Governor Hochul's Veto: When Albany Blocked Press Access
In 2025, both chambers of the New York legislature passed a bill requiring press access to encrypted police communications. It had broad bipartisan support. Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed it anyway—one day before New York City's Local Law 46 took effect, making the contrast hard to miss.
Key Facts at a Glance
Background: NYPD goes dark
NYPD radio was publicly accessible from 1932 until 2024—over 90 years during which journalists used scanners to cover breaking news, document incidents like Eric Garner's 2014 killing, and independently verify official accounts.
In summer 2023, Brooklyn precincts began going dark. Other boroughs followed. The $390 million system—one of the largest police encryption projects in the country—reached full coverage by late 2024.
The legislative response
New York legislators responded to the blackout with a bill to restore press access to encrypted police radio.
What the bill would have done
- Required New York law enforcement agencies to provide press access to encrypted communications
- Established a credential verification process for journalists
- Carved out narrow exceptions for sensitive tactical operations
- Applied statewide to all agencies
Legislative support
The bill passed both chambers of the state legislature. The New York City Council had previously voted 41-7 to preserve press access—a clear signal that elected officials, including those with direct oversight of the NYPD, were opposed to the department's approach.
The governor's veto
Hochul vetoed the bill. Her veto message cited three rationales:
Officer safety
Hochul cited potential risks to officer safety from scanner access. No department in New York—or nationally—has produced documented evidence of scanner-related officer harm.
Operational security
Concerns about criminals monitoring police radio. A century of open access produced no documented pattern of organized criminal monitoring.
Implementation questions
Hochul raised the credential verification process as a concern. The NYPD already issues press credentials. The mechanism exists.
Press organizations push back
The Deadline Club, the New York chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, stated that the governor's rationale was directly contradicted by the bill's language. The bill already included narrow exceptions for sensitive operations and a verification process for journalists.
What encryption has done on the ground
These are not abstract concerns. Encryption's consequences were documented before Hochul's veto and continue now:
EMS coordination breakdown
Volunteer EMS workers report losing critical information. EMT Josiah Williams described an incident where "a Crown Heights kid was stabbed in a park, and it came to us as at a baseball field, but then we had to start looking for cops screaming. It turned out they were on a basketball court. With a critical patient, time is everything."
Journalism hampered
"We have crossed over to the darkness, quite literally, Brooklyn is gone from accountability as it's now fully encrypted. Nobody, besides police, know what's happening on the streets."
Post-9/11 mandate undermined
A federal mandate after 9/11 required all first responders to communicate with each other. Encryption breaks this interoperability, with volunteer EMS and other agencies losing access to police information.
What this tells advocates in other states
Legislative passage is not the finish line
A governor can veto a bill with overwhelming legislative support. Building relationships with the executive branch in parallel with the legislative campaign is not optional.
Veto-proof margins change the math
A bill that passes with a bare majority can be stopped by one person. If the votes exist for an override, pursue them.
Police unions have governors' ears
In New York, statewide union opposition carried weight with Hochul that city-level union opposition didn't carry with the Council. Anticipate this and build counter-coalitions among first responders, EMS workers, and community groups.
Document everything
The EMS coordination failures and specific journalism harms provided concrete evidence for future fights. Every incident that encryption makes harder to cover should be recorded.
A veto is not the end
The bill can be reintroduced. Colorado's press access law took three sessions. NYC passed its own law the day after Hochul's veto. There are multiple paths forward.
The day after: NYC acts
On January 17, 2026—one day after Hochul's veto—New York City's Local Law 46 took effect without the mayor's signature.
Local Law 46: January 17, 2026
The NYC Council had passed Int. 1460-2025 weeks earlier. When the governor blocked the statewide version, the city law was already in place. It requires the NYPD to provide credentialed journalists real-time radio access, with major incidents broadcast on an unencrypted citywide channel.
What NYC's law requires:
- NYPD must provide real-time radio access to credentialed journalists
- Major incidents must be broadcast on an unencrypted citywide channel
- Full implementation is required within one year
What this means elsewhere
Cities in other states whose governors are blocking transparency legislation can act at the municipal level. The NYC Council's 41-7 vote proved that strong local support exists even where state-level action fails.
What's next for New York State
NYC has press access. The rest of New York still doesn't. Here is where the fight stands:
2026 legislative session
The bill can be reintroduced with NYC's implementation record as evidence that the approach works.
Local action upstate
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and other cities can pass their own access requirements. They don't need Albany's permission.
Build the evidence base
As NYC's law takes effect, document what works and what the NYPD pushes back on. That record strengthens the case for statewide legislation.
Expand the coalition
The 14-organization New York Media Consortium is the base. More voices—especially from outside New York City—increase pressure on state legislators.
Sources
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