Hudson Valley Advocacy Group Calls Legislative Session ‘Wasteful’ Despite Some Key Wins

A Hudson Valley-based grassroots advocacy organization is sharply criticizing New York’s recently concluded legislative session, arguing that lawmakers failed to address key issues including housing affordability, immigrant protections and tax policy, even as activists secured several notable victories.

Jenny Kutner of For the Many said the 2026 legislative session was undermined by delays in the state budget process and missed opportunities to advance measures supported by the group’s members.

“There were some important measures that got pushed through this year in Albany,” Kutner said in an interview. “But I think one important thing to note about this session is that it was essentially hollowed out by Governor Hochul’s abuse of the budget process.”

Kutner said the governor delayed the budget beyond its April 1 deadline and blocked efforts to raise taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, expand protections for immigrants and strengthen climate policies.

Among the group’s disappointments was the failure to pass the New York for All Act, which would have expanded protections for immigrants, and the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants Act, known as the REST Act, which would have allowed upstate communities to opt into rent stabilization measures.

Kutner also criticized lawmakers for not approving new taxes on billionaires and large corporations, arguing the revenue could help offset potential reductions in federal support programs.

At the same time, she credited grassroots organizing with securing several legislative victories.

Kutner pointed to measures ending formal agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the passage of the MELT Act, which she said would ban face coverings for immigration agents, and the Dignity Not Detention Act, which she said would prevent federal immigration authorities from using local jails to detain immigrants.

“We know that that pressure is why we were able to end formal agreements with ICE and pass things like the MELT Act,” Kutner said. “It is only because of the thousands and thousands of New Yorkers who made phone calls, who wrote emails, who knocked doors, who showed up in Albany to demand that something get done.”

Kutner also highlighted a $1 billion energy rebate program approved by the state to help residents pay utility bills. While calling the funding helpful, she said it does not address what she described as deeper problems with the state’s utility system.

“Any money that’s going to be back in people’s pockets to help them pay utility bills is helpful,” Kutner said. “But simply allocating money for that for one year is not going to address those much deeper concerns.”

For the Many supports creation of the Hudson Valley Power Authority, a proposal that would convert Central Hudson into a publicly owned utility, which advocates say would lower costs and increase transparency.

Looking ahead, Kutner suggested voters could hold lawmakers accountable if they fail to support priorities such as tenant protections and affordability measures.

“Legislators get to make choices when we send them to Albany, but voters get to make choices too,” Kutner said. “If our legislators are going to continue to go to Albany only to return home with nothing, we are going to elect other legislators to do the job for us.”

Image Credit: (WRVO/New York Public News Network)