The state budget was supposed to provide a surge of momentum for the governor’s agenda ahead of the Democratic primaries. Instead it was overshadowed by incomprehensible violence and unfettered corruption occurring within her administration.
But the allocation of nearly a quarter of $1 trillion in new spending will have lasting effects on New York’s economic recovery, housing shortage and quality of life. The budget includes $600 million in financing for a football stadium for the Buffalo Bills, significant rollbacks of the state’s bail reform laws that passed a mere three years ago, new money for vulnerable New Yorkers whose incomes suffered during the pandemic, as well as new rules that will benefit the state’s beleaguered food and entertainment industries.
