For Immediate Release

January 21, 2025

UUP President Frederick E. Kowal reacts to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2025-2026 Executive Budget proposal

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2025-2026 Executive Budget proposal, which provides operational aid increases for SUNY campuses and includes capital and operational funding for SUNY’s public teaching hospitals—including SUNY Downstate University Hospital in Brooklyn—was welcomed by United University Professions, the nation’s largest higher education union.

However, UUP President Frederick E. Kowal questioned how the governor was able to put a dollar figure on Downstate hospital capital funding without public input on the needs of the hospital and what its future should look like.

The $252 billion Executive Budget provides $114 million in new operating aid for SUNY state-operated campuses. Downstate hospital will receive $450 million in capital funding and $100 million in operating aid—the same amount of operating aid it got in the 2024-2025 enacted budget.

“We are grateful to the governor for once again increasing operating aid for SUNY campuses, especially since 17 are still beleaguered with budget deficits that were exacerbated by years of underfunding and the jolt of the pandemic,” Kowal said. “The SUNY Board of Trustees, which has twice chosen to leave those campuses in financial distress, will have a third chance to wipe out those deficits with this important state aid increase to SUNY.”

Kowal said he appreciated the capital funding for Downstate and hoped that Hochul intends the figure as a placeholder until the public has a full opportunity to provide input on a viable plan for the hospital’s future. It’s irresponsible to do so otherwise.

The nine-member Downstate Community Advisory Board—appointed by Hochul in late November and tasked with submitting an April 1 report to sustain the hospital over the long term—will hold the first of three public hearings tomorrow, Jan. 22, in Brooklyn. The board held its first meeting in December.

“Public input will determine how much will be necessary to meet the long-term needs of Downstate hospital,” said Kowal. “That’s what should drive the amount that will be needed for Downstate. Otherwise, you’re essentially reverse-engineering the health care needs of the community by forcing them into an artificial and pre-determined cost range.

“The state needs to commit to making an investment that meets the needs of the community over the long run,” he said. “Downstate hospital, as with all of SUNY’s public teaching hospitals, has been underfunded for nearly two decades, so a large investment is needed.”