Kathy Hochul

Rule Changes

State recovered frozen funds

The Department of Health and Human Services ended its six-month freeze on $10 billion in child care and family-aid money for five states on July 14. The funds, meant for low-income families in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, are flowing again.

Updated Jul 15

Built World

Backed the state-level pieces of the housing push

New York City finished 38,682 apartments in 2025, the most in a single year since 1965, driven by the City of Yes zoning rewrite and the 485-x rental tax break. The record has since run into complications: permit approvals fell nearly 28 percent in 2025 as tariffs and 485-x's wage rules pushed up costs, and developers began filing permits for buildings of exactly 99 units to avoid the program's higher wage threshold.

Updated Jul 9

Built World

Declared state of emergency for 22+ counties, activated National Guard; warned 'the worst is yet to come'

A nor'easter developed into a bomb cyclone on February 22-23, 2026, burying the Interstate 95 corridor from Philadelphia to Boston under 1 to 2 feet of heavy, wet snow. In parts of New Jersey, totals exceeded 2 feet; Lyndhurst received 30.7 inches while New York City got 19 inches on February 24.

Updated May 29

Rule Changes

Signed S1353 into law with amendments

For decades, abusers have weaponized debt against their victims—opening credit cards in partners' names, forcing them to sign loan documents under threat, running up charges they never agreed to. Even after escaping the relationship, survivors remained legally responsible for debts they never chose to incur. Starting February 16, 2026, New York joins seven other states in helping survivors escape: creditors can no longer collect debts incurred through fraud, duress, or coercion, and survivors can dispute these debts with legal protection.

Updated May 29

Built World

Leading state oversight of JFK transformation

JFK's original terminals opened in the 1960s as architectural showpieces—each airline building its own statement. Sixty years later, most of that infrastructure has become obsolete. New York is now replacing it with two massive new terminals, redesigned roadways, and modernized transit connections in what has become the largest airport project in the United States.

Updated May 27

Force in Play

Facing criticism from striking nurses for not intervening; has not visited picket lines

Nearly 15,000 nurses walked off the job at Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian on January 12, 2026—the largest nurses' strike in New York City history. The walkout came three years after nurses at two of those same hospital systems won enforceable staffing ratios through a three-day strike. Now the hospitals want to roll those standards back, while also seeking to cut nurses' healthcare benefits.

Updated May 21

Force in Play

Ordered emergency closure of live bird markets

In March 2024, H5N1 avian influenza appeared in U.S. dairy cattle for the first time. It has since infected over 1,000 herds across 17 states and 70 humans; one person has died.

Updated May 19

Rule Changes

Announced New York as largest state with bell-to-bell smartphone restrictions

January 2026 accelerated the school cellphone crackdown. New Jersey signed a statewide ban for 2026-27, Michigan passed legislation for fall 2026, and Kansas introduced bipartisan Senate Bill 302 backed by 30 senators. What began with France's 2018 experiment now spans 37 states plus D.C., up from 35+ just weeks earlier.

Updated May 19

Force in Play

Pushed both sides to settle as commuter pressure mounted

At noon on Tuesday, electric trains began rolling out of Jamaica again. North America's busiest commuter railroad had been dark since Friday night, when contract talks between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the rail unions collapsed, leaving about 250,000 weekday riders without trains for three workdays.

Updated May 19

Built World

Declared state of emergency for more than half of NY counties

Central Park got 4.3 inches of snow on December 27—the most since January 2022. But the chaos didn't end when the snow stopped: over 4,400 flights were canceled across the weekend, with JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia accounting for half. On Sunday alone, another 700 cancellations and 8,000 delays rippled through the system as airlines struggled to reposition aircraft and crews during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

Updated May 16

Rule Changes

Part of four-state coalition challenging offshore wind pause

On December 22, 2025, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum paused all major offshore wind construction on the East Coast: Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, Empire Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. These five projects, representing $28 billion in investment and enough power for millions of homes, halted on orders from Washington citing radar interference and national security risks near military installations.

Updated May 16

Rule Changes

Signed the RAISE Act; implementation now shifts to state agencies

New York just told the biggest AI labs: if something goes seriously wrong, you don't get to bury it. Under the RAISE Act, large "frontier AI" developers must publish a safety approach and report "critical harm" incidents to the state within 72 hours after determining one occurred. First violations carry civil penalties capped at $1M; later violations, $3M—far below the bill's June penalty structure.

Updated May 15