ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul leveled a salvo at bail-reform backers Monday as both sides appeared to still be worlds apart over how to fix the state’s disastrous laws — effectively holding the proposed budget hostage.
Hochul — in her first public statement about budget negotiations after a weekend of closed-door talks with state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-The Bronx) and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) — indicated that top Dem lawmakers also seemed to be digging in their heels over her plan to expand the number of charter schools that can operate in the Big Apple.
In addition, both sides have yet to make a deal on her controversial push to tackle the state’s housing crisis by requiring New York City and the suburbs to approve the construction of additional homes and apartments.
“New Yorkers are concerned about public safety, the rising cost of housing, and ensuring high-quality schools for all our kids, and any budget deal must make progress on these core issues,” Hochul said.
“I have been negotiating in good faith with the legislature, but it is clear there is more work to be done before we reach an agreement.”
Hochul’s statement came as she announced at least a short-term pact with Heastie and Stewart-Cousins to keep the state government funded and in operation for one more week as budget talks continue.
The fight over bail is dominating discussions, Heastie told reporters.
“I would say that bail is now taking up pretty much all the oxygen in the room, and everything else is second,” the speaker said during a press conference at the Capitol.
“I don’t think things are really going to progress until this gets resolved,” the pol acknowledged.
Heastie suggested that there is still a substantial gap between Hochul and lawmakers over what if any changes to make in the law.
Progressives have blasted Hochul’s bail plan, which would remove a current “reform” from the state law that says judges can only jail suspects if the jurists determine there is no other way to ensure the accused return to court for trial.
Proponents of the change, including Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams, say the move would cut down on the number of recidivists, including those repeatedly busted for crimes such as shoplifting.
“New York City is one of the state’s safest cities, but I don’t know if people feel that way,” Adams has said.
The budget extender gives state lawmakers until April 10 — through the spring religious holidays — to finish budget negotiations.
Each of the policy proposals that Hochul highlighted in her statement has faced major pushback from parts of the Democratic Party.
New York’s powerful teachers unions have pushed back hard against Hochul’s call to expand the number of Big Apple charter schools. The governor wants to allow licenses previously granted to now-shuttered schools to be reused and also to let licenses set aside for suburban and upstate communities to be employed in the five boroughs.
She also is facing suburban lawmakers angry about her plan to fix the state’s housing crisis by requiring downstate communities to approve the construction of new homes and apartments.
Hochul’s plan would require municipalities with subway stops or commuter rail stations within 15 miles of New York City to allow for the construction of two- to four-story residential buildings, such as the brownstones commonly found across large swaths of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Those homes would count toward Hochul’s overall mandate that would require every downstate municipality to increase its housing supply by 3% every three years as part of her planned effort to construct 800,000 new units in the next decade.
