Statement from NYC Comptroller Brad Lander on Governor Hochul’s 2023 State of the State Address

 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released the following statement in response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2023 State of the State Address:

“In these uncertain economic times, New York’s resilience relies on our ability to enact a bold vision of our collective future, one that makes it possible for people from Staten Island to Syracuse to live, work, and thrive. As always, decisions made in Albany will have an enormous impact for New York City.

“Governor Hochul has rightly put confronting our housing crisis front and center. We need to expand the supply of housing at all income levels–but simply incentivizing market-rate development with another inefficient tax giveaway program like 421a will not solve the crisis of affordability facing so many New Yorkers. Building new housing must go along with significantly increased investments in genuinely affordable rental and homeownership programs, rental assistance vouchers, and good cause protections to keep tenants in their homes.

“The Governor made an encouraging commitment to strengthen the state’s mental health continuum-of-care, including increased investment in supportive housing. The State and City should work together to expand a ‘housing first’ approach, building on successful pilots and programs in Houston and other cities around the world. Housing first policies provide what homeless New Yorkers living on the streets need the most—a stable place to live—and are proven to halt the intractable cycle of homelessness.

“With the rising costs of living, Albany can lift millions of New Yorkers by raising the minimum wage. The Governor and Speaker Heastie’s support for indexing the minimum wage to inflation opens the door to getting New York’s lowest income residents the raise they need to afford today’s cost of living. I was encouraged to hear it.

“With the pandemic shift to remote work taking a big bite out of the farebox, Albany must provide significant additional revenue to the MTA. The Governor’s executive budget should include investments to address the looming deficits and improve service to lure riders back to the system that serves as the lifeblood of our city.

“Last, but not least, as New York City welcomes thousands of asylum seekers, Albany needs to provide a meaningful share of the resources needed to provide shelter and services—something it has utterly failed to do so far. As in past generations, immigrants contribute mightily to New York City’s dynamism and economic fabric. The Governor and State Legislature must step up now to help.

“The New York Dream that the Governor envisions can come to be achieved if our State is willing to make the investments to rise to this moment and secure a thriving future for all New Yorkers.”