From the start, Adams and Hochul, who are both centrist Democrats, appeared to find common ground on issues related to public safety and helping working-class New Yorkers. Hochul supported making changes to rollback bail reform, one of Adams’ main policy priorities in Albany.
Only some of those proposals eventually passed the state Legislature, but the mayor succeeded in getting other parts of his agenda passed, including an expansion of the earned income tax credit program, which assists low-income workers in the city, and the creation of a trust to help finance public housing repairs.
Hank Sheinkopf, a political consultant, said having a good relationship with the governor is always important for a mayor, but even more so for Adams, who faces a left-leaning state Legislature.
“It makes it tougher for the legislature to drive a wedge between them,” Sheinkopf said.
Still, their bond will soon be tested again. Hochul must decide in the coming months whether to sign two pieces of legislation that Adams has vocally opposed: a bill that mandates smaller class sizes in New York City public schools and another that places a two-year ban on cryptocurrency mining, which is supported by environmental advocates.
The first bill, which addresses a decades-long complaint in city schools, has the backing of education advocates and the state’s teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). But Adams has said the measure is too costly, citing an estimate of $500 million a year to build new space and hire more teachers.
Asked whether he would ask the governor to veto the bill at a public housing event earlier this month, Adams said, “The governor is going to do her assessment.” But Adams added that he planned to continue to have discussions with the UFT and lawmakers.
Following Wednesday’s endorsement event, a reporter asked Hochul if Adams had reached out to discuss the crypto bill.
“We’re going to talk about that very soon,” she told him, according to a tweet.
