ways to revive congestion pricing before President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to eliminate the plan, takes office. As first reported by Politico, the governor's office has asked the U.S. Department of Transportation about potentially lowering the proposed toll from $15 to $9 and whether this change would require another lengthy environmental review process.
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Hochul shows no signs of resuming congestion pricing before Trump takes office

Credit: Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

November 7, 2024

Hochul shows no signs of resuming congestion pricing before Trump takes office

By Aaron Ginsburg

Transit advocates are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to fund congestion pricing before the inauguration of Donald Trump, who has promised to terminate the program during his first week in office. During a press conference on Wednesday, Hochul said she could only provide updates on MTA funding later this year and did not address the fate of congestion pricing, while still acknowledging the limited time before Trump takes office.
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NYC to quadruple number of red-light cameras by 2027

Credit: Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

October 24, 2024

NYC to quadruple number of red-light cameras by 2027

By Aaron Ginsburg

Drivers who blow through red lights beware: the number of cameras at New York City intersections will soon quadruple. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday signed a bill expanding red-light camera programs across the state, allowing the city to install cameras at 600 intersections by 2027, up from the current 150. Since their introduction 30 years ago, red-light cameras have reduced traffic violations at intersections by 73 percent, according to Hochul.
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NYC’s first mixed-use affordable housing and industrial development opens in Brownsville

Photo by Michael Hnatov, courtesy of GMDC

September 26, 2024

NYC’s first mixed-use affordable housing and industrial development opens in Brownsville

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City’s first mixed-use development combining affordable housing and manufacturing space is now complete in Brownsville. The $118 million project converted the former Fox's U-Bet Chocolate Syrup factory into 39,000 square feet of light industrial space on the ground floor with 174 units of affordable and supportive housing above it. Designed by THINK! Architecture and Design, the complex addresses two city priorities by adding affordable housing and supporting new jobs.
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Affordable Housing

NYC’s first Dominican arts and cultural center coming to Inwood

Gov. Kathy Hochul marches in the 2024 Dominican Day Parade. Photo credit: Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

August 12, 2024

NYC’s first Dominican arts and cultural center coming to Inwood

By Aaron Ginsburg

Upper Manhattan will soon be home to the city’s first-ever institution dedicated to the vibrant arts and culture of the Dominican Republic. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday announced $12.5 million in funding to help establish the Dominican Center for the Arts and Culture at 375 West 207th Street. The center will include a museum and exhibition space featuring Dominican artists, a theater space, a children's library, and an oral history and archives project preserving the cultural history of Inwood/Washington Heights, the most populous Dominican neighborhood in the country.
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Policy

NYC floating pool coming to the Lower East Side (eventually)

+ POOL, designed by Family New York & PLAYLAB, INC. Rendering by Luxigon.

August 7, 2024

NYC floating pool coming to the Lower East Side (eventually)

By Aaron Ginsburg

Plans to bring a self-filtering floating pool to the East River are taking a small step forward this month. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams named Pier 35 on the Lower East Side as the official location for the +POOL, a first-of-its-kind swimming pool that uses a unique filtration system to provide safe swimming. Thanks to joint funding from the city and state, a three-month water filtration demonstration project will begin this month. A prototype of the +POOL structure could be ready by the summer of 2025.
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Policy

Second Avenue Subway work resumes after Hochul allocates $54M

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

July 30, 2024

Second Avenue Subway work resumes after Hochul allocates $54M

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday allocated $54 million to immediately restart work on the Second Avenue Subway extension, which will bring the Q train from 96th Street to 125th Street in East Harlem. The new funding allows the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to relocate utility lines along Second Avenue in preparation for the next phase of the transit project. The MTA stopped work on the project last month after the governor indefinitely paused the start of congestion pricing; the $1 billion in projected annual revenue from the program was intended to fund the project.
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Hochul is sued over congestion pricing pause

Photo Credit: Layla Melendez/Office of NYC Comptroller on Flickr

July 25, 2024

Hochul is sued over congestion pricing pause

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and a coalition of local advocacy groups and lawyers filed two lawsuits against Gov. Kathy Hochul, claiming she didn't have the legal authority to pause the tolling program last month, as reported by Gothamist. The program was originally scheduled to begin on June 30 but was delayed last minute by Hochul.
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Former Chelsea prison to become 124 affordable and supportive apartments

