During the final day of the Somos conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gov. Kathy Hochul threw cold water on one of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani\u2019s key policy proposals: free MTA bus rides.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways. But can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course, we can,\u201d Hochul said during a press conference with reporters, referencing her prior deals with the MTA to provide billions for the authority\u2019s next capital plan, as well as other investments like cameras on subway cars.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Gov. Hochul threw cold water on Mamdani’s free bus program Saturday, referencing her prior deals with the MTA to provide billions for the authority\u2019s next capital plan, as well as other investments like cameras on subway cars
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Hochul said she\u2019s is looking at expanding a universal childcare program statewide \u2014 but the total price tag is $15 billion
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Mamdani addressed concerns that the business community and New Yorkers who did not vote for him have shared about his status as a democratic socialist<\/p>\n
Hochul said she\u2019s also looking at expanding a universal childcare program statewide \u2014 but the total price tag is $15 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cChild care I already committed to,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m committed to this as mom governor, I get it, but also to do it statewide right now, it\u2019s about $15 billion \u2014 the entire amount of my reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hochul said she prefers to phase in an expansion first with certain age groups and \u201cgeographically\u201d underserved communities.<\/p>\n
The governor then promised a resolution by the start of the new year in January 2026.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mamdani addressed concerns that the business community and New Yorkers who did not vote for him have shared about his status as a democratic socialist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said throughout the entirety of this campaign that this is a campaign to bring the struggles of working New Yorkers back to the focus of our politics, and to ensure that City Hall is seen as a place that not only recognizes those struggles but also delivers on the needs of those working people,\u201d he said at a separate availability with reporters.<\/p>\n
One key potential ally, state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, the top Democrat in the chamber, who expressed a willingness to back Mamdani\u2019s proposals, like a tax hike.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s November. It\u2019s still kinda early. We gotta see how things fit inside of the state budget. But I think there\u2019s a willingness. I don\u2019t want to speak for the other two partners in this. But we want Zohran, the mayor-elect, to be successful,\u201d he told reporters Friday evening.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a leadership showdown in the City Council is underway, as current Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is term-limited and several Democratic members are vying to take her place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many areas of commonality around universal childcare, about building more affordable housing. I\u2019m really excited about the council having a proactive vision,\u201d Manhattan Councilwoman Julie Menin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited about the big, broad coalition I\u2019ve continued to build throughout my career, and in this race it\u2019s no different,\u201d Crystal Hudson, a Brooklyn councilwoman, told NY1.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve met with almost every single council member, many of them in their home districts to meet them where they\u2019re at, and tell them that I\u2019m the one that\u2019s actually gonna bring change,\u201d Christoper Marte, a Manhattan councilman, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really important as an outer borough member, that is starting from a really great foundation of what working families are looking for, to be leading the rest of the city in that way,\u201d said Amanda Farias, a councilwoman representing the Bronx.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During the final day of the Somos conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gov. Kathy Hochul threw cold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[109,25,8889,9,24,12,56,108,63,65,64,87,27,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-33531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-app-local-state-politics","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-bernadette-hogan","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-ny-state-of-politics-blog","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-nyc-headlines","18":"tag-nyc-news","19":"tag-politics","20":"tag-top-stories","21":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}