Spectrum News (Jack Arpey)Tier 2
Blakeman pledges to "immediately end" the HALT solitary-confinement law at a Capitol event with NYSCOPBA, then concedes a Democratic Legislature would make it a budget negotiation
At the Sept. 22 event formalizing the correction officers' union endorsement, Blakeman said he would use the governor's leverage to repeal HALT and rehire officers fired after the 2025 strike. Pressed, he said repeal would be a negotiation with Democratic leaders. Hochul's campaign pointed to ~$4B in public-safety spending and defended the firings.
More on public-safety
New York Public News Network via WAMC (statewide) / Governor's Office · Sep 25, 2026Nor'easter bears down on Long Island: Hochul puts state agencies on enhanced monitoring while Blakeman and Suffolk's Romaine each declare county states of emergencyGovernor's Office · Sep 24, 2026Hochul awards $42M for the year-round Youth Employment Program in the 21 GIVE counties outside NYC, funding paid work for at least 2,500 low-income 14-to-20-year-olds through June 2027; Mid-Hudson ($11.4M) and Long Island ($8.4M) get the largest sharesGovernor's Office · Sep 22, 2026Hochul tours the National Guard's Joint Task Force Empire Shield mobile command center at Grand Central and pledges to keep enhanced security at major transit hubs; her office notes last year's budget added $45M for the mission and raised the deployment to 1,050 service membersGovernor's office · Sep 10, 2026Ahead of the 25th anniversary, Hochul signs three 9/11 bills: WTC-12 filing and pension-documentation deadlines pushed to Sept. 11, 2030, National Guard WTC death/disability claims extended four years, and the 25-year presumptive retirement window stretched to 35 years; also confirms $2M for Einstein's responder cancer-genomics study
Source: Spectrum News (Jack Arpey) · Sep 23, 2026 · Credibility Tier 2 · Permalink https://reviewhochul.com/news/blakeman-end-halt-act-nyscopba-2026-09-22
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