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New York State’s 2023-2024 budget is now three weeks past due, with no end to the bickering in the foreseeable future. According to former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who appeared on 710 WOR’s Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning program, New Yorkers should be concerned about what they will or won’t see in the budget, not when they finally see it.
“Think about what they’re arguing about,” Astorino told Berman and Riedel. “One side, the legislature, is arguing that we should not have dangerousness as something that the judge should take into consideration with bail… and Hochul is holding out for whether or not she can destroy the suburbs and have massive housing everywhere. That’s the two things that they’re both holding out for, both of which are destructive to New York.”
Recent reports indicated that the plan to wrest zoning control from local authorities to the state is dead, but Astorino says this is not the case. “(Hochul) wants something in there for the housing. Apparently, the Democrats are offering an opt-in instead of, so more incentives for communities to do it as opposed to the stick approach, which is taking away all the zoning control that a local community has. But when they’re arguing back and forth on all this stuff, you know something at the end is not going to be good, no matter what they compromise on.”
Astorino also chimed in on national events, particularly the lack of coverage on the Hunter Biden. “I keep saying this, we’re in a really dangerous spot, and people are like, you know, pull the shades down, stay on TikTok, and the whole world around you is engulfed in flames and people don’t realize it.”
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