New York Spends Excessively, Requires $80 Million to Repair a Staircase
The issues plaguing New York state government can be epitomized by the stairs leading to the Capitol in Albany.
Constructed in 1897, these 77 steps are in a state of disrepair.
Governor Kathy “Congestion Pricing” Hochul and her team are claiming that repairing them will cost a whopping $80 million of taxpayer dollars.
This breaks down to $1,038,961 for each individual step.
Much like the rest of Albany’s expenditures, the costs just keep ballooning for reasons that remain ambiguous.
A study commissioned by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014 estimated the repair cost at $17 million.
Under Hochul’s administration, that figure surged to $41 million, before nearly doubling again in this year’s budget.
Why such a dramatic increase? That information hasn’t been disclosed.
True to Albany’s typical ways, the planning for this project is shrouded in secrecy.
“Governor Hochul is dedicated to improving the City of Albany and ensuring our State’s Capitol is a source of pride for all New Yorkers,” a Hochul spokesperson told The Post in a statement. “Legally, we cannot provide commentary during the ongoing procurement process.”
Is that so? I’m not aware of any law that prevents overtaxed residents from understanding how their officials are draining their wallets.
As part of her State of the State address, Hochul proposed injecting $400 million into numerous dilapidated state buildings and institutions in the distressed capital city.
While that is a significant amount, given the uncontrollable nature of spending, one can expect it to rise continuously.
On Tuesday, Governor Tax and Spend unveiled an extensive $252 billion state budget, packed with enough extraneous spending to frighten any reasonable taxpayer, and crafted to boost Hochul’s re-election bid in 2026.
No wonder so many New Yorkers are seeking the exit.
At least they’ll have a well-maintained staircase to descend. Perhaps.
