NY Gov. Hochul leaves migrant crisis out of Tuesday's 'State of the State' address

ALBANY - Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her 2024 State of the State address but left out one of the biggest issues facing New York - the migrant crisis.

"I'll tackle some of the toughest fiscal issues like caring for migrants and the structural deficit in next week's budget speech," Hochul said briefly.

Governor Hochul punted the ball to next week regarding addressing the migrant crisis.

Mayor Eric Adams, before Hochul’s address, said he hoped she would emphasize the weight this crisis has had on the city’s budget.

"(Looking for) the support that we need to deal with this crisis as we're seeing even today with this storm," Adams said referring to evacuating 1,900 migrants from the Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter ahead of severe storms Tuesday.

However, after the speech, Adams said he merely looked forward to what Hochul had to say next week in her budget address - evidence of the mayor's desire to get along with his biggest ally in Albany.

"The most important thing is the presence of the support in the budget," Adams.

But Long Island State Senator Anthony Palumbo said he was surprised that migrants were left out.

"This is not just in New York City crisis. This is a statewide crisis," Palumbo said. "So the fact that that was ignored is quite significant. And it really concerns me living on Long Island to see where she wants to go with this."

And he wasn’t the only one.

Statements came pouring in from around the state from advocates and lawmakers alike, expressing frustration that a plan for what to do with the migrant crisis this year was left out by Hochul.

This crisis is causing the city to make massive budget cuts, which will be announced again next week in the mayor’s budget address, and shelter sites have been built to house migrants in every borough.

"Despite thousands of asylum seekers arriving in New York over the last two years, the Governor failed to mention how the State plans to maintain the tradition of our welcome harbor for immigrants, home to the Statue of Liberty," NYC Comptroller Brad Lander said. "The State must provide a meaningful share of the resources for shelter and services."

"There's over 100,000 undocumented immigrants in New York City and the City is still attempting to bus more migrants to communities in Upstate New York," Congressman Marc Molinaro said. "This is a crisis. It's baffling that Governor Hochul wouldn't even mention it in her State of the State address."

Hochul focused heavily on cracking down on retail theft - a huge issue in the city - and says that teams of law enforcement will be created to focus on organized retail theft rings and tracking smash-and-grab incidents.

Hochul is also proposing new laws that would impose penalties for selling stolen goods online, as well as tougher penalties for assaulting retail workers.

"These attacks are nothing more than a breakdown in social order," Hochul said. I say no more. The chaos must end."

However when it came to housing proposals - Hochul’s plan is not as ambitious as it was last year.

It focused more on re-implementing a tax break for city housing developers who build affordable units - also known as 421-a - legalizing basement apartments and lifting a longstanding cap on the size of residential buildings.

The state legislature walked away last year accomplishing nothing on housing but State Senate Housing Chair Brian Kavanaugh says he is optimistic they will have a deal in place before the budget is due in April.

"I don't think there's any particular formula or framework that's predetermined for this year," Senator Kavanaugh said. "We’re starting a new session and we're going to have the conversations we need to have."

Hochul’s proposals also included cracking down on illegal cannabis stores and expanding the Second Avenue Subway to include east and central Harlem.