Hochul's Aug. 28, 2026 pardon of Keisy Guerrero Mariano (Keisy G.M. in court papers), a lawful permanent resident convicted of second-degree assault in 2015, erased the sole basis for his deportability and mandatory ICE detention. That ended Genalo v. Black, the Trump administration's Supreme Court appeal of a 2024 2nd Circuit ruling that his 21 months in detention without a bond hearing violated due process; argument had been set for Oct. 13. The ACLU raised the pardon in its Aug. 31 merits brief, Solicitor General D. John Sauer conceded mootness in a Sept. 11 letter, the parties jointly stipulated, and the Court dismissed the case the same day. The 2nd Circuit precedent stands; DOJ says it will seek another case this term. The governor's clemency release did not mention the litigation, and the timing (pardon issued days before the respondent's brief was due) is the core of the criticism. Hochul's office had not commented as of Sept. 12; no Blakeman statement located yet.

Two threads converged in the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2026 25th anniversary. First: Hochul spoke Aug. 28 at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York wearing a black headscarf; a clip posted Aug. 30 by the "End Wokeness" X account drew 4M+ views and a national conservative pile-on (Brandon Gill, Benny Johnson, Riley Gaines, Megyn Kelly's show, Daily Wire, Townhall and others), much of it invoking the anniversary. Snopes rated the "wore a hijab" framing a Mixture — the headscarf is authentic but her hair was visible, so it was not a traditional hijab. Second: the Retired Port Authority Police Benevolent Association (president John McDevitt) sent Aug. 14 letters asking Hochul and Mayor Mamdani to stay away from the Ground Zero ceremony, objecting to Hochul lighting One World Trade Center for Muslim American Heritage Month; the letters surfaced Aug. 29. Hochul rejected the demand and plans to attend. Her office says she respects 9/11 victims and their families while rejecting anti-Muslim hatred. Sept. 1 escalation: President Trump posted the photo on Truth Social calling Hochul "the Worst Governor in the Country," saying she wears "the hijab" to win "the Arab Vote," and tying it to congestion pricing ("The whole thing is CRAZY!"). Blakeman posted the photo the same day, calling it "political pandering" that was "especially tone-deaf" before the anniversary; Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick called Blakeman's post an example of leaders "exploiting the 9/11 anniversary to (re)normalize Islamophobia." Hochul's campaign scheduled a Rosh Hashanah food distribution with Jewish city officials on Sept. 2. UPDATE (Sept 2, 2026): Hochul responded on camera for the first time — "I was invited as a guest, and I always wear the appropriate attire, whether I am going to a temple... an Orthodox community or... a catholic church in the Vatican," and of Blakeman: "If he has a problem with that, that says more about him than it does anybody else." To his Newsday remark that a hijab and feminism are incompatible: "I just love it when men lecture women on whether or not they are a feminist." Her office cited the 2022 visit to an attacked Ronkonkoma mosque and Officer Islam's funeral as precedent. Blakeman said his post was not an attack on Muslims and that he visits mosques regularly. CAIR-NY's Afaf Nasher said linking the visit to 9/11 is inappropriate. UPDATE (Sept 2, 2026): Hochul answered Trump directly on X: "I was a guest in a Muslim house of worship and showed respect for the people who welcomed me. That used to be standard in this country before you came along. I'll never apologize for treating people of any faith with dignity, no matter how Islamophobic you and your enablers are." The End Wokeness clip had passed 10M views by Sept. 2. BACKFILL (Aug 31, 2026): before the Sept. 1 post, Blakeman told Newsmax he sided with the retired Port Authority officers and that if Hochul and Mamdani attend Ground Zero anyway, "turn your back on them," likening the ceremony to a wake; he was a Port Authority commissioner on 9/11 and lost his nephew, court officer Thomas Jurgens, in the South Tower. UPDATE (Sept 3, 2026): Hochul called the "Hijab Hochul" attack "reprehensible." Blakeman escalated rather than retreated, invoking his nephew's death and saying Hochul "has aligned yourself with Zohran Mamdani who won't speak against 'Global Intifada' which was the goal of his murderers." The Post noted Blakeman wore a head covering at a Sikh event in 2025. Next flashpoint: the Sept. 11 ceremony itself, where both Hochul and Mamdani plan to attend.

