Hochul sounded annoyed as she delivered that last line, as if it is the fault of her supporters \u2014 who are writing her checks to sustain her struggling state \u2014 that their wealthy friends have left for sunnier pastures.<\/p>\n
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said recently, “There were people who could only work in an office in Manhattan, and they were captives to our state.” They are captives no more. (Lev Radin\/Pacific Press\/LightRocket\u00a0)<\/p>\n
Her comments were surprising because, well, Hochul played a large role in forcing those Palm Beachers out<\/a> in the first place. In 2022, Hochul said, “Just jump on a bus and head down to Florida, where you belong, okay? Get out of town because you don\u2019t represent our values.”<\/p>\n STEVE FORBES: DRIVE OUT WEALTH, THEN BEG \u2014 HOCHUL\u2019S NEW YORK IN A NUTSHELL<\/a><\/p>\n She was talking to Republicans, and they heard her loud and clear. And she wasn\u2019t alone in making comments like these. In 2014, her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo<\/a>, struck a similar note. “Extreme conservatives,” he said, citing policy positions like abortion and gun rights, “have no place in the state of New York, because that\u2019s not who New Yorkers are.”<\/p>\n And these are the “moderate” Democrats in the state!<\/p>\n Those who could leave did. The deluge began under Cuomo and continued apace<\/a> under Hochul.<\/p>\n I AM LEAVING NEW YORK CITY FOR FLORIDA. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD<\/a><\/p>\n Did they really not consider that they were cratering their own tax base? Who did they imagine was paying for the wonderful, exorbitantly expensive social services? The blue-haired protesters who elected Mayor Mamdani?<\/p>\n New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s rhetoric played a large role in forcing New Yorkers to flee to Palm Beach, Fla. in the first place over the last several years. (Julia Nikhinson\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n Cuomo could be forgiven for not realizing, back in 2014, that he needed the tax base far more than they needed him. But Hochul\u2019s comments<\/a> came two years into the pandemic, after people like me were already long gone, and it was clear that remote work had already altered the jobs landscape. Hochul said as much in the recent clip: “There were people who could only work in an office in Manhattan, and they were captives to our state.” They are captives no more.<\/p>\n MAMDANI’S ‘PAINFUL’ TAX HIKE THREAT MOCKED BY WASHINGTON POST FOR PROVING ‘SOCIALIST UTOPIA IS EXPENSIVE’<\/a><\/p>\n My family left New York City because Hochul catered to the teachers\u2019 unions<\/a> and refused to open public schools that had been needlessly closed while private schools were open. When schools finally did open full-time \u2014 a year after states like Florida \u2014 the kids were kept masked well into 2022, even outdoors, sitting on the ground for lunch and masking between bites, despite being at extremely low risk for COVID. Meanwhile, Hochul, in her 60s and therefore at a much higher risk from COVID, could be seen traipsing around the state maskless.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION<\/a><\/p>\n Other New Yorkers left because the disarray on city streets was getting worse, and we were discouraged from talking about it. The migrant problem had spiraled, and New Yorkers were told they had to keep paying for hotel rooms or debit cards for people who had come in illegally, lest they be seen as aligned with Donald Trump<\/a>. Homelessness had also worsened, with children begging in the street \u2014 a feature of third-world countries \u2014 appearing in what was once America\u2019s jewel of a city. We left because everything was fraying, and the New York state government just didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the taxes \u2014 or not just the taxes, anyway. It\u2019s not exactly like the Onion headline from 2010: “8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City Is a Horrible Place to Live.” New York was always a tough place to live, and it was always expensive. What changed in the last decade is that it became impossible to trust that the people in charge were working to make it better.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n Did Hochul mean it when she said Republicans should leave New York? Did she mean it when she endorsed socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a>? Who knows? It became impossible to have faith that the governor was working for anyone other than the special interest groups who support her.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t just extremely wealthy New Yorkers who took a look around and realized their taxes<\/a> weren\u2019t being used properly. Plenty of non-billionaires and multimillionaires left, too. The fabric of the city changed. No, Gov. Hochul can no longer keep New Yorkers “captive.” It\u2019s too late now to bring them “home.” They are home \u2014 it\u2019s just not New York anymore.<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hochul.jpg\")
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