Hochul prioritizes cost of living, housing in State of State

ALBANY- Governor Kathy Hochul, the state’s 57th Governor, delivered the 2024 State of the State address in Albany today.

Hochul’s address focused on reducing the cost of living, addressing inflation, and creating more housing throughout the state.  She also addressed public safety and pledged to focus on reducing retail theft, domestic violence, and hate crimes.

“If government can’t keep its citizens safe, nothing else matters,” said Hochul.

Hochul said that in 2023 statewide gun crimes dropped by 30 percent.  She also said that modifications to the state’s bail reform laws have reduced crime and have made the state safer, both indications that her public safety plan is making a difference.

Hochul unveiled what she called a “targeted plan” to focus on reducing domestic violence.  According to Hochul, in New York City alone, 84 percent of domestic violence arrests lead to dismissals.  To help hold domestic abusers accountable, Hochul pledged an additional $20 million of targeted funding for district attorneys.

When it comes to retail theft, Hochul said, “I say no more, the chaos must end.”  She announced a new state police unit that will focus on retail theft and said she supported strengthening laws for individuals who commit violent crimes against retail vendors.

Hochul also spoke about a recent rise in hate crimes.  She said there has been a 95 percent increase in hate crimes against Jewish residents in NYC since October 7th.  She also said there has been an increase in Muslim hate crimes and to curb the violence, proposes making more offenses eligible for prosecution as hate crimes.

“For decades, the mental health system has been deprioritized and defunded,” said Hochul.  Calling mental health the “defining challenge of our time,” she spoke about the increased funding her administration has secured.  She said that this investment has resulted in more than 1,000 new psychiatric beds and pledged to make mental health…