In May, state lawmakers passed a $269 billion budget after haggling for months over thousands of line items and policies affecting New Yorkers. New York Focus reporters dug into the most consequential ones to figure out what this budget means for you.
Across more than 4,400 pages, lawmakers funded major programs that serve New Yorkers
...$39 billion in aid for pre-K–12 education...
...$4.5 billion to expand child care access...
$43,500,000,000
...almost $130 million in emergency food assistance for food pantries and food banks...
$130,000,000
...$140 million in new funding to upgrade deteriorating public housing in New York City...
$140,000,000
...$4.1 billion for the prison agency...
...plus half a billion for “stabilizing” prisons after last year’s guard strike.
$4,535,000,000
Behind the negotiation
Zellnor MyrieSenator
Tony SimoneAssemblymember
Anne KellesAssemblymember
James SkoufisSenator
Michael GianarisSenator
Sarahana ShresthaAssemblymember
Carl HeastieAssembly Speaker
Kathy HochulGovernor of New York
Andrea Stewart-CousinsSenate Majority Leader
Lawmakers go through this routine each year. The governor releases her agenda, and the Senate and Assembly counter with their own proposals for negotiation — and over a series of weeks, lawmakers haggle over the spending.
Most of these numbers are decided behind closed doors.
For weeks, the governor, Assembly speaker and Senate majority leader, and their staffs — historically called the “three men in a room” — lead negotiations and make all final decisions.
The governor wields enormous power during that time.
Outside observers, and even participants, have slammed the process.
More than money
Negotiations determine more than just spending. Some major policy changes were made in this year’s budget.
Governor Kathy Hochul convinced a skeptical legislature to dismantle key parts of New York’s ambitious climate law.
Now, the state can keep polluting for longer — and seem closer to its goals without doing anything differently.
Lawmakers gave immigrants significant new protections, but didn’t limit the informal collaboration between local cops and ICE that has funneled New Yorkers into immigration detention.
And the state removed what some say is a key obstacle to building new housing: an environmental review that can delay development by months or years.
The Haggle
Zohran MamdaniMayor of NYC
This year, lawmakers had to decide if and how to make up for Trump administration cuts, and consider requests from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, like hiking taxes on the wealthy.
Albany, New York
New York City
When Mamdani asked Albany for money on “Tin Cup Day,” February 11, he argued that state leaders have long deprived NYC of what it’s owed, and that it was time to fix it.
?Tin Cup DayThe annual day when mayors across the state travel to Albany and figuratively hold out their tin cup, begging the state for money.
The fight between Albany and NYC over taxes played out during months of haggling.
Feb 25: Mamdani Absent as Allies March in Albany to Tax the Rich
March 6: Mamdani’s New Albany Asks: Smaller Corporate Tax Hike, Fees on Pricey Home Sales
March 10: State Legislature Backs Tax Hikes on Wealthy, Adding Fuel to Mamdani’s Push
March 11: Hochul Warns Raising Taxes Could Drive Wealthy From New York
April 15: Hochul Announces Surprise Plan to Tax Expensive Second Homes
May 12: Mamdani Declares Victory as Hochul Helps City Close Budget Gap
The Budget Deal
In the end, they split the difference.
Mamdani got a multibillion-dollar bailout from Albany, but not the one he wanted.
The final budget does not include any of the corporate and income tax increases that Mamdani campaigned on.
TWO FIGURES AT A TABLE
(placeholder illustration)
Instead, it has a mishmash of cost shifts, delayed pension payments, and the new tax on pricey second homes.
State leaders finished the budget almost two months late, at a whopping total of $269 billion.
!That’s more money than about 90% of countries spend per year.
What it means for New York
Those with a second home in NYC worth over $5 million will pay a surcharge of 0.8–1.3 percent.
!Ken Griffin’s $238 million Manhattan penthouse qualifies.
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Ken GriffinCitadel CEO
Some parents in NYC will have the chance to send their 2-year-olds to day care for free.
There will be 2,000 seats this fall, and 12,000 by next year.
And all 4-year-olds in the state can access universal pre-K within a few years.
An estimated 450,000 New Yorkers will lose health insurance this July, despite last-ditch efforts by a coalition of lawmakers.
AssemblymemberAmy Paulin
Andrea Stewart-CousinsSenate Majority Leader
Senator Gustavo Rivera
Carl HeastieAssembly Speaker
And the state will send residents one-time checks between $100 and $200 to address rising energy bills.
What does the state budget mean for you?
Read more of our state budget coverage to find out.
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