Hochul says state will help NYC weather its budget crunch — without raising taxes – TheWallStreetPost.COM

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’s trying to find money in the state budget to help the Big Apple maneuver through its budget crunch — and said she’ll do it without raising taxes.

“I’m talking to my budget team right now about how we can support the city because the city has to be safe and we’re working with the mayor to overcome these barriers,” she told reporters Monday.

Hochul also said she’ll back up local cops in the city and elsewhere by deploying state troopers “in places they’ve never been used before” to help with gun crimes, the migrant crisis and unrest from protests stemming from the Oct. 7 sneak attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists.

“In every state budget, the state helps the city of New York significantly,” Hochul said during a press briefing at the Boys & Girls Republic in Lower Manhattan.

“In many areas, whether it’s in public housing, there is support that we’ve already given to the migrants,” she said. “I’m working hard at the state level with the control I have.

Asked about potential Albany tax hikes, Hochul added, “I’m not raising taxes in our budget this year.

“Taxes are high enough in the state of New York and we have to live within our means.”

The governor’s announcement comes in the wake of controversial city budget cuts proposed by Mayor Eric Adams, which call for shrinking the NYPD and slashing funding to schools and other city services.

Adams cited the spiraling cost of housing and processing thousands of migrants from the US border who have been bused to the Big Apple in droves since the spring of last year.

The police department would be particularly hard hit, with a plan to cut the ranks for New York’s Finest to just 29,000 by 2025 — the lowest number since the mid-1990s. The NYPD currently has about 36,000 uniformed officers, with another 19,000 civilian employees.

Last year, Albany chipped in to help patrol the city transit system amid spiking subway crime.

Now, Hochul said the state will step in again.

“I’m deploying state police in places they’ve never been used before,” she said Monday. “For example, the gun violence, what we’ve been doing with our task force and reducing gun violence in particular and working on hate crimes.

“They’re very busy these days focusing on hate crimes, while we’re making an announcement on our efforts tomorrow, especially on social media, monitoring for threats, and so the city needs to be safe.

“I’ll work with the mayor to make sure that’s accomplished.”

She said the state was already chipping in nearly $2 billion to help deal with the migrant crisis and would allocate funds in the new budget as well.

“I fully expect there will be additional money to help with the migrant situation in our state budget,” Hochul said. “Without a doubt, there’ll be assistance there.”