Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

August 29, 2025

What’s Inside

  • Governor Issues Memo of Accomplishments
  • Governor Announces New Members of Emerging Technology Advisory Board  
  • Governor Announces Reduction in Retail Theft in NYC
  • Governor Celebrates Investment in Water Infrastructure in State FY 2025
  • Governor Announces Launch of PowerUp2030 Program 
  • In the News
  • Coming Up

Governor Issues Memo of Accomplishments

On the anniversary of her first swearing in as the 57th Governor of New York, this week, Governor Kathy Hochul issued a memo to New Yorkers, laying out the work that she and her team have done to execute her vision for New York.

The memo lays out accomplishments surrounding her priority areas:

·        Making New York More Affordable

·        Keeping New Yorkers Safe

·        Fighting for New York Families

·        Creating New Economic Opportunities

·        Protecting New Yorkers’ Fundamental Rights

·        Transforming New York’s Infrastructure

·        Securing New York’s Energy Future

The full memo can be read here.

Governor Announces New Members of Emerging Technology Advisory Board

Governor Hochul has announced new members of the Emerging Technology Advisory Board focused on biotechnology, an independent group of industry leaders tasked with helping chart the course to further expand a thriving biotech ecosystem in New York State.

The advisory board, co-chaired by Pfizer Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Andrew Baum and The Michael J. Fox Foundation CEO and Co-Founder Debi Brooks, will help further the Governor’s commitment to making New York a national leader in life sciences, innovation, and advanced manufacturing.

The Board includes established company leaders, research pioneers, non-profit leaders, and industry practitioners who are actively shaping the future of biotech and commercial life sciences in the state. The board members include:

  • Andrew Baum, Pfizer
  • Debi Brooks, The Michael J. Fox Foundation
  • Jennifer Hawks Bland, NewYorkBIO
  • Renier Brentjens, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • John Connolly, PhD, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
  • Mike Foley, PhD, Excelsior Sciences
  • Joseph LaRosa, Regeneron
  • Sean O’Sullivan, SOSV
  • William Slattery, Deerfield Management
  • Bruce Stillman, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
  • Kevin Tracey, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
  • Win Thurlow, LifeSciencesNY
  • Stacie Grossman Bloom, New York University
  • Ronald Crystal, Weill Cornell Medicine
  • Sam Sia, PhD, Harlem Biospace
  • Geoffrey Smith, Digitalis Ventures
  • Shadi Shahedipour-Sandvik, State University of New York

Governor Hochul said:

New York State is a national leader in biotechnology with innovative research being conducted from Long Island to Buffalo. Bringing together these industry leaders from all corners of the state will help expand our biotechnology ecosystem, ensuring New York is at the forefront of life sciences and medical innovation.

More information can be found here.  

Governor Announces Reduction in Retail Theft in NYC

This week, Governor Hochul held a press conference in Harlem with business leaders, highlighting the state’s progress in combating organized retail theft in New York City and across the state.

Following a spike in organized retail theft in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Hochul announced new measures to crack down on these crimes that included over $40 million to support targeted law enforcement initiatives, stronger laws to hold perpetrators accountable, and new protections for frontline retail workers. According to the Governor, New Yorkers are now seeing results from this approach with retail theft declining more than 12 percent year over year — a decrease of nearly 5,000 instances — in New York City and 5 percent across the rest of the state.

In a press release, the Governor’s office stated that these recent investments put New York State on track to see retail theft crimes drop to pre-peak levels. Additionally, New York City has seen a more than four percent reduction in index crime and an 11 percent drop in felony robberies. Shootings in New York City are down nearly 20 percent while murders are down 21 percent.

Governor Hochul said:  

Retail theft and quality-of-life crimes impact more than just the businesses who experience them — they impact entire neighborhoods. That is why I dedicated tremendous resources last year to fight the scourge of organized retail crime. While today’s numbers represent significant progress in the fight against retail theft, we will not back down. I remain committed to supporting our businesses and their workers to restore a sense of security and peace of mind for shoppers and store owners alike.

Governor Celebrates Investment in Water Infrastructure in State FY 2025

Governor Hochul has announced the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) surpassed $3.4 billion in executed financial assistance agreements for 328 local water infrastructure projects across the State during State Fiscal Year 2025 — a 55 percent increase in year-to-year funding. These projects enhance water quality, protect public health and the environment, stimulate local economic growth, and are estimated to contribute approximately 30,000 jobs. These numbers reinforce EFC’s critical role as New York State’s water infrastructure bank.

