A recent $200 check from the state was welcome relief for one woman who stopped to speak with Gov. Kathy Hochul outside Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal on Friday morning. She told the governor she had already spent money on groceries at Costco.
The woman, who did not give her name to amNewYork, said that many of the governor’s affordability initiatives she had heard about were aimed at families with younger children, while parents of teenagers like her were still struggling with everyday expenses.
“But in terms of clothing and feeding these teenagers, you need a little bit more than what you’ve given out,” the woman told Hochul, echoing the cost-of-living concerns weighing on many New Yorkers. “But thank you.”
The exchange came during a largely upbeat morning for the Democratic governor, who greeted voters, posed for photographs and made her final push for another four years in office ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Hochul, who faces Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in the governor’s race, has made affordability the centerpiece of her reelection campaign, pointing to energy rebate checks, middle-class tax cuts, new housing initiatives and continuing the rollout of universal child care.
In an exclusive interview with amNewYork on Thursday, Hochul looked beyond Tuesday’s election, outlining an agenda focused on securing New York’s energy supply, accelerating housing construction and building major transit projects, while continuing her partnership with Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
