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.