Kathy Hochul Pays New York City Taxpayers $271,000 Flight Bill in First Year as Government

Empire State taxpayers spent at least $271,000 getting Governor Hochul to fly the state jet during her first year in office amid sky-high fuel prices and a bitter election campaign, Post analysis showed.

“It’s very hard to see how this puts the public interest first given how expensive it is to fly these planes,” said John Kaheny, executive director of government watchdog Reinvent Albany.

“The governors of New York have been behaving like royalty for a long time, and this is part of that,” he added.

Hochul, 64, made 210 flights across New York City in a Sikorksy S-76 helicopter and King Air jets — with ribbon-cutting, phone calls and virtual meetings often cited as official business justifying the use of aircraft operated by state police.

Many of these flights coincided with “private” events that appeared to be fundraisers and campaign stops as Democrat Hochul amassed a record $60 million ahead of her six-point victory over Republican Lee Zeldin in the upcoming gubernatorial race for a generation.

“I would say it was an election year, and she erased the lines between her position and campaign politics at the expense of the taxpayers,” said Conservative Party chairman Jerry Kassar, who supported Zeldin.


Hochul exits the helicopter along with other people at the landing site near the river
Governor Kathy Hochul’s taxpayer-funded flights cost at least $271,000 in her first year in office.
Matthew McDermott

The flights include an hour-long July 5 jaunt in a helicopter spewing leaded gasoline that costs about $2,500 an hour to have Hochul sign legislation in New York aimed at reducing the state’s carbon footprint. She then immediately flew back to Albany, according to recently released schedules for July, August and September.

Another helicopter flight from Manhattan took the governor to Albany for a call with Rochester Mayor Malik Evans and a virtual meeting with administration officials on Aug. 22 — ahead of two more “private” events that coincided with a $180,000 campaign fundraising day.

A September 26 trip on a King Air jet, which costs about half the hourly rate of a helicopter, took Hochul from Buffalo to the Big Apple, where she met with staff ahead of five “private” events that coincided with gifts of around $225,000. her campaign, records show.


Andrew Cuomo is pointing at the camera in a shirt without a tie in front of a blurred background.
Hohul’s prolific flights on state jets rival the disgraced ex-governor’s travel habits. Andrew Cuomo.
Pacific Press

Meanwhile, ordinary New Yorkers have been trying to recover from the blow to their wallets last summer, when gas prices soared to more than $5 a gallon in some places.

Those flights came at the end of the year, with Hochul taking on a host of other questionable flights, including a trip in September 2021 to watch her beloved Buffalo Bills play at their home opening.

“Gov. Kathy Hochul may try to justify her frequent use of government jets, but the latest release of her public schedule and misuse of taxpayer funds is further evidence that she’s out of the loop when it comes to understanding the financial hardships of the average New Yorker. Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Fulton) said.


A shot of William Barclay's head in a reddish room with a blurry background.
Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay says Hochul’s continued use of government jets for questionable reasons shows she is out of touch with ordinary New Yorkers.
Hans Pennink

“The governor was sent home”

A Feb. 9, 2022, Hole administration memo describes how the governor and other officials should use government aircraft.

“The main purpose of any trip should be a bona fide public purpose, and not just
an excuse to engage in non-government business,” the policy says, which mandates reimbursement “based on current charter costs” for flights that do not meet that standard.

Hochul returned two dozen flights to the state between July and September 2022, as well as other flights earlier in the year, following an Albany Times Union report on campaign activities it carried out on the same day as its taxpayer-funded air travel.

“Everything we do is the correct use of government aircraft. Everything I do is ethical and in line with government policy,” Hochul said last summer when The Post asked her about her travel habits.

“And in the end, the governor is allowed to go home. Buffalo is my home,” added Hochul, who also lives in a mansion in Albany where state planes are required to stay at the beginning and end of each day.


Houkul with outstretched hand speaks on the podium on a blue background
Public records show that many of Hochul’s taxpayer-funded trips coincided with “personal” events that appeared to be related to her full-term campaign.
AFP via Getty Images

That means the state police first had to fly a King Air jet it requisitioned from the New York Energy Authority last year from Albany to Buffalo to pick up Hochul before it left for New York on Sept. 26, and then the plane returned. in Albany without her.

Hole’s cumulative flight costs through early July 2022, including those relocation flights, were about $250,000, according to an analysis of flight records obtained last summer under the Freedom of Information Act.

Data showing repositioning costs were not available for the last six weeks of her first year in office, although records show at least $21,000 in additional costs due to flights from Hochul from July to August 23, 2022 alone.

“Pretty shameful achievement”

Hochul’s frequent flying habits put her on par with disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo, who has also come under fire for questionable use of state jets.

Records show Cuomo made 195 trips on state aircraft in 2017, 189 the following year when he ran for re-election, and 220 more in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted travel.

After Cuomo resigned amid multiple scandals in August 2021, Hochul vowed to remake the state government more ethically and transparently, which was apparently undermined by the more than 200 flights she flew in her first year. his tenure.


Hochul regularly flies King Air aircraft operated by the state police.

“It’s a pretty embarrassing achievement to be able to come close to his just incredible amount of government aircraft use,” Kaheni said.

Hochul built her political brand as lieutenant governor by traveling around the state, often by car, to events in small communities across New York, but that approach makes much less sense now that she’s head of state, Kaheni says. .

“It also makes you wonder how the governor and the governor’s staff have the time to actually think and make smart decisions when the entire DoD was just constantly flying and driving every second, and all this dynamic of eternal rush, always has to be there, always has to be around,” he said. “Why?”


Aircraft Sikorsky 76D in flight over New York.
The cost of operating a Sikorsky helicopter operated by the state police is about $2,500 per hour.
Lockheed Martin

Political rivals say Hochul’s use of the state jet is a sign that she has lost contact with New Yorkers while traveling across the state – presumably on their behalf.

“In the end, most people hail a cab, call an Uber, drive a car or ride a train,” Barclay said, “but the governor, despite repeated and justified criticism, continues his taxpayer-funded, high-paying job. luxury travel expenses.

Hochul spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hayes responded late Thursday with continued criticism of the governor and her travel habits.

“Governor Hochul works around the clock and travels across the state delivering goods to New Yorkers because that’s her job,” she said. “All aircraft use is approved by the consultant and follows the guidelines clearly set out in the public aircraft policy.”

Caitlin Doornbos contributed reporting

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