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1h ago

Hochul and Mamdani Project Unity at Somos as Albany Tests Loom for Free Buses and Child Care

Wall Street leaders offer to engage as the governor and transit officials question how to fund the mayor-elect’s marquee proposals.

Zara Rahim attends The Wing London's official opening event also celebrating the launch of No Man's Land magazine issue 4 at The Wing London on October 23, 2019 in London, England.
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Voters cast their ballots at a polling station inside Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School in Astoria, New York City, on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • At the Somos conference in Puerto Rico, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani appeared together repeatedly, signaling cooperation and trading supportive remarks to ease concerns about intra‑party friction.
  • Hochul cooled expectations for citywide free buses, noting the MTA’s reliance on fare revenue, and MTA chief Janno Lieber said the idea requires extensive analysis of costs, capacity, and impacts on subway ridership.
  • Key planks of Mamdani’s agenda will run through Albany, including any tax changes, MTA funding decisions, universal child care, and the renewal of mayoral control of schools set to expire in June.
  • Lawmakers voiced openness on affordability goals but pressed on funding details, with estimates cited at roughly $800 million annually for free buses and more than $5 billion a year for universal child care.
  • After initially opposing Mamdani, Jamie Dimon and Bill Ackman publicly offered to work with him, even as some executives threatened to decamp, underscoring a split in business‑sector responses to his agenda.