STATEMENT: GOVERNOR HOCHUL MUST DECIDE WHOSE SIDE SHE'S ON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 13, 2026 (NEW YORK, NY) – Community Voices Heard, the largest Black-led organizing institution in New York State, issued the following statement today in response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s State of the State address:

"Governor Hochul once again chose billionaires over people. As working-class, Black and brown New Yorkers brace for devastating federal cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and housing, the Governor chose caution over courage – and the ultra-rich over working families.

New Yorkers are struggling to survive an affordability crisis. Yet Governor Hochul continues to refuse to make the ultra-wealthy and highly profitable corporations pay their fair share. Without new, progressive revenue, her promises ring hollow.

You cannot claim to fight for families while protecting the wealth of the richest New Yorkers.

While we acknowledge the investments in child care and food access, these measures fall short without long-term, stable funding. Universal child care, healthcare access, and food security cannot be built on budget gimmicks or federal negotiations that leave families hanging. 

The Governor’s agenda also ignores the realities tenants face every day. With evictions rising across the state, Governor Hochul failed to advance Statewide Right to Counsel or the Clean Hands Act – two common sense policies that would keep our families housed and hold negligent landlords accountable. Protecting tenants should not be optional.

The Governor continues to turn her back on public housing residents. New York’s public housing stock is crumbling after decades of neglect, yet the State of the State offers no meaningful commitment to address the crisis. Without a $5 billion minimum investment in public housing capital repairs, thousands of families will remain trapped in unsafe and unlivable conditions.

New York has a choice. We can tax the rich and invest in working families – or we can continue down a path that deepens inequality. Community Voices Heard members across the state are clear: we will not accept half-measures that benefit billionaires while our communities pay the price.

Governor Hochul must decide whose side she’s on."

About Community Voices HeardCommunity Voices Heard (CVH) is a Black and brown-led, power-building organization committed to fighting for dignity for people with low incomes and all New Yorkers. Guided by members, we center women’s voices and create unity to win financial security, a fully participatory democracy, and truly affordable homes for every New Yorker. CVH leads community organizing across the state because we will only achieve an equitable New York when we organize and fight together.