Appearing together Wednesday, the mayor and the governor unveiled a joint action plan for the city’s economy, saying it will take bold ideas to continue the city’s recovery.

The two leaders spoke about their shared vision at the Association for a Better New York breakfast on Wall Street.

The new 160-page report put together by city and state leaders is titled “the New New York: Making New York Work For Everyone.”

What You Need To Know

  • The mayor and the governor unveiled a joint action plan for the city’s economy Wednesday

  • It focuses heavily on improving the business climate in Manhattan by adding parks and pedestrian plazas

  • They recommend more commercial space should be converted to one of the city’s greatest needs: more housing

  • It is unclear where the revenue for the goals set out in the 160-page plan will come from

City and state leaders emphasized that their visions align, something that was often not the case under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“The mayor and I talk all the time,” Hochul said. “Our teams talk all the time. We share ideas and that is what’s making a difference. And you’ll feel that difference. And we don’t need to get in the news for having this kind of fight. We’re going to get in the news from making this happen.”

Last year, the mayor and the governor were urging businesses to get workers back into the office. This year, there is an acknowledgment that there will be many workers who remain remote.

As a result, they recommend more commercial space should be converted to one of the city’s greatest needs: more housing.

To make Manhattan more hospitable for businesses to thrive, the report also envisions more pedestrian plazas with fewer cars.

Straying from the message of cooperation, Adams also took a shot at the press, saying they focus too much on the bad news about the city.

“We have a face, New York,” the mayor said. “And that face is not always perfect. But we don’t need to look at the worst part of our day and highlight that over and over again to give the signal that this city is not a city of productivity. New York is not coming back. New York is back.”

There was also a message to businesses and top income earners: your input is welcome here.

The mayor lamented some within the Democratic Party are sending the wrong message about those who pay the most in taxes.

“Stop dividing our city,” Adams said. “To continually attack high income earners, where 51% of our taxes are paid by 2% of New Yorkers. It blows my mind when I hear people say, ‘so what if they leave?’ No, you leave. I want my high income earners right here in the city.”

For years Albany lawmakers have grappled with the right balance between making the wealthy pay their fair share, while not driving out those who the state relies on for its annual budget.

“The top 1% of income earners pay about 40% of state operating funds,” says Andrew Rein of the Citizens Budget Commission. “We should not be losing or driving away high income earners because who pays for our schools, medical, police, parks, you name it.”

Revenue is certainly an issue for all of these plans, especially with federal COVID-19 relief dollars drying up. Last year, Democrats raised taxes on high income earners. But Hochul has indicated she has no intention of doing that again.