Spectrum News / NY State of PoliticsTIER 1High
Responding to the ATF's planned rollback of more than 30 federal firearms regulations, Hochul announced Jul 30 that State Police will prioritize inspections of dealers linked to crime guns, the Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns will expand, and the state will run a dealer-education campaign. She will also seek two bills in January: requiring all firearm sales to occur in person (countering federal moves to allow online sales) and requiring affirmative background-check approval before a sale — aligning gun checks with the stricter ammunition standard. Framed explicitly against the Trump administration: rollbacks "make it easier for dangerous individuals to obtain firearms."
GothamistTIER 1
Greenidge Generation, the gas-fired Finger Lakes bitcoin-mining plant, has rebranded as Vulcan Infrastructure and Power and is seeking 200 MW of additional grid power (roughly 150,000 homes' worth) to become an AI data center — raising ~$40M for the effort. Hochul's EO 62, signed this month as the country's first data-center moratorium, pauses permits for facilities of 50 MW+, but DEC says it has received no new application and would not say whether Vulcan's plan falls under the moratorium; Hochul's office referred questions to DEC. Earthjustice and Seneca Lake Guardian say the rebrand is an attempt to escape the moratorium and the plant's pollution record. A first test of how far EO 62 reaches.
City & State NYTIER 1High
At a Penn Station press conference Jul 29, Blakeman said Democrats have "consistently tried to cheat" and would accept the outcome only "if the results of the elections are fair." Asked for evidence, his campaign cited two examples: the PCFB's since-reversed denial of his matching funds and his exclusion from speaking at the Dominican Day Parade. On Fox Business that morning he said Democrats would attempt to "steal" the election; the state BOE said the New Jersey registration error he cited could not occur under New York's system. Hochul's campaign called it "embracing Trump's election denial lies." The same presser included attacks on Mamdani's tax policies.