Hochul has proposed an inflation refund, giving $3 billion back to 8.6 million New Yorkers.
“Joint tax filers who make less than $300,000 will receive a $500 payment, and all single taxpayers who make less than $150,000 will receive $300,” the plan states.
The cashback was initiated because inflation caused unprecedented revenues through the sales tax, Hochul said.
The governor, a Democrat, will propose a $110 million Child Care Construction Fund, which will build and renovate day care centers and child care facilities. It would also establish a “substitute pool,” a group of experienced child care providers that can step in to keep facilities open when needed.
The $110 million is part of Hochul’s $7 billion pledge in 2023 over four years to rebuild child care in New York.
The governor also proposed giving families an annual tax credit of up to $1,000 per child under the age of 4 and up to $500 per child aged 4 through 16.
New York will also start providing every single child in K–12 a free breakfast and lunch at school under her proposed plan. The number of children provided for would be 2.7 million. Hochul said this will save families as much as $165 per month per child each year.
“Every child will get free breakfast and free lunch at school so children who are in need will be spared the embarrassment and the stigma of standing out among their classmates,” Hochul said.
Subway Safety
She also listed plans for upgrading security in New York City’s subways. In partnership with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), Hochul will deploy more police and National Guardsmen to the city’s subway system, with approximately 750 officers deployed to 30 stations and 300 more aboard trains.An additional 250 National Guardsmen will be stationed at subway entrances, bringing the number up to 1,000 deployed Guardsmen in the subways.
Platform edge barriers will be placed in more than 100 stations to prevent people from being pushed onto the tracks. Hochul also said the state will invest in modern fare gates to prevent scofflaws from using the subway without paying.
To help with subway and street safety, Hochul is proposing an amendment to the Mental Hygiene Law that would “expand involuntary commitment into a hospital to include someone who does not possess the mental capacity to care for themselves such as refusing help with the basics: clothing, food, shelter, medical care.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has long said that this step is needed to make the streets and subway safe.
Hochul has proposed to ban private equity companies from bidding on properties in the first 75 days they are on the market. The goal is to enable families to get housing before large companies buy them out.
“Corporate landlords co-opt our housing stock for short-term rentals or even worse they just let homes sit vacant while the values soar,” she said.
