Overview
As New York’s first Mom Governor, Governor Hochul is fighting just as hard for your kids as she would her own—working every day to make New York the best state to live and raise a family. She’s made historic investments in our schools, expanded access to affordable health care, and made critical upgrades to New York’s infrastructure, strengthening our state today and securing its future.
Investing in New York's Kids
- Banned the use of smartphones in schools statewide, a nation-leading policy to create distraction-free classrooms.
- Cracked down on addictive social media algorithms, establishing the nation’s strongest protections to safeguard kids.
- Expanded mental health services in schools and pediatrician offices to confront the youth mental health crisis.
- Launched statewide outdoor and recreation initiatives, including “Get Offline, Get Outside” and “Unplug and Play”, expanding youth sports, community programming, and access to playgrounds and recreation centers, including $100 million awarded to 30 community centers.
- Provided free public-pool access and awarded $200 million to expand public access to swimming in underserved communities.
Revitalizing and Modernizing New York’s Infrastructure
- Implemented the nation's first congestion pricing program, reducing traffic by 11%, dropping air pollution by 22%, speeding up trips, and generating essential revenue for transit investments.
- Advanced the Interborough Express, connecting Brooklyn and Queens through a new transit line linking 17 subway lines and 51 bus routes.
- Progressed construction on the Second Avenue Subway extension.
- Opened Grand Central Madison, giving Long Islanders direct access to Manhattan's East Side and increasing LIRR service by over 40%.
- Broke ground on the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project, safeguarding the Northeast Corridor’s rail network and expanding capacity for future generations–providing 95,000 total jobs and $20 billion in economic impact.
- Began construction on the Livingston Avenue Bridge project between Albany and Rensselaer, replacing a Civil War-era rail crossing with a modern, reliable bridge.
- Delivered a generational investment to rescue the MTA from its post-pandemic fiscal cliff, while securing historic increases in service and operating efficiencies. Fully funded the MTA’s historic 2025-2029 Capital Plan.
- Made historic investments to revitalize and reconnect communities across New York, including major construction progress on the I-81 Viaduct Project in Syracuse.
- Delivered Delta Airline’s Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport concluding $8 billion in investments for a whole new LaGuardia Airport.
- Expanded major upgrades at JFK Airport, including advancing historic renovations for New Terminal One and Terminal Six for a new world-class international terminal.
- Ground broke on the first stage in construction of the new Midtown Bus Terminal to provide a 21st Century-Facility.
Delivering a World-Class Education
- Provided historic, record-level funding for public schools – the highest levels in state history and fully funded foundation aid for the first time.
- Implemented free community college tuition for students ages 25-55 pursuing careers in high-demand fields with over eleven thousand students participating.
- Expanded the Tuition Assistance Program, increasing awards and raising income eligibility to benefit nearly 100,000 students with over forty thousand receiving aid for the first time.
- Made FAFSA completion universal, ensuring every student can access federal financial aid, increasing our national completion rankings from 11th to 6th in the nation.
- Launched a statewide 'Back to Basics' reading plan to guarantee all students receive evidence-based literacy instruction and foundational reading skills.
Keeping New Yorkers Healthy
- Made a historic $1 billion investment in mental health care, creating 1,300 units of specialized housing, adding 325 new psychiatric beds, and restoring 550 beds at community-based hospitals.
- Banned insulin co-pays for state regulated insurance plans.
- Signed legislation to prevent medical debt from negatively impacting New Yorkers’ access to credit and enacted new consumer protections, to support lower-income patients.
- Launched NYRx, improving prescription drug access and coverage for the eight million New Yorkers enrolled in Medicaid statewide.
- Established the nation's first-ever prenatal leave policy, allowing workers the ability to take paid leave for any pregnancy-related medical appointments.
Powering a Clean, Affordable Energy Future and Safeguarding the Environment
- Directed the New York Power Authority to build an advanced nuclear plant to power 1 million homes and businesses.
- Made New York a national leader in solar energy, hitting the 6 GW milestone ahead of schedule.
- Delivered $1.4 billion in energy savings through programs like Solar For All and REACH.
- Invested $300 million in power-ready sites to attract advanced manufacturing, clean-tech, and semiconductor employers.
- Enacted nation-leading cyber protections to keep the grid secure and reliable.
- Successfully championed the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.
- Advanced the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE), which will bring clean, renewable hydropower from Hydro-Québec into New York City beginning in 2026.
- Opened the first utility-scale wind farm, advancing a clean-energy transition statewide.
- Authorized up to $1.7 billion in state funding over 50 years to reduce flood risk and storm damage along miles of Long Island’s South Shore.
- Secured the $1 billion Sustainable Future Program to support a cleaner, New York.