Weeks after a state Senate committee rejected her pick to lead New York’s highest court, Gov. Kathy Hochul is again facing fierce opposition from progressive legislators and unions — this time over her bid to allow more charter schools to open in New York City.
The pushback from fellow Democrats — some of them backed by a top teacher’s union — could spell another political disaster for Hochul, who last month became the first governor in state history to have a judicial nomination voted down.
Several lawmakers who had opposed her choice for chief judge, Hector LaSalle, are now slamming her budget proposal that would allow more than 275 charter schools to open in New York City, while keeping a statewide cap of 460 in place.
“We have enough charter schools in New York City and we don’t need anymore … hell no,” state Sen. Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan) said Friday outside City Hall.
Joining Jackson in blasting the idea were fellow anti-LaSalle state Sens. John Liu (D-Queens), Shelley Mayor (D-Yonkers), Jessica Ramos (D-Queens), Cordell Cleare (D-Manhattan) and Jabari Brisport (D-Brooklyn).
“While the governor is giving with one hand full funding … she’s yanking the rug out from [another] by diverting money potentially to charter schools and that is not right,” Liu, who chairs the Senate New York City Education Committee, said.
Joining the legislators was Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) that reps 140,000 members citywide.
The fight over charter schools pits Hochul against New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), a statewide union that reps UFT and gave $25,000 to Senate Democrats — including Liu, Mayer and Cleare — on Jan. 13. The union also supported Hochul’s campaign for a full term in office.
The thousands of dollars in campaign cash underscores what NYSUT can bring to the fight as the governor seeks to reassert her power in Albany following the Senate Judiciary Committee’s rejection of LaSalle, whose nomination was also opposed by powerful unions like 1199SEIU and 32BJ.
“The political calculus is inexplicable. The administration seems to be looking for opportunities to lose friends,” an Albany insider said.
Backing charter schools positions Hochul – who beat Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin 53% to 47% last November – as a relative centrist compared to lefty lawmakers, alongside her efforts to overhaul cash bail laws and her lost bid to make LaSalle the first Latino to lead New York’s judiciary.
Hochul’s proposals, including the reissuance of charters held by so-called “zombie” schools that no longer operate, could allow roughly 100 more charters to open citywide in upcoming years if they get included in the state budget due April 1.
“I believe every student deserves a quality education, and we are proposing to give New York families more options and opportunities to succeed,” Hochul said in a Feb. 1 statement before unveiling her proposed budget.
Charter supporters like Eva Moskowitz, founder of Success Academies, have praised the effort, which followed a promise Hochul made during a TV debate ahead of the November election to support an increase in the charter cap.
“There’s fear on the other side that this might [happen],” Moskowitz, who has fought elected leaders like Liu and Jackson for years over charters, said. “Parents are fed up, and they’re not going to just accept anything that is dished out to them.”
Like with the seemingly-doomed nomination – which Hochul has yet to formally yank while declining to say her next moves – the embattled governor could score points with a key Democratic constituency over charters, despite losing in the short term to legislators, experts said.
“She believes in the issue obviously and sees her path to success now and in 2026 re-election against a downstate-dominant legislature which has been unsupportive and opposes charter schools — still quite popular in minority communities,” political consultant Hank Sheinkopf told The Post.
But Hochul is risking another political setback by starting a fight with teachers and their legislative allies so soon into her newly-won term, according to one Democratic source.
“You have a near entire conference of legislators in the Senate who want to stick it to the governor because of LaSalle, and this is another chance to do so,” the source said.
One Democratic legislator suggested Hochul would abandon the effort to expand charter schools — backed by some campaign donors — during budget negotiations with state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx).
“She has to go through the motions,” the lawmaker said.
A Hochul representative did not immediately provide comment Sunday as criticism mounted over the charter school proposal from members of the state Senate.
The Albany insider expected Hochul’s charter proposals were unlikely to get a friendly reception from an Assembly supermajority that has traditionally opposed efforts to allow more charters in the five boroughs.
“The Assembly has traditionally been the bulwark against charter expansion. This is a thumb in the eye of the Speaker,” the source said.
