What NYC Gets In $237B State Budget: 3 Big Takeaways

NEW YORK CITY — The Big Apple is poised to take a giant slice of a $237 billion state budget pie.

New York's fiscal year 2025 budget passed the state Legislature last week after many delays, an arguably premature victory lap by Gov. Kathy Hochul and behind-the-scenes wrangling.

Mayor Eric Adams, who has largely seen a mixed record on his priorities in Albany, said the budget delivered on all of his priorities.

"Every. Single. One," he said in a statement.

From $2.4 billion of support for asylum seekers to maintaining mayoral control of public schools in the city, Adams indeed had much to celebrate in terms of his priorities.

Here's what else New York City dwellers should know about what the city gets in the budget.

An unlicensed pot shop crackdown

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of unlicensed cannabis shops smoking out legal week sales in New York City soon could be padlocked.

New York City authorities and state's Office of Cannabis Management under the new budget gained the ability to padlock businesses that illegally sell cannabis products. Landlords in the city also face $50,000 fines if they fail to evict tenants that illegally sell weed.

Council Member Gale Brewer, who waged a war against the uptown smoke shop Zaza Waza, hailed new rules that prohibit those businesses from selling unlicensed cannabis near schools.

She said the crackdown will only help legal businesses.

"The two legal stores that have opened out of 90 illegal ones on the Upper West Side are fantastic," she said.

Housing

A sweeping housing deal came together after last year's collapse of a similar and much-ballyhooed piece of legislation.

The housing package includes a new tax incentive to construct affordable housing, an extension of the old 421-a incentive for certain in-the-works projects and perks for converting unused office space into affordable housing.

But many advocates lamented details about the deal, particularly the version of "Good Cause Eviction" — a long-sought piece of legislation designed to provide protections for tenants by requiring landlords to, yes, provide a "good cause" before booting renters— that passed in what they deemed a watered-down version.

"Despite hard fought efforts by tenant allies in the legislature to protect renters, Governor Hochul’s Good Cause Eviction is so full of holes that landlords will drive a fleet through it," said Cea Weaver, coalition director of Housing Justice for All, in a statement.

"Governor Hochul's version is 'Good Cause Eviction' in name only — with major carve-outs to make it more palatable to the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and greedy landlords, leaving at least three million tenants unprotected," a statement from the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America reads.

Whether watered-down or not, the protections require landlords to offer lease renewals who pay rent and allows renters to challenge 10 percent rent increases, or those that are 5 percent plus the consumer price index.

Sammy's Law

Another long-awaited piece of legislation — "Sammy's Law" — got passed with far fewer compromises.

The bill named after Sammy Cohen Eckstein — a 12-year-old Park Slope boy who was killed by a motorist in 2013 — will allow New York City officials to lower the speed limit to 20 mph on most streets.

Lowering speed limits is a proven way to save lives from traffic deaths, advocates argue.

"I couldn't be more thrilled," said Sammy's mother Amy Cohen, her voice cracking in a video.

SAMMY'S LAW WILL FINALLY PASS!

This moment would not have been possible without your tireless advocacy and unending commitment to street safety.

A message from Amy Cohen, mother of Sammy Cohen Eckstein: pic.twitter.com/oVsR5UNH6F
— Families For Safe Streets (@NYC_SafeStreets) April 18, 2024