Yesterday evening, Governor Hochul announced the “parameters of a conceptual agreement” on the budget. Some highlights of the announced $237B budget are below:
Housing
- NYC
- New 485-a incentive to build housing and 6-year extension of expired 421-a
- Office conversion into housing and elimination of density restrictions in Manhattan
- Pilot program for basement apartments
- NYS
- Incentives for multifamily housing and accessory dwelling
- $650M for pro-housing communities statewide
- $500M for up to 15K units on state-owned sites
Public Safety
- $347M to drive down gun violence in the state
- Increased penalties for assaulting retail workers and addressing sales of stolen goods
- $40M for retail theft teams in the State Police and local law enforcement
- State and local power to padlock doors of illegal cannabis vendors for up to one year during due process
- $36M to prosecute domestic abuse
- $35M to thwart hate crimes
Education
- Funding for the Back to Basics reading curriculum
- Adjustment to the School Funding built-in rate of growth for FY25, and the Rockefeller Institute to examine funding formula
- Increased minimum award and raised income limits for Tuition Assistance Program
Mental Health & Healthcare
- $19M for mental health support for school-aged children
- Changes to standards for reimbursement and out-of-network mental health coverage
- Investment in public swimming, NY Swims
- $3B to support distressed hospitals
- $20B for health care infrastructure
- Increase to Paid Medical Leave
- Medical debt protections for low-income New Yorkers
- Increased home care worker minimum wage
Environment
- Planting 25M trees
- $500M for clean water
- $50M temporary assistance for municipalities
Asylum Seekers
- $2.4M to support NYC’s accommodation of asylum seekers
Workforce Development
- $275M (in addition to $125M in private funding) for Empire AI Consortium
- $200M for four new workforce development centers
Leaders in the Assembly and Senate have described this announcement as premature, and stated that a final deal has not been confirmed. A budget vote is expected to take place later this week or early next week. The most recent budget extender runs through Thursday, April 18.
