New York Governor Kathy Hochul has shown hesitation toward Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s $700 million plan to make city buses free, saying it could strain state finances. Speaking at the SOMOS political retreat in Puerto Rico, she noted the state had already made “recent investments to support the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).”

Mamdani, a progressive Democrat, remains optimistic, saying he’s “grateful for the governor’s partnership” and focused on “improving transit access.” Still, the exchange underscores growing friction between Hochul’s moderate approach and New York’s progressive wing.

During the campaign, Hochul backed Mamdani and gained support from progressive voters. Since then, she’s distanced herself from his ideas to raise taxes on high earners to fund programs like free child care and transit.

While legislative leaders Carl Heastie and Andrea Stewart-Cousins appear more open to Mamdani’s proposals, Hochul has resisted pressure to tax the wealthy, warning that expanding free child care alone would cost “about $15 billion — nearly the size of the state’s reserves.”

As she looks toward a possible 2026 re-election, Hochul’s cautious stance could define both her political future and the fate of New York’s affordability agenda.