FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Media@vera.org

NEW YORK – Following Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2025 State of the State address today, Vera Institute of Justice initiative directors Shayna Kessler and Alana Sivin issued the following statements in response to the governor’s proposals on public safety and immigration.

Shayna Kessler, director of the Vera Institute of Justice’s Advancing Universal Representation initiative, said:

“With President-elect Trump’s anti-immigrant policies threatening millions of immigrant New Yorkers, we are disappointed by Governor Hochul’s failure to address the devastation that the incoming presidential administration’s agenda will bring to the state’s families, communities, and workforce. Immigrant communities urgently need legal representation and other protections to defend their rights against incoming attacks. As mass deportations and family separations loom, a $165 million investment in immigration legal services is necessary to safeguard our communities and protect New York’s future. This funding would provide critical legal support to those who need it most and benefit all New Yorkers. It is also imperative that New York pass the Access to Representation Act and the BUILD Act to create a right to counsel and ensure the infrastructure is in place to strengthen and expand immigration legal services statewide. New York must lead the way in advancing policy solutions that support strong communities and demonstrate the power of positive immigration solutions.”

Alana Sivin, director of the Vera Institute of Justice’s Greater Justice New York initiative, said:

“Making New York’s communities safer and giving New Yorkers the tools to improve their quality of life is a priority for all of us. While Governor Hochul’s State of the State address detailed some policies that will meaningfully improve safety and stability, many of her proposals will only roll back progress and undo protections for vulnerable New Yorkers. We share the governor’s concerns that we must do more to protect New Yorkers—and doing more means investing in the community-based programs and services that break cycles of crime by preventing it from happening in the first place.

“New Yorkers have become increasingly concerned with crimes committed by people experiencing serious mental illness, and we thank Governor Hochul for including proposals to stabilize and expand successful mental health initiatives in her policy book, such as supportive housing, clubhouses, and Safe Options Support teams. Funding critical community-based mental health programming and services improves the well-being and safety of all New Yorkers. However, forcibly hospitalizing more people in an underfunded and overtaxed system that lacks the physical and staffing capacity to admit patients and discharge them responsibly is not an effective response. To prevent hospitalization, a traumatic and costly event that should be spared as a very last resort, New York should expand funding for mobile mental health response teams and respite centers, which keep people stable and out of the hospital or jail. In the rare circumstance when a person does need hospitalization, more investment in proper discharge planning will ensure long-term stability and support. The law already exists to allow for involuntary hospitalization—the problem is a lack of investment to prevent its necessity in the first place.

“Subways are the lifeline of New York City, and all New Yorkers want a safe and peaceful subway ride. Yet repeatedly attempting to address subway violence with more policing—spending $2.5 million a week in overtime—is too costly and ineffective. However, we are heartened to see the governor propose expanding “welcome centers” in subway stations to connect the roughly 2,000 New Yorkers who are unhoused and in crisis with community-based services and care, and install more subway lighting and platform barriers to ensure safety for the commuters who ride the subway and the staff who work in the system.

“In addition to safety, New Yorkers want more accountability and justice. Governor Hochul’s address and her policy book miss the mark on criminal justice reform. While we applaud her support for enhancing merit time so that incarcerated New Yorkers can earn early release, we are disappointed that she is calling for rollbacks to the discovery law and is silent on more accountability and reform in response to the tragic death of Robert Brooks, who was beaten to death by 14 corrections officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility last year. Violence has no place anywhere in New York, including in our prisons. With discovery, the problems with reform lie in implementation and infrastructure—not the law itself. Governor Hochul should support Senate Bill 613, which would provide district attorneys with direct access to police evidence. The governor and legislature must enact systemic change so that there is real oversight to prevent prison violence and accountability when government employees abuse their power or break the law.

“The safest communities are the ones with the most support and services. We are ready to work with Governor Hochul and her administration to move forward on the solutions that truly keep New Yorkers safe and deliver more accountability and justice.”

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About the Vera Institute of Justice: The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.

About Vera Action: Vera Action is an independent 501(c)(4) organization and the advocacy partner of the Vera Institute of Justice. At Vera Action, we harness the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.