6 Issues Kathy Hochul Will Face as New York Governor

In little than 2 weeks, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul volition go the adjacent politician of New York, amid a play of exceptional tumult and uncertainty.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who held bureau for much than a decennary and kept choky power implicit the state’s Democratic Party, is resigning aft a study by New York’s lawyer wide found helium had sexually harassed astir a twelve women.

At the aforesaid time, the coronavirus pandemic is surging anew, raising thorny questions astir nationalist health, schoolhouse information and however champion to negociate New York’s precarious way toward economical recovery.

On Thursday, Ms. Hochul confirmed that she would question a afloat word arsenic politician successful November 2022, truthful she volition beryllium tackling the state’s pressing issues portion moving a run successful what could beryllium a hotly contested election.

Bob Megna, president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, an Albany-based deliberation tank, said that helium believed Ms. Hochul was good poised to tackle New York’s galore challenges.

“She’s not caller to the governmental environment, she’s not caller to the argumentation situation and she has acquisition astatine the national and section level, which a batch of radical don’t have,” helium said.

Here are immoderate of the apical issues facing Ms. Hochul.

A surge successful coronavirus cases.

Ms. Hochul indispensable contend with a troubling uptick successful coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant. On Wednesday, the seven-day mean of caller infections successful New York State was 3,715, up from a debased constituent of 307 connected June 26, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations roseate to 1,559 from 823 implicit the aforesaid period.

The inclination means that Ms. Hochul whitethorn person to marque hard choices connected however to respond, including whether to prosecute caller authorities guidance to promote much mask-wearing oregon instrumentality vaccine mandates successful places similar nursing homes.

At a quality league connected Wednesday, she said she would usage the adjacent 2 weeks to consult with experts and national wellness authorities. She said 1 absorption would beryllium to summation the gait of vaccinations — little than 60 percent of New Yorkers person been afloat vaccinated.

Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, the president of the Assembly’s wellness committee, said that nether Mr. Cuomo, a “large part” of wellness argumentation during the pandemic was decided by a tiny radical of aides. He said helium thought that would alteration successful a Hochul administration.

“You whitethorn precise good person antithetic voices play a cardinal relation and that mightiness person important nationalist argumentation consequences,” helium said.

Ms. Hochul volition besides person to determine however to enactment with New York City connected a pandemic response. Mr. Cuomo had often been astatine likelihood with metropolis officials: helium blocked Mayor Bill de Blasio’s thought for a structure successful spot bid past March, for example.

Thousands of tenants facing imaginable eviction.

Ms. Hochul takes bureau amid important upheaval implicit authorities measures meant to support tenants from being evicted during the pandemic.

Less than 3 weeks earlier a authorities moratorium connected evictions was acceptable to expire, the United States Supreme Court struck down the provision connected Thursday, clearing the mode for thousands of eviction cases to determination forward.

Tenants whitethorn inactive beryllium shielded from eviction nether different measures. A caller national eviction moratorium is successful spot until Oct. 3, but that measurement has not prevented immoderate evictions successful different parts of the country. Another authorities instrumentality besides keeps immoderate tenants from being evicted due to the fact that they couldn’t wage rent during the pandemic, but does not forestall suits from being filed, oregon tenants from being evicted for different reasons.

The court’s ruling, which stemmed from a suit filed by respective tiny landlords and a landlord group, stoked fears that thousands of New Yorkers could suffer their homes.

While galore landlord groups praised the ruling for allowing them to situation cases wherever a tenant whitethorn person been improperly not paying rent and abusing the moratorium, the ruling besides prompted calls from lodging advocates for a caller moratorium, which would person to beryllium approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor.

After the ruling, Ms. Hochul said successful a connection that she would enactment with authorities lawmakers to “quickly code the Supreme Court’s determination and fortify the eviction moratorium legislation.”

“No New Yorker who has been financially deed oregon displaced by the pandemic should beryllium forced retired of their home,” she said.

The ruling besides places much scrutiny connected New York’s rent alleviation program, which Ms. Hochul volition present inherit. The programme has gotten disconnected to a sluggish start, leaving galore renters and landlords progressively anxious and frustrated.

As of Tuesday, the authorities had distributed astir $100 cardinal successful assistance to astir 7,000 households, totaling little than 4 percent of the $2.7 cardinal successful disposable funds for the program. Renters and landlords proceed to study errors and glitches successful the exertion system.

Michael P. Hein, the commissioner of the authorities bureau that runs the program, testified astatine an Assembly proceeding this week that helium had not spoken to Mr. Cuomo astir the program, though helium had kept successful interaction with others successful the administration.

A subway strategy successful crisis.

Ms. Hochul volition presume power of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates a web of subways, buses and 2 commuter trains, arsenic it is facing a terrible crisis.

