NYC Mayor has trust in governor and her agenda

There was very little distance between the leaders of New York City and New York following the delivery of Governor Kathy Hochul’s third State of the State address on Tuesday.

Speaking with The Capitol Pressroom following the speech, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was aligned with the governor’s latest effort to grow the housing stock in the five boroughs and her decision to punt a migrant response until her executive budget address next week. The Brooklyn Democrat also said he trusted Hochul to make the right decisions about tax rates in New York, which she has been consistently against increasing, despite a forecasted budget gap that could limit the state’s ability to send aid to New York City.

Listen to the full conversation below or wherever you download podcasts.

Adams said that accomplishing his housing creation goals for New York City will require a multi-level approach and argued that the agenda laid out at the Capitol by the governor, which included support for new tax incentives to develop rental properties in the Big Apple, would fulfill the state’s role in that process.

Asked whether Hochul needs to accept some of the tenets of “Good Cause” eviction to gain enough support for her housing package from the Democratic majorities in Albany, Adams highlighted the divisive debate over the proposal, but stressed that “people are willing to sit down at the table and find a place that we can land this plane.”

“I’m excited about looking forward to doing whatever I could on my part to assist in the process,” said Adams, who met with the Democratic legislative leaders during his visit to Albany on Tuesday.

The mayor declined to share what kind of support his budget officials are asking for from the state to address New York City’s costs responding to a persistent influx of asylum seekers.

“(My budget director) has been meeting with the budget leaders over in the governor’s office. I’m gonna let them handle that,” he said. “I don’t want to do anything that’s going to interfere with those negotiations.”

On Hochul’s opposition to increasing taxes, Adams said, “I respect her decision to make the right decision for New Yorkers.”

Asked whether he was comfortable with the state spending levels that would likely accompany the status quo on tax revenues, the mayor said he trusted the governor’s decisions.

“I’m sure that there are going to be those in Albany who’s going to speak on raising income taxes, particularly for high income earners, and I think this is the part of Albany where you sit down and come to a fair negotiation strategy to come up with a plan that everyone can live with,” Adams said.