Gov. Kathy Hochul today delivered the 2023 State of the State address outlining her plan for achieving what she calls the “New York Dream.” This includes focusing on fighting crime, more housing and improving New York City’s transit system.

Hochul took stage in the Assembly Chambers in Albany Tuesday and marked her first State of State address since becoming the first elected- female governor of New York

Her number one priority is keeping New Yorkers safe followed by a plan to vastly improve public transportation for the millions of New Yorkers who rely on it.

Hochul announced Tuesday that the Interborough Express Project will move forward following a planning and environmental linkages study.

The project will connect communities throughout Brooklyn and Queens and to reduce travel times by up to 30 minutes.

Hochul says this plan is aimed to build new stations to provide transportation benefits for diverse neighborhoods including Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Brownsville, and several other neighborhoods that lack efficient transit connections to each other and, in some cases, to Manhattan

Danny Pearlstein, the policy and communications director for the Riders Alliance, says he is interested to see what's to come.

“We will look to her executive budget coming out in the next few weeks to make sure she is not throwing the MTA a lifeline and is actually making an investment in the service that riders depend on.”

MTA Chair Janno LIeber said in part, “What the MTA is facing is a fiscal crisis, brought on by the COVID pandemic, which cut ridership by a third and caused a multi-billion dollar hit. Reliable mass transit is key for millions of people for access to housing, jobs, education and health care and having the governor's support is vital."

The plan overall, Hochul says, is aimed at making transit more accessible, affordable and safe.