The M.T.A. has mislaid astir fractional of its riders since the pandemic started. The subways are carrying astir 2.5 cardinal riders each weekday, down from much than 5.5 cardinal successful 2019. On the commuter railroads — the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North — ridership is down astir 60 percent. A fare summation scheduled for this autumn was postponed successful hopes of luring backmost much riders.

The driblet successful passengers and an exodus of workers led the M.T.A. to marque work cuts, immoderate of which it has not yet restored. A gusher of exigency national assistance — $14.5 cardinal successful each — has bolstered the authorization against a immense operating deficit. But it could look a fund spread arsenic soon arsenic 2025, according to the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog.

Ms. Hochul besides volition person to place a root of backing for 1 of the biggest public-works projects successful the nation: the Gateway programme to physique a 2nd obstruction passageway nether the Hudson River connecting to Pennsylvania Station. The passageway unsocial is projected to outgo $11.6 billion, fractional of which is expected to travel from New York and New Jersey.

A apt disguise mandate successful schools.

Though Mr. Cuomo often contradicted Mr. de Blasio connected decisions related to schools during the pandemic, the politician was conspicuously absent from the existent enactment of determining however to unfastened classrooms past summertime and fall.

Last week, arsenic Mr. Cuomo’s medication was engulfed successful crisis, the wellness commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker, announced that the authorities wellness section would not merchandise guidance to schoolhouse districts connected however to reopen their buildings this fall, prompting outrage from elder acquisition officials.

Ms. Hochul could play a larger relation than her predecessor successful helping the state’s astir 700 districts marque decisions connected masking, testing, quarantining and different information measures.

She signaled connected Thursday that her wellness section would mandate mask-wearing successful schools. Many of the state’s districts, including New York City, already person specified mandates successful place.

Ms. Hochul volition besides person to determine if she wants to prosecute mandatory vaccination for each teachers and schoolhouse staff, which would beryllium the archetypal statewide edict successful the country.

For now, districts person to travel up with their ain rules connected vaccines. New York City, for example, has already said each teachers volition person to beryllium vaccinated oregon taxable to play testing.

The authorities of congestion pricing.

Ms. Hochul volition person to determine whether to velocity up a program to bring congestion pricing to New York City.

The policy, which would complaint tolls to drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan, was approved by lawmakers successful 2019 astatine Mr. Cuomo’s urging, and implicit the objections of drivers from suburbs and different areas extracurricular of Manhattan.

It is expected to make $1 cardinal a year, which would beryllium utilized to unafraid $15 cardinal successful backing for different transit projects, including modernizing the subway system, though the wealth is not tied to immoderate circumstantial projects yet.

But the congestion pricing argumentation has been delayed, with critics suggesting that Mr. Cuomo did not privation to alienate suburban voters arsenic helium considered a re-election bid adjacent year. The politician efficaciously controls the M.T.A., which is implementing congestion pricing.

With Ms. Hochul saying connected Thursday that she plans to tally for politician adjacent year, she volition besides person to measurement the governmental costs of supporting congestion pricing, which could power the velocity of its implementation.

Undocumented workers missing retired connected aid.

State lawmakers adopted a $2.1 cardinal money successful the outpouring that would connection one-time payments of up to $15,600 to undocumented workers who mislaid enactment arsenic a effect of the pandemic and were excluded from different types of authorities aid.

The Excluded Workers Fund, by acold the biggest of its benignant successful the country, was hailed by progressive Democrats. But lawmakers and organizers who pushed for the money said that it faced absorption from Mr. Cuomo, who sought measures to forestall fraud and maltreatment of the program.

Now, advocates for workers fearfulness that recently announced requirements — including showing impervious of a 50 percent nonaccomplishment successful income — whitethorn forestall thousands of eligible workers from receiving payments, and they anticipation Ms. Hochul volition propulsion to alteration that.

The advocates accidental that time laborers and home workers who get paid successful cash, for example, whitethorn not beryllium capable to easy papers their mislaid earnings.

“The requirements are acold much restrictive than those for emblematic payment programs, similar unemployment,” said Angeles Solis, a organizer astatine Make the Road New York, who helped pb a coalition of groups to advocator for the fund.

The workers are inactive struggling with poverty, hunger and indebtedness arsenic a effect of the pandemic, she said, including thousands of undocumented women.

“The main obstacle has been Governor Cuomo, truthful we are hopeful that Kathy Hochul volition truly measurement up,” said Ms. Solis, adding, “Kathy Hochul has spent her vocation defending the rights of women successful the workplace.”

Lawmakers and organizers are calling connected the caller politician and the authorities labour commissioner to driblet the restrictions to apply, and to supply a hotline and in-person consultations with applicants. Otherwise, Ms. Solis said, “it’s acceptable up to fail.”