By Aaron Ginsburg

A former state prison in Chelsea will become 124 permanently affordable apartments. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday unveiled Liberty Landing, the proposal selected to redevelop Bayview Correctional Facility at 550 West 20th Street into a housing project with apartments for low-income New Yorkers and formerly incarcerated individuals. The women's prison closed in 2012 after damage from Hurricane Sandy and has sat vacant ever since.
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A lower congestion pricing toll floated by New York lawmakers

Photo courtesy of strolicfurlan on Flickr

July 3, 2024

A lower congestion pricing toll floated by New York lawmakers

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York lawmakers are floating a lower congestion pricing toll as a way to convince Gov. Kathy Hochul to resume the program, which she halted "indefinitely" last month. The $15 base fee was established based on the 2019 law that required the program to raise enough to support $15 billion in debt. As first reported by the New York Times, some state senators are seeking an adjusted fee low enough for Hochul to endorse but high enough to fund the MTA adequately.
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MTA stops work on Second Avenue Subway extension after congestion pricing delay

125th Street entrance. Rendering courtesy of the MTA

June 19, 2024

MTA stops work on Second Avenue Subway extension after congestion pricing delay

By Aaron Ginsburg

Work to extend the Second Avenue subway has stopped following Gov. Kathy Hochul's delay of New York City's congestion pricing program. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday announced that work on the transformative transit project, which would extend the Q line from its current endpoint at 96th Street to East Harlem at 125th Street, is now paused. The extension was one of the projects that would have been funded in part from congestion pricing revenue.
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NYC transit advocates, officials consider legal action to resume congestion pricing

Pro-congestion pricing rally held outside of 1 Centre Street on June 12. Photo courtesy of New York City Comptroller on Flickr

June 13, 2024

NYC transit advocates, officials consider legal action to resume congestion pricing

By Devin Gannon

A coalition of legal experts and transit advocates is considering legal action to resume congestion pricing. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Wednesday announced plans to explore "all legal avenues" to restart the program, which Gov. Kathy Hochul shut down last week less than a month before it was scheduled to start. The coalition is made up of legal professionals and potential plaintiffs, including residents and business owners within the central business district, MTA board members, and New Yorkers with disabilities.
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Photo via Wikimedia

June 6, 2024

The NYC transit projects affected by congestion pricing delay

By Devin Gannon

With Gov. Kathy Hochul's last-minute decision to "indefinitely" pause the congestion pricing program, the MTA will lose out on an anticipated $15 billion in revenue. The governor's decision puts a huge gap in the agency's capital program, which planned to use proceeds from congestion pricing to make critical repairs and improvements to New York City's public transportation network. From making subway stations accessible and updating antiquated signaling to extending the Second Avenue Subway to East Harlem, several projects promised to improve the lives of millions of New Yorkers will now be delayed without dedicated funding.
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Hochul pauses congestion pricing plan ‘indefinitely’

Photo by Pranay Pareek on Unsplash

June 5, 2024

Hochul pauses congestion pricing plan ‘indefinitely’

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday officially paused New York City's congestion pricing program, just weeks before it was set to begin. According to Politico, the governor voiced concerns about how the program, which would have charged drivers $15 for entering Manhattan south of 60th Street starting June 30, might hurt Democrats in upcoming House races later this year. In a pre-taped video, Hochul said "circumstances have changed" since the program was approved in 2019 and cited the effects of the pandemic and high inflation on New Yorkers as reasoning behind halting congestion pricing "indefinitely."
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NYC to redevelop 122-acre stretch of Brooklyn coastline

Image courtesy of the New York City Economic Development Corporation

May 14, 2024

NYC to redevelop 122-acre stretch of Brooklyn coastline

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is transforming a 122-acre stretch of Brooklyn's coastline into a dynamic, mixed-use community and modern maritime port. Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced an agreement that gives the city full control of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, enabling its redevelopment into a vibrant community hub with housing, retail, green space, and a modern port. The development zone, primarily controlled by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, spans over a mile from the southern edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park down to Red Hook, as Bloomberg reported. The deal is the city's largest real estate transaction in terms of size in 20 years.
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New York lawmakers finally pass housing package

