Hochul Unveils Broad Plan to Make New York More Affordable

Gov. Kathy Hochul used her State of the State address to push a broad, affordability-focused agenda aligned with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Highlights include expanding child care to 100,000 more children (about $4.5 billion total), accelerating housing with streamlined environmental reviews, investing in water infrastructure, and backing a nuclear-energy backbone aiming for up to 8.4 GW. She proposed lifting taxes on tips up to $25,000, strengthening protections against ICE in sensitive locations, and extending online-safety measures for minors, while noting funding will be set in the upcoming budget. The plan hinges on coalition-building and faces political headwinds from opponents and within her own party.