Hochul must deliver on promises in State of the State speech

Gov. Kathy Hochul's ambitious 2023 legislative agenda, laid out in Tuesday's State of the State address, spotlights some of New York's most urgent challenges. The governor's willingness to take on seemingly intractable issues is welcome.

Whether her ideas would work in practice, whether she'll have support from state lawmakers and local officials, whether her approach will have the intended impacts, and whether she and her team will be able to turn proposals into action are still unknown.

As is typical of the annual address, Hochul's take was big on promise and short on details. She painted in broad strokes. Nonetheless, the governor's attention to mental health, child care, and transit, and her efforts to lower energy costs and cut fossil fuel dependence, are crucial for the region. On public safety, Hochul advocated a comprehensive approach that lacked particulars to evaluate. Meanwhile, her plan to index the minimum wage to inflation is worth considering, but how it would work — particularly in difficult economic times — and what it would mean for small businesses and others remains to be seen.

Unsurprisingly, housing was Hochul's centerpiece. New York does have a housing crisis and Long Island especially has been unable to build enough to meet the region's needs. And she's right that Long Islanders must be a significant part of any solution for the region.

The governor proposed adding 800,000 units statewide in the next 10 years — a lofty, but worthwhile, goal. Hochul said her effort "is not a one-size-fits-all approach." But in some ways it seems exactly that, a sweeping plan heavier on sticks than carrots that may not account for the circumstances of individual towns and villages.

The proposal focuses on two approaches — constructing more transit-oriented development as well as setting targets to increase the supply of housing in each and every municipality. It includes a state mandate that municipalities rezone the 1/2-mile radius around train stations to accommodate a minimum density of 25 housing units per acre. On first glance, that looks like the same heavy-handed approach that failed last year. More interesting, perhaps, is Hochul's idea of establishing targets — asking downstate communities to grow their housing stock by 3% within three years or incur a potential "fast-track" override from the state.

The key to such a plan lies in its flexibility and nuance, the details on incentives, and whether Hochul can garner local support. Going to battle over these proposals — or treating Long Island as an enemy to progress, rather than a partner in it — won't produce the momentum necessary to move the Island, and the state, forward. But Long Island officials, too, need to show they're willing to do their part. 

Tuesday marked the start of a lengthy process in which Hochul will have to both lead and listen, if she hopes to turn big ideas into successes.