State Sen. Steve Rhoads pushes back on Hochul's plans

Gov. Kathy Hochul promised a broad slate of new policies aimed at affordability, child care, housing and public safety in her State of the State address last month. But State Sen. Steve Rhoads is pushing back, saying that many of those plans either don't go far enough or fail to reflect the needs of Long Island communities.

"The state of the state of New York is strong, and we're just getting started," Hochul declared in her Jan. 13 address, highlighting priorities like universal pre-K by 2028, crackdowns on gun violence and insurance fraud, and more than $350 million in new investments in affordable and manufactured housing.

But Rhoads, a Republican who represents East Meadow and other nearby communities, argued that the governor's proposals often miss the mark — especially when it comes to public safety, affordability and housing.

"She is now conditioning funding on municipalities being pro-housing communities," Rhoads told the Herald, adding that this creates unfair burdens for local governments. "Unless the entire township agrees to loosen its zoning restrictions, it won't qualify for state assistance in helping to promote that."

He pointed to the Town of Hempstead — which includes East Meadow — as an example. If East Meadow were to identify land for affordable housing, Rhoads said, the town as a whole would have to ease zoning restrictions to qualify for state support. That, he argued, is a "disincentive" that could stop good projects from moving forward.

On the subject of affordability, Hochul supported eliminating taxes on tips and cracking down on staged car accidents that inflate insurance premiums. She also proposed expanded child care access — including pilot programs for 2- and 3-year-olds and a push for universal pre-K statewide.

"There's one thing that every family in New York can agree on, the cost of childcare is simply too high," Hochul wrote in a release announcing the proposal, arguing that it has been a cornerstone of her agenda. She also wrote of her pride in working with leaders statewide "to make this a reality, turning that foundation into a concrete roadmap that will transform the lives of working parents and kids across our state."

Rhoads agreed that there is a real need for more affordable child care, but criticized Hochul's rollout of the program. Last month, alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, she announced plans to help the city fill the holes in the existing 3-K program and launch a program to provide free child care for 2-year-olds, known as 2Care.

The state would provide $73 million in the first year to support 2,000 2Care seats in what Hochul called "high-need" neighborhoods. The second year would bring a $425 million investment to add 10,000 more seats, with the program expanding over two more years to reach an estimated 55,000 children.

Rhoads acknowledged that he woud be open to exploring a similar program on Long Island, but added that any child care plan would need to clearly outline who is providing the care and how quality and safety would be maintained. He argued that under the current proposal, his constituents get the short end of the stick.

"My Nassau County residents, who are struggling to provide child care for their own kids," Rhoads said, "are now providing free child care for New York City residents."

On public safety, Rhoads offered one of his strongest critiques of the governor, contrasting her focus on policing and gun regulation with his party's Save New York agenda, which prioritizes reversing criminal justice reforms enacted in recent years.

"It comes back to prioritizing public safety over the rights of criminal defendants," Rhoads said. He called for restoring judicial discretion in setting bail, rolling back elements of the state's Raise the Age legislation and amending discovery rules that he claims are overwhelming district attorneys and leading to more cases being dismissed on technicalities.

While Rhoads credited Hochul for certain aspects of her plan —including more funding for school aid and mental health services, and reversing pandemic-era unemployment insurance policies that hurt small businesses — he argued that, overall, her economic vision puts too much burden on taxpayers.

"The state budget has increased by $89 billion since 2019," he said. "That is a 53 percent increase in the last eight years." He blamed that spending — along with rising mandates and taxes — for what he called an affordability crisis driving people and businesses out of the state.

Rhoads said that the Save New York proposal would phase in what he described as "the largest personal income tax cut in the history of New York state," exempting the first $50,000 in income for individuals and the first $100,000 for families. The plan, he added, could be funded without cuts, just by limiting annual state budget growth to 2 percent.

"We're not talking about a $200 or $300 rebate check," Rhoads said. "We're talking about putting $6,000 in the pockets of the average New York state homeowner, every year."

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican and Hochul's presumptive opponent in this year's gubernatorial race, also sharply criticized her address. Blakeman accused Hochul of failing to act during her time in office, particularly on child care.

"Kathy Hochul, you've been governor for four years," he said at a news conference after her speech. "You haven't done anything about child care. Now you're talking about child care."

Blakeman also blamed Hochul for population and business losses, saying, "There's a reason why hundreds of thousands of people have left the state under your tenure." He argued that New York needs "leadership in solving people's problems."

Additional reporting by Roksana Amid.