


ALBANY — State budget talks remained stalled Tuesday despite a two-hour meeting between top leaders, who refuse to move on the spending plan until they settle issues including New York’s controversial bail laws.
“We just talked about the totality of what a budget would take, and so there’s no agreement on any of that,” state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) told reporters at the state Capitol on Tuesday, after meeting with Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers).
“That’s really it,” the Bronx powerbroker said.
Hochul is continuing to pressure the pols on such issues as bail reform, as she seeks to make it easier for judges to jail criminal suspects based on the perceived danger of them threatening public safety or getting accused of other crimes.
Critics claim efforts by the newly elected Hochul are political theater by someone who won the closest gubernatorial contest in a generation in November.
They say crime is rising in states with looser limits than New York — while foes of eased bail restrictions say the lack of bail dumps criminals back on the street to strike again.
“Governor Kathy Hochul’s hijacking of the budget process to force through rollbacks is not based on merit, but is merely a desperate political attempt to beef up her ‘tough on crime’ bona fides with portions of the electorate,” The Legal Aid Society said in a statement Tuesday.
“This is obvious to anyone with eyes to see.”
But Hochul has continued to fight for her plan.
The Assembly has reportedly floated a counterproposal to her bail proposal, although details were not immediately known. It also remains unclear whether the state Senate has done the same.
Heastie said Monday that the testy bail battle has sucked up 90% of the political oxygen when it comes to the budget, but he seemed to walk that back Tuesday.
“We talked about a whole host of things, but we’re just talking – no agreements on anything,” he said Tuesday.
Other outstanding issues include whether to increase charter schools and MTA funding.
Reps for Hochul and Stewart-Cousins did not provide comment.
Albany Democrats passed legislation Monday to fund state government for one more week as they hash out their differences on the issues, which are part of a state budget expected to exceed the $227 billion draft spending plan Hochul unveiled two months ago.
Heastie stressed Tuesday that progress is being made.
“I don’t want you to parse my words too much. I’m just pretty much saying I think it was a productive conversation, and I’ll just leave it at that,” he said.