(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democratic lawmakers steered nearly $100 million in pork barrel spending to handpicked pet projects and initiatives in the first six months of 2026, according to a report released Monday by a fiscal watchdog group. 

The analysis by the Empire Center for Public Policy, released Monday, found that Hochul and legislative leaders distributed more than $96.2 million in non-competitive grants to 206 projects in local governments and quasi-governmental agencies between January and June 2026. 

The center’s report, which was based on a public records request, said more than $54.7 million of the new spending came from a state “slush fund” that allows lawmakers and the governor to handpick grant recipients.

The State and Municipal Facilities Program, created in 2013, allows the governor and lawmakers to direct state Dormitory Authority borrowing to local pet projects. 

Assembly members directed $42.2 million to 135 pet projects through grants, while senators directed $12.5 million to 39 pet projects through grants, according to the center’s analysis. The remaining $42.5 million came from the Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program, for 32 college and university projects, the report’s authors said. 

The New York City Board of Education was the recipient of the largest number of grants during this period, receiving $6.8 million for 29 projects, the report noted

The largest individual awards went to Fordham University, for renovation of the Quinn Library in the Bronx; Rochester General College of Health Careers, for its Innovation and Learning Center in Monroe County; and Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, for replacement of the chiller system serving its Washington Heights campus. Each was awarded $5 million, according to the report’s authors. 

The money for Columbia comes as the elite New York City university continues to fight with the Trump administration over funding for research and development. 

Siena University alone collected three grants worth $2 million for athletic facilities — two turf fields and a lacrosse complex — while Hamilton College received $1.9million to renovate an ice rink and Manhattan University got $1.1 million for its gymnasium and parking lot, the report said. 

The pork barrel spending comes as New York state faces a structural budget deficit, with the Division of the Budget projecting a cumulative three-year gap of $34.3 billion through fiscal year 2029.