New York Metropolis Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and immigrant advocacy teams in New York on Tuesday condemned Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State deal with, saying that it was inadequate to fulfill the wants of Caribbean and different immigrants and New Yorkers on the whole.
“The state of our state could also be sturdy, however far too few of the proposals on this agenda have been sturdy sufficient to fulfill the wants New Yorkers face,” Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, informed Caribbean Life.
“New Yorkers need to be protected and really feel protected,” added Williams, who had unsuccessfully challenged Hochul for Governor of New York two years in the past. “Sadly, in her State of State, the governor’s emphasis on low-level crimes will doubtless make folks really feel much less protected, and over-incarcerating low-income New Yorkers for low-level offenses will trigger extra injury than it prevents, as we’ve realized from many years of comparable makes an attempt.”
The general public advocate stated Hochul’s technique “confirmed a spotlight solely on law-enforcement and carceral options, with out even an try at holistic approaches which were confirmed to enhance public security.”
Moreover, he stated, “There was no actual point out of addressing gun violence throughout the state.”
However Williams stated well being is a element of public security that Hochul “did fortunately deal with, each in a dedication to fight maternal well being injustice and inequity, and in a have to heart psychological well being, particularly for younger folks.
“As with different areas, although, it’s important that psychological well being is met with assets, not a felony response,” he declared, stating that, “given her acknowledgement that housing affordability is an pressing disaster and precedence for New Yorkers, it’s putting how little of the deal with was spent on addressing that disaster.
“Extra housing is completely important, and constructing on state websites is welcome, however it’s far wanting the broad plan the governor proposed however didn’t collaborate with communities on final 12 months,” Williams continued. “The reply to make up the extra shortfall will not be handouts to builders in trade for minimal so-called inexpensive items. This consists of any transformed business areas, which once more, is a crucial aspect.”
He stated social housing, managed by residents, “should be central to a plan that may really meet this disaster.
“And to assist folks entry the housing we do create, the governor should assist the Housing Entry Voucher Program,” he urged. “But once more, there was no effort on this agenda to maintain tenants within the properties they’ve, by means of passing Good Trigger eviction protections, increasing hire stabilization, and holding predatory landlords accountable.
“The governor should acknowledge this and work with the Legislature to get it accomplished,” Williams added. “Final 12 months’s deadlock and inaction is one thing New Yorkers can not afford.”
He stated, whereas housing was “under-discussed, at the least it was not given any time in any respect, not like the continuing effort to assist migrants arriving right here.
“With the mayor evicting youngsters and households from shelters as we speak, these two crises are intertwined, and it’s inexplicable that the governor has gone by means of one other State of the State with out addressing certainly one of our most urgent points,” Williams lamented.
The New York Immigration Coalition New York (NYIC), an umbrella coverage and advocacy group that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights teams all through New York State, additionally condemned the governor’s State of the State deal with.
NYIC Govt Director Murad Awawdeh informed Caribbean Life that, whereas Hochul’s deal with was centered on methods by which the state hopes to assist and uplift working households, she “failed to say any plans to considerably assist and combine immigrant New Yorkers, together with renewing her landmark funding in authorized providers funding for immigrant New Yorkers.
“New York has welcomed over 150,000 asylum seekers in lower than two years, and is dwelling to over 4.4 million immigrants, however we’re nowhere to be discovered within the Governor’s State of the State deal with,” he stated. “As a way to create a imaginative and prescient for New York that works for the collective development of everybody who calls our nice State dwelling, Governor Hochul should increase and assist immigrant rights, which can energy our state into the longer term.”
Awawdeh stated immigrant communities have been the “financial engine” of the state, with immigrant New Yorkers contributing over $60 billion in taxes yearly.
“New York will solely thrive when our state reveals all immigrants the identical care that allowed earlier generations to succeed as new Individuals,” he stated.
Moreover, he stated, whereas Hochul shared an extended checklist of challenges that New Yorkers face in accessing housing, schooling and healthcare, “her checklist of options was quick and excluded the particular wants of immigrant New Yorkers.
“We should make investments in authorized providers, tax credit for working households, and housing vouchers, whereas making certain language accessibility for newer initiatives,” Awawdeh stated. “As Governor Hochul is aware of, New York is a state of immigrants. We’d like management in Albany to face up for all New Yorkers, whether or not they arrived right here 30 years in the past or 30 days in the past.
“We look ahead to seeing how Governor Hochul addresses these exclusions in her government finances,” he added.
Make the Highway New York (MRNY), one other immigrant advocacy group, stated it was “extraordinarily irritating to see the governor proceed to exclude immigrant New Yorkers from well being care entry and the state’s security web.”