Nassau's legislature approved two legal-representation contracts totaling $730,000 for Abrams Fensterman LLP, founded by Howard Fensterman, the finance chair of Blakeman's gubernatorial campaign. The contracts were signed in May 2026, months before the legislature formally approved them in early August. Blakeman's campaign received a combined $43,000 from firm-linked donors in the six months before the award. Ethics experts said the contracting process lacked the transparency needed to dispel concerns about favoritism or conflicts of interest.

Blakeman's campaign has run a series of AI-generated ads depicting Kathy Hochul, culminating in a minute-long July 7 video in which a deepfake Hochul delivers a fictional "confession" on taxes, tolls and bail. City & State reported in May that an earlier AI video may have violated New York's disclosure law for AI-generated political content; the campaign says the ads are satire, which it argues is exempt, and notes a small "AI" label on the video. Blakeman defended the practice on NY1 on July 9. Hochul's campaign dubbed him "Bruce (Deep) Fakeman." UPDATE (Jul 22, 2026): Blakeman continued defending the AI ads on ABC7 — "you gotta use every tool in the toolbox," calling them satire in the tradition of late-night comedy; a Hochul campaign spokesman called the ads "straight up lying." UPDATE (Aug 10, 2026): State Democratic Committee chair Jay Jacobs filed a formal complaint with the State Board of Elections alleging the ads violate the 2026 election law requiring political communications containing "materially deceptive media" to disclose that the content "has been manipulated." Blakeman again called the ads satire and accused Democrats of trying to cheat. Complaint pending before the BOE. https://nystateofpolitics.com/state-of-politics/new-york/politics/2026/08/11/democrats-blakeman-ai-depictions- UPDATE (Sept 2, 2026): City & State reported the campaign has moved from AI video to mail: official-looking "memorandum of tax assessment" letters sent to NYC homeowners saying "according to our records" they own a second property subject to the pied-à-terre tax, paired with a $50+ donation ask. The package carries "Not official government business" and a "Paid for by Blakeman for New York" disclosure; at least one recipient couple owns only their primary home. The campaign did not say how addresses were chosen; the likely source is the ~950,000-address DOF list Blakeman had criticized the city for releasing. Election lawyer Sarah Steiner: "manipulative scaremongering" but not illegal. https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2026/09/blakeman-sends-fake-pied-terre-letters-campaign-stunt/415790/

The Democrat-majority Public Campaign Finance Board denied Blakeman matching funds on a party-line 4-3 vote over a running-mate filing error; courts reversed it as "arbitrary and capricious."

By declining public matching funds, Hochul keeps her large cash lead but also escapes a rule that would have required disclosing who hosts and attends her fundraisers.

Broadway producers gave Hochul at least $479,000 since 2022; months later she proposed a $150M expansion of the NYC theatrical tax credit, partly retroactive.

Hochul touts inflation refund checks and tax cuts, but polls show most New Yorkers call the state unaffordable. Update Jul 29 2026: the next round of checks (up to $200, $1B utility-relief program) will arrive September-October, weeks before the Nov 3 election — the second straight fall delivery. Republicans call the timing a gimmick; Hochul says it is direct relief for higher utility bills.

Blakeman signed a first-in-nation ban on public face coverings used to conceal identity; a disability-rights lawsuit was filed and dismissed for lack of standing.

Hochul has cited housing costs for outmigration and at times appealed to wealthy former residents to return while opposing new taxes on the wealthy.

The Public Campaign Finance Board disqualified Blakeman over a running-mate paperwork technicality; courts overturned the decision and restored ~$4M in funds.

The Trump administration removed the MTA as lead of the Penn Station overhaul in favor of Amtrak; Hochul welcomed it as a savings win and withdrew NY's $1.3B. In June 2026 Amtrak and "Penn Transformation Partners" signed a pre-development agreement and unveiled a ~$7-8B design (renderings included Trump's name and a presidential seal); ~$240M federal is committed and Amtrak says it will proceed with or without the MTA. Cost-sharing remains unresolved.