Date Posted

Governor Kathy Hochul and both chambers of the New York State Legislature finally agreed on the 2025 state budget on April 20th, a few weeks past the original April 1st deadline. The total budget equals $237 billion, which is slightly higher than what the Governor sought in her State of the State speech earlier this year but lower than what the Democratic majority in the State Senate and Assembly wanted. After weeks of tense negotiations, the state budget addressed the issues of affordable housing, public school funding, retail theft, and more.

Some of the most notable items passed in the NYS budget for FY 2025 include:

  • The Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers Program (ANNYP), or 485-x as it is known in the tax code, replaces the 421-a tax break that expired in 2022. It requires new residential developments to offer at least 20 percent of rental units at below-market value, as well as minimum wages for construction workers starting at $40 per hour and up to about $72 per hour or 65 percent of the prevailing rate in certain zones in lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
     
  • Private health insurance must cover mental health and substance use treatment at or above rates set by the state Medicaid program.
     
  • The state will fund $2.4 billion for migrant aid (housing, health care, legal services, etc.) in New York City, a $500 million increase over last year’s budget.
     
  • Assaulting a retail worker is now a Class E felony.
     
  • Mayoral control over NYC public schools has been extended through June 2026.
     
  • “Sammy’s Law” allows NYC to lower speed limits to 20 mph on most streets and 15 mph in school zones.
     
  • Passage of the RAPID Act, which speeds up the environmental review and permitting process for building out transmission connections to renewable energy sources throughout New York State and adds labor standards to certain renewable projects.