So much for a lack of support.
Gov. Hochul's planned expansion of robotaxis outside of New York City was killed by political calculus for her car insurance proposal, not just pushback from stakeholders, according to The New York Times.
Hochul is seeking organized labor's support for her plan, which Streetsblog has covered extensively, to reduce car insurance costs on the backs of crash victims, and the prospect of companies like Waymo replacing the jobs of taxi and ride-share drivers was shaping up to be a source of conflict.
With labor on her side, she would have better chances of taking on the influential New York State Trial Lawyers Association, which opposes her auto insurance proposal because one of its pillars is lowering compensation for some crash victims.
The proposal is also backed by Uber, which has also poured millions into messaging for the proposal that has polled well, but invited skepticism from lawmakers.
The company made comparably less noise about the prospect of robotaxi outfits like Waymo coming to upstate New York and Long Island, though senior Uber officials have advocated for slowing down the spread of driverless taxis.
State lawmakers are expected to clearly stake out their positions on Hochul's executive budget in this week's rebuttals, called one-house budgets.
More news:
- A new poll has Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg leading the pack in Manhattan's 12th Congressional District. (City & State)
- Trump Border Czar Tom Homan left Albany on Friday with an agreement that a Minnesota-style surge in immigration officials isn't in the cards and a list of detained New Yorkers the governor wants reunited with their families. (Politico New York)
- Federal authorities are on the case after a bomb was thrown during a demonstration outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Gracie Mansion home. (The New York Times)
- Beloved basic cable doctor turned Trump White House official Mehmet Oz is taking aim at New York and California over alleged Medicaid fraud. (The New York Post)
- Democratic socialists are looking to build on Mamdani's ascendance in the statehouse and beyond. (The Times Union)
- State DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez spoke about her department's highway projects in upstate New York and legislation that would protect road workers. (Spectrum News Buffalo)
- An SUV driver slammed into a storefront on Saturday at a known dangerous intersection in the Town of Hempstead. (Newsday)
- A car driver hit a pedestrian on Wednesday night at one of Kingston's many perilous intersections. (Hudson Valley One)
- Rep. Mike Lawler, a lower Hudson Valley Republican, has a $10-billion plan to rebuild the Indian Point nuclear power plant. (The Highlands Current)
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is hoping that moderating his corporate tax increase request will give it a better chance of passing in Albany. (New York Focus)
