From kitchen tables to small business counters, families across New York are doing the math – and too often, it isn’t adding up. After hearing Governor Kathy Hochul’s State of the State, one thing is clear: she is finally naming what working families have been living – affordability is the crisis of our time. But New Yorkers do not just need recognition. We need relief and real power.

That is why I have been clear across the 56th District: affordability isn’t only about cutting costs – it’s about increasing income and expanding access to opportunity. New Yorkers need a government that helps households build stability through stronger wages, workforce pathways, and real support for working families – not temporary fixes or headline promises.

As Subcommittee Chair of Emerging Workforce, I support the Governor’s Jobs Agenda, including investments in skills training, workforce development, and tuition-free education pathways tied to high-growth industries. Programs that expand access to community college and connect New Yorkers to careers in clean energy, advanced manufacturing, logistics, and other emerging fields will help more working people reach family-sustaining wages – not just short-term jobs.

But New Yorkers also need us to tell the truth: this moment demands more than alignment. It demands bold execution and deeper commitments. As we move into budget negotiations, the Governor must dig down deeper and do better in several critical areas.

New York Must Protect New Yorkers From ICE

New York cannot claim to be a progressive state while allowing fear to spread through our communities – targeting immigrants. These are our brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents, neighbors, and friends. And in Donald Trump’s America, all of us who stand up for justice and the rule of law are also at risk.

That is why the Governor’s strong statement about protecting New Yorkers from ICE – by directing state law enforcement to prevent ICE activity in sensitive and vulnerable spaces – was welcome after a long year of uncertainty and fear. But we must be stronger and more consistent in implementation.

Let me be clear: State resources should not be used to support civil immigration enforcement that targets families, destabilizes communities, or intimidates people from seeking care, attending school, worshipping freely, or participating in public life. Public safety must mean safety for everyone – including immigrant New Yorkers who power our economy and strengthen our communities.

Universal Childcare Must Be Treated Like Public Infrastructure – and We Must Protect Community Providers

For working families, childcare remains one of the biggest barriers to economic stability – especially for women, who still carry the greatest caregiving burden. I am a strong supporter of universal childcare for children under five, a fight the Legislative Women’s Caucus has championed since the pandemic.

However, the Governor’s proposal to expand free child care for two-year-olds in New York City, while meaningful, does not go far enough – and if it is not designed properly, it could unintentionally wipe out trusted daycare centers and home-based child care providers that have served our communities for generations.

What is missing is clear: Where is the plan to protect and stabilize providers? The local childcare ecosystem – community-rooted centers and home-based childcare small businesses – is the backbone of care in neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. These providers employ local workers, deliver culturally competent care, and have earned generational trust.

If the state expands childcare access without protecting providers through fair reimbursement rates, technical support, and long-term funding stability, we risk creating a new system that displaces the very people doing the work.

Childcare is not an “extra.” It is economic infrastructure – the foundation that allows parents to work, pursue training, increase income, and build stability. Universal childcare must mean universal investment – not expansion that leaves small providers behind.

Disability Justice Must Be Economic Justice — Not a Footnote

I support the Governor’s plan to expand eligibility for the SCRIE and DRIE rent freeze programs, which strengthen housing stability for older adults and New Yorkers with disabilities. But disability justice cannot be treated as a sympathetic mention or a narrow service category.

Disabled New Yorkers are not only people in need of support. They are workers, innovators, entrepreneurs, caregivers, and leaders – and New York is leaving economic power on the table when we fail to invest in their full participation. A real affordability agenda must include disabled New Yorkers as part of our workforce strategy and economic growth plan.

That is why I am advancing solutions like my Co-Navigation legislation, which helps New Yorkers with disabilities connect to services, education, workforce training, and stable employment. When we remove barriers and invest in access, disabled New Yorkers can contribute fully – and our entire economy benefits. Disability access is not charity. It is economic development.

Housing Stability Requires Accountability – Not Just Incentives

Affordability also means housing must be safe, stable, and fair. Too often, irresponsible landlords neglect basic conditions while tenants pay the price. That is why I am advancing my Worst Landlord legislation to hold bad actors accountable and protect tenants from unsafe and exploitative housing practices.

And as we address affordability, New York must also treat homeownership as a stability strategy – not an afterthought. I am continuing my work with NYS Homes and Community Renewal, and alongside the New York State Black Legislative Taskforce and the BPHA Caucus, to expand homeownership opportunities and protect longstanding residents from displacement.

Safety Must Include Deed Theft and Illegal Guns

Public safety and stability remain essential to thriving communities. I strongly support strengthened protections against deed theft, which continues to threaten longtime homeowners in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights and undermine generational wealth. That is why I am advancing deed theft legislation this session, and why I have prioritized district-level protections including cease-and-desist zone efforts to shield homeowners from predatory actors.

I also support efforts to crack down on illegal and 3D-printed guns, which pose a real and growing threat to community safety.

As budget negotiations move forward, I look forward to working with Governor Hochul and my colleagues to deliver real results – and to push for stronger execution and deeper commitments where the current proposals fall short. New Yorkers deserve an affordability agenda that is not just rhetoric, but measurable outcomes: good jobs, universal childcare that protects providers, disability justice as economic justice, protections from ICE, safe housing, and stability for working families.