“All New Yorkers, no matter immigration standing, ought to have a proper to entry full medical care and a social security web,” stated MRNY’s Co-Govt Director Theo Oshiro. “The Governor should absolutely assist Protection for All laws to increase well being care protection.
“Governor Hochul shouldn’t go away federal cash on the desk, when that cash can save the lives of a whole lot of hundreds of New Yorkers and unlock extra state assets accessible to fulfill group wants,” he added. “Plus, it’s essential we work to increase our unemployment security web by passing the Unemployment Bridge Program, so each employee, whatever the immigration standing or the work that they do, has entry to financial assist.”
However New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams welcomed the governor’s State of the State deal with, saying that “she laid out a transparent imaginative and prescient that can make New York Metropolis a stronger, safer, and extra inexpensive metropolis.
“Her proposals on housing, public security, psychological well being, schooling, our financial system, and extra will assist us ship on our commitments to working-class New Yorkers.,” Adams stated. “There is no such thing as a query that our partnership has been centered round public security, and the governor and I agree that public security and justice are the conditions to prosperity.
“Governor Hochul has continued to prioritize preserving New Yorkers protected, and by investing in our felony justice system, we are going to break the logjams and concurrently ship each security and justice to New Yorkers,” he added. “With the extra authority that the governor has proposed, we’ll even have new instruments to deal with the unlawful smoke retailers which have popped up on too many corners in our metropolis, giving us the chance to get hashish proper within the 5 boroughs.
“We eagerly await Governor Hochul’s finances deal with subsequent week, the place we’re hoping to listen to particulars on how New York state will provide further monetary assist to its largest metropolis and the center of the nation’s financial system as we proceed to handle the asylum seeker disaster,” Adams continued.
New York Metropolis Speaker Adrienne Adams additionally stated Governor Hochul’s State of the State deal with “presents necessary proposals that may increase assist for maternal well being, swimming and water security, and psychological well being, that are shared priorities that the Council has superior.
“It’s important that the State delivers options that may assist us remedy our housing disaster, and I’m inspired Governor Hochul has put ahead a number of necessary proposals,” she stated. “It should require a complete method to deal with the shortage of affordability and housing instability that’s hurting New Yorkers, together with investments in inexpensive housing manufacturing.
“As we face financial headwinds that contribute to vital finances gaps, and as we proceed supporting new residents searching for asylum in our nation, it will likely be crucial that New York Metropolis is supplied with important assist,” the Speaker added. “Town would require further state help and authorization to discover new revenues that may permit us the pliability to fund our faculties, early childhood schooling, and different important providers.”
In delivering the 2024 State of the State Tackle and releasing her “Our New York, Our Future” agenda, Hochul stated the State of the State consists of 204 “daring initiatives to make New York extra inexpensive, extra livable and safer.”
“The State of New York is stronger, more healthy, safer and extra inexpensive than it was two years in the past after I grew to become governor, however there may be extra work to do,” Hochul stated. “Each proposal introduced as we speak serves to enhance our state and guarantee our communities will not be simply surviving, however that they’re thriving. Our New York is our future, and the longer term is brighter than ever.”
Since taking workplace two years in the past, the governor stated shootings and murders have declined by double digits.
To construct on that progress, she proposed cracking down on retail theft with a devoted State Police “Smash and Seize” unit and an interagency Joint Operation on retail theft; new initiatives from Workplace of Gun Violence Prevention to proceed progress in combat in opposition to gun violence; offering new funding and instruments to prosecutors to carry home abusers accountable; permitting further crimes, comparable to graffiti and arson, to be prosecuted as hate crimes; and new laws to crack down on illicit hashish storefronts “that undermine public well being and disturb communities.”
To stabilize and remodel the state’s well being care system, Hochul introduced a “daring” well being care agenda that features increasing inexpensive well being care choices by means of NY State of Well being and higher entry to major care; persevering with aggressive efforts to fight the opioid disaster and assist people battling dependancy; supporting suppliers by launching the Well being Care Security Internet Transformation Program and strengthening cybersecurity; and enhancing entry to psychological well being and dependancy providers by increasing out-of-network protection when well timed appointments will not be accessible for in-network protection.
In addressing New York’s housing disaster, Hochul stated she’s going to focus in 2024 on giving New York Metropolis “the instruments they should assemble extra housing.”
Her four-part proposal consists of serving to New York Metropolis improve its housing provide by “incentivizing building of recent housing”, together with inexpensive housing; encouraging inexpensive in workplace conversion initiatives; permitting New York Metropolis so as to add residential density on sure initiatives; and legalizing basement and cellar flats.
