After big reelection win, NY Gov. Hochul signals shift on question of tax hikes for childcare

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Nov 6, 2026

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Fresh off a decisive reelection victory, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled Friday she could be open to new taxes to fund universal childcare for New York City as she faces increasing pressure from the left to enact more progressive hikes.

“I will work hard to manage within our existing resources,” the governor said at a press availability in Puerto Rico alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “But if we need more, we’ll find a path.”

And when asked specifically about the possibility of income tax hikes targeting the wealthiest New Yorkers, Hochul said she was “willing to do what has to happen” in “extraordinary” circumstances.

Her comments Friday mark a shift in tone. While Mamdani has pressed a more ambitious “tax the rich” agenda, the governor has previously shut down the idea of an income tax hike.

At the same time, Hochul has continued to reiterate the importance of the 2-K program, saying she’ll do “whatever it takes” to expand the program citywide. She hinted on Friday that she plans to formally announce future revenue plans for childcare in January’s State of the State address.

“I think you’ll see a very thoughtful approach to this. It is not ideological. It is pragmatic, and what we need to do to deliver for the people who put us in office,” she added, pointing to the pied-a-terre tax on luxury second homes as an example of a “creative” new revenue stream she’s proud of.

Hochul’s shift in tone comes after Tuesday’s election, when she bested her Republican opponent, Bruce Blakeman, by nearly 20 points — increasing her margins from 2022 dramatically across both the city and state.

She did, however, lose ground in wealthy Manhattan neighborhoods like Tribeca and the Upper East Side, per a data analysis from the news site The City Reporter — places where the pied-a-terre tax are set to hit the hardest.

Pressure for tax hikes

Mamdani, who campaigned for office on expanded social services that would be funded by income and corporate tax hikes, reaffirmed his stance on Friday. Hochul and Mamdani were in Puerto Rico to attend SOMOS, an annual political conference for New York politicos.

“That’s something that excited so many New Yorkers over the course of this recent election was that the fruits of this partnership were ones that they could feel in their wallets,” he said of Hochul’s reelection bid.

In addition to pressure from the mayor on tax hikes, both the state senate and assembly have year after year pushed for revenue-raisers like income tax hikes.

The left flank of the Democratic Party, including the Democratic Socialists of America and a slew of newly elected leaders, make up a new Democratic supermajority in the state Senate. Now, both chambers have veto-proof majorities.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins noted that state lawmakers have had a “very difficult time” getting those tax hikes past the governor — but said the upcoming year is looking “very, very promising.”

“I think that she’s trying to open to the realities of what we’re facing,” Stewart-Cousins told the Daily News. “And so I’m looking forward to next year. I think it’ll be very good.”

A strong alliance

The mayor and the governor have forged a somewhat surprisingly strong alliance centered around the issue of childcare, one of Mamdani’s cornerstone issues of his affordability agenda. The push for free childcare comes as prices have continued to weigh on New York City families.

The two worked together to launch the initiative, known as 2-K, in five local school districts across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx this year, with plans to add 10,000 more 2-K seats next school year, with the goal to expand citywide in 2029. The state put up an initial $73 million investment this year to get the program started, with state funding set to grow to $425 million in the 2027-28 school year.

The push comes as families and New Yorkers are generally struggling with an affordability crisis. Gas and grocery prices are high, with rents soaring and wages staying largely the same. And the Trump administration has overseen cuts to many social safety net services, threatening to hurt American’s pocketbooks further.

The Poverty Tracker report, a partnership between Columbia University and the group Robin Hood, found that the poverty rate in New York City had inched higher for the third year in a row, with a record 2.2 million, or 26%, of citydwellers. That’s double the national figure of 13%, according to the March report.

Assembly member-elect Diana Ayala said she’s “never seen anything this bad.”

“As more and more people become boisterous about needing these type of funding streams, I think you know it forces all of us as electeds, right, to kind of rethink the way that we’re doing things and to change that,” Ayala said.

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