New York Has a $237 Billion Budget. Here Are 5 Things to Know.
In the three weeks since the April 1 deadline for a state budget passed, New York lawmakers experienced an eclipse, an earthquake and a cyberattack.
On Saturday, the Capitol saw a more typical event: the passage of a late state budget.
The $237 billion budget includes $2.4 billion to address the ongoing migrant crisis and hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster distressed hospitals, including Brooklyn’s SUNY Downstate, which had been slated for closure.
It also includes numerous policy initiatives, including new protections for tenants, a prenatal leave program for expectant mothers and an extension of Mayor Eric Adams’s control over New York City schools.
Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Senate majority leader, called it “an extremely eventful budget cycle.”
Here’s a look at how things went.
How did the governor do?
For Gov. Kathy Hochul, addressing the state’s housing shortage was the top priority, after she failed to pass a comprehensive plan last year. This session, she pushed through a proposal designed to increase housing stock by providing tax incentives for developers, while protecting New York’s existing tenants.