This record-setting $3.4 billion investment reflects the cumulative impact of project funding announcements made by Governor Hochul following each meeting of EFC’s Board of Directors from April 2024 through March 2025. These regular milestones marked key moments of progress, authorizing municipal access to funding. Each project was added to EFC’s Project Impact Dashboard upon execution of a funding agreement, allowing the public to track local benefits.

EFC’s annual Program Metrics Report highlights the impact and momentum toward the Governor’s clean water goals, ensuring that communities across New York are empowered to deliver safe, affordable, and modern water infrastructure for generations to come.

The full highlights from this year’s report can be found here.

Governor Hochul said:

With EFC’s record $3.4 billion investment, along with millions in additional State funds from partner state agencies, New York is delivering on its promise of affordable, reliable and safe water for all New Yorkers. We’re transforming communities, protecting public health and ensuring every New Yorker can count on clean, safe water without breaking the bank.

Governor Announces Launch of PowerUp2030 Program

Governor Hochul has announced that the first cohort under PowerUp2030, a new program developed by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC) to support small and diverse businesses, has recently graduated. The program is designed to strengthen New York’s growing clean energy sector through 10-week courses that provide firms with technical training, networking opportunities, and valuable information on how to secure clean energy contracts.

PowerUp2030 builds on New York’s efforts to strengthen its supply chain pipeline in the energy space with small businesses, minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE), and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOB).

New York State-based firms with at least five years of experience in fields related to construction, electrical, engineering, and HVAC are eligible to participate in nine modules hosted at LAGCC. The modules are taught by experts from LAGCC and NYPA, covering topics such as the renewable energy landscape, opportunity and risk analysis, fiscal management, construction safety essentials, automation and AI, operations, maintenance, and installation.

Governor Hochul said:

I launched the PowerUp2030 program this spring to help ensure that New York’s supply chain truly reflects the vibrant diversity of our great state. As this first graduating class in the program shows, by providing small and diverse firms with the tools and knowledge they need to thrive, we are strengthening our clean energy economy and supporting a more equitable future.

Additionally, participants are paired with a dedicated business advisor to provide one-on-one technical assistance throughout the program and after completion. NYPA and LAGCC will host multiple cohorts of 25-30 businesses under PowerUp2030 annually. The first PowerUp2030 cohort began in June and graduated this week.

More information can be found here. 

In The News

City & State NY’s weekly Winners and Losers of this week here.

As Trump’s trade war continues, Canadians continue to stay away.

For Stefanik, GOP insiders say, a path to victory is possible.

New: Hochul Campaign Launches First Digital Ad, “A Mom From Buffalo”.

Battle of the bean counters: Challenger emerges for NY comptroller.

Syracuse Republican used homeless people to get tax-funded campaign boost, report says.

Gov. Kathy Hochul: NYS can handle Trump cuts for now — but 2026 could be different.

New York has cut violent crime. Making residents feel safe is trickier.

Pro-Cuomo super PAC raises whopping $1.26M in past week – marking largest weekly haul for mayoral candidate since Dem primary.

NY bill would limit anonymous tips of child abuse or neglect.

How China influences elections in America’s biggest city.

Hochul officially shifts into campaign mode.

NYS moves to ban ‘bulk buying’ of lottery tickets after Texas scandal.

N.Y. lawmakers want more transparency for 340B Drug Pricing Program.

Tisch is said to tell Bondi that New York doesn’t need National Guard.

MVP to pay $250,000 to New York over ‘ghost’ mental health networks.

County Exec accused of trading campaign cash for county contract.

Debate brews over N.Y. state’s law to ban natural gas in new home construction.

Micron’s giant review is full of gaps and misstatements, environmental groups say.

Brooklyn’s federal judges name Joseph Nocella Jr. as U.S. Attorney.

Hochul says Trump, some judges don’t seem to know about changes to NY bail laws.

Angered consumers sue after cyberattack at NY Business Council.

As Hochul weighs ending anonymous child abuse reports, some advocates say it would end a traumatic misuse of the system.

New York needs more millionaires, fiscal watchdog says.

Coming Up

The Board of Regents will hold their next meetings on September 8 and 9.

The PSC will hold its next meeting on September 18.

The New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government will hold its third annual public hearing on September 25, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the New York City Bar Association.