Photo by Mike Groll/ Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

April 22, 2024

New York lawmakers finally pass housing package

By Aaron Ginsburg

After over two years of inaction, state lawmakers have agreed on a legislative package to address New York's housing crisis. Approved over the weekend, the $237 billion state budget includes several new policies aimed at addressing the statewide housing shortage, including a new tax incentive for developers and the lift of the floor-to-area ratio (FAR) cap. The deal also contains tenant protections, including a version of the "good cause" eviction proposal.
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Policy

Hochul announces budget agreement, with ‘landmark’ housing deal

Photo by Mike Groll/ Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

April 16, 2024

Hochul announces budget agreement, with ‘landmark’ housing deal

By Devin Gannon

State lawmakers reached a "conceptual" agreement on the 2025 budget on Monday, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who hosted a celebratory press conference touting the deal. Since the bills have not been printed yet, details remain scarce. However, according to the governor, the $237 billion budget, now over two weeks late, includes "landmark" policies to address the dire housing crisis statewide, particularly in New York City. Hochul announced efforts to boost housing production, including a new tax break to succeed 421-a, and protect tenants, with the framework for "good cause" eviction included in the deal.
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Policy

Hochul deploys National Guard and state police to check bags, patrol NYC subway

Image courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

March 6, 2024

Hochul deploys National Guard and state police to check bags, patrol NYC subway

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday said she would deploy roughly 1,000 National Guard and New York State Police members to patrol the New York City subway system and help officers check bags for weapons. The additional personnel, which includes 750 National Guard members and 250 members of the state police and MTA police department, are meant to make riders feel safe following several recent high-profile assaults in the transit system.
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Hochul wants to make it easier to shut down New York’s illegal smoke shops

Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

February 29, 2024

Hochul wants to make it easier to shut down New York’s illegal smoke shops

By Aaron Ginsburg

In response to the thousands of illegal smoke shops operating in the state, with an estimated 8,000 in New York City alone, Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to make it easier to close illicit cannabis stores. On Wednesday, the governor proposed streamlining the state's Office of Cannabis Management's (OCM) ability to obtain court orders to padlock stores and permit the orders to be executed by local authorities. According to Hochul, the unregulated stores not only undermine the legal marijuana market but also pose health risks to customers.
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Transit

Open gangway subway cars are now in service on the C line

Image courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

February 2, 2024

Open gangway subway cars are now in service on the C line

By Aaron Ginsburg

The New York City subway system's new open gangway cars have officially hit the rails. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday participated in an inaugural ride of the open gangway subway cars which are in service on the C line between Washington Heights and East New York. The ride marked the first time in modern history that an open gangway train, already used in major European and Asian cities, has operated in the United States.
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New York has big plans for the state’s first total solar eclipse in 99 years

Image courtesy of NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth on Flickr

January 11, 2024

New York has big plans for the state’s first total solar eclipse in 99 years

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York is going all out for its first total solar eclipse in 99 years. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday revealed the state's plans for the April 8 total eclipse, when the moon will pass between the sun and earth, completely blocking the face of the sun and turning day to night for up to four minutes. Five regions in New York will experience the path of totality, including the Adirondacks, Greater Niagra, Chautauqua-Allegheny, Thousand Islands-Seaway, and the Finger Lakes. Other parts of the state outside of the path, like New York City and Long Island, will see a partial eclipse.
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Events & Things To Do

Hochul calls for replacement and extension of 421-a tax abatement in NYC

Photo courtesy of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

January 10, 2024

Hochul calls for replacement and extension of 421-a tax abatement in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

As housing production in New York City hits new lows, Gov. Kathy Hochul is calling once again for a replacement of the 421-a tax abatement program that expired in 2022. During her 2024 State of the State address on Tuesday, the governor said she plans to introduce legislation permitting the city to offer a tax break to developers of new rental construction, as well as an extension of the completion deadline of the expired program. Hochul's previous proposals to replace the program in 2022 and 2023 failed to move forward.
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Hochul wants to extend the Second Avenue Subway west into Harlem

The 96th Street subway station on Second Avenue Subway when it opened in 2017. Photo by Charley Lhasa on Flickr.

January 9, 2024

Hochul wants to extend the Second Avenue Subway west into Harlem

By Devin Gannon

The Q train may go even further. During her State of the State address Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul backed a plan to extend the Second Avenue Subway west along 125th Street with three new stops at Lenox Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue, and Broadway. The announcement comes as construction prepares to kick off on the second phase of the line, bringing the Q line up to 125th Street in East Harlem.
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Kathy Hochul

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