Legislative leaders still don’t have pied-à-terre details days after Hochul announces budget ‘deal’

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a state budget agreement five days ago, but legislative leaders continue to prove her victory lap wrong, telling reporters Tuesday there’s no final deal just yet. That’s as the governor announced an extra $4 billion in aid to close New York City’s budget gap with few details, mainly from shifting pension payments. 

But Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters in Albany they still don’t have language from the governor about the pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes in New York City, despite Hochul proposing it nearly a month ago.

“No, we don’t have the details, but conceptually, we understood that was a discussion that was part of this,” Stewart-Cousins said. She later added she supports the general plan to bail out New York City, even without knowing the specifics. And she expects lawmakers will vote for the budget, now nearly six weeks late. “I don’t think there is a disagreement with the path that has been laid forward to help the city,” she said. “The package, as it’s being relayed, is something we will likely support.”

The majority of the additional $4 billion in state aid for the city comes from delaying pension payments and includes $500 million expected to be generated by the pied-à-terre tax. That $4 billion is not expected to impact the budget’s expected $268 billion top line, according to the state Division of the Budget. 

Total state support for New York City in next year’s budget is over $28 billion – an increase of nearly 50% since Hochul took office, according to the governor’s office.

Budget negotiations are ongoing in Albany even though Hochul announced she and legislative leaders reached a compromise on a $268 billion spending plan. 

Stewart-Cousins said this year’s budget process has been “extremely difficult,” but anticipates the nine remaining budget bills will be printed and lawmakers will debate and vote on them next week. “I do believe that we will be entering the beginning of the end over the next few days, with the hope of reaching an end sometime next week,” she said.

Asked about the majority leader’s comments, Hochul’s office referred City & State to a statement her office included in a press release announcing additional aid to close the city’s $5.4 billion deficit.

“From day one, I have been committed to ensuring New York City succeeds, because a strong and stable city means an even stronger New York state,” Hochul said. “Today, we are fulfilling the promise to make free universal childcare a reality, making significant investments in education, public safety and infrastructure while providing the city the resources they need to continue to fund critical services for New Yorkers. This is what a results-driven, responsible partnership looks like and I’m proud to work with Mayor (Zohran) Mamdani to deliver for working New Yorkers.”

State lawmakers are expected to pass a 12th stopgap measure Thursday to keep state government running until the 2027 budget becomes law. The major policy issues that have held up the budget for a month-and-a-half are winding down, but still not completely closed, like weakening emission reduction mandates in the 2019 Climate Act, auto insurance reform and others. 

Lawmakers said they still do not have the details on a deal to provide $1 billion in rebate checks to ratepayers for relief from high utility bills, and no joint budget conference committee meetings have been scheduled.