All eyes are on Gov. Kathy Hochul this week.

Hochul will give her State of the State address on Tuesday, outlining her agenda for the year and top policy items for the legislative session. Transportation officials and advocates have a long wishlist for Albany.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking for a new revenue stream to make up for the drop in riders during the pandemic. While mass transit use has rebounded, it remains roughly 63 percent of 2019 levels. The agency is requesting $600 million next year to fill a budget gap from the loss of straphangers. It will need even more to avoid a planned 5.5 percent fare and toll hike. Over a dozen Democratic lawmakers have called on Hochul to dedicate new revenue to the MTA in her upcoming state budget.

Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit that advocates for decreased vehicle use, last week released its policy platform for Hochul. It calls for free bus service, bike lane access on major New York City bridges and a weight-based vehicle tax to disincentivize oversized cars and trucks. The group also calls for bills that would grant crash victims or their next of kin certain rights in legal proceedings and ban right turns at red lights.

The Riders Alliance and local Transport Workers Union are pushing for more frequent train and bus service and raising alarm about planned service reductions during traditional rush hour times.

Hochul has so far been non-committal on whether her proposed budget will include an infusion of funds for the MTA. But she has intervened on the transit agency’s behalf on several occasions in the past. The state is paying for additional police overtime in the subway to address a surge in crime. Last year, Hochul used money from the federal infrastructure package to delay a planned fare hike, stating she didn’t want to raise ticket prices during a period of high inflation.

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HOCHUL, ADAMS TAKE UNIFIED APPROACH — POLITICO’s Danielle Muoio Dunn, Anna Gronewold: Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have repeatedly said they can always count on one thing: each other. In a state where their predecessors were known for publicly bickering even during the darkest days of the pandemic, the Democratic leaders have touted the strength of their relationship. Now, their ability to execute a shared vision as two moderates will face its biggest test as they seek to enact a sweeping legislative agenda to stimulate the economic recovery of the nation’s largest city in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. They must also address crime concerns that fueled a red wave in November across deep-blue New York.

Doing so will require cooperation from the more liberal leaning factions of the state Legislature and City Council that haven't always seen eye-to-eye with their respective executives on major issues of policy. But Hochul and Adams are banking that a unified approach will move the needle on a number of top items from changes to the state’s controversial laws ending cash bail to a rapid increase in housing development in a state controlled entirely by Democrats.

CASINO BIDS BEGIN — Gothamist’s David Cruz: “New York's bid to award up to three licenses for full-fledged casinos advanced on Tuesday after officials unanimously voted to formally solicit applications, with an asking price of $500 million for each license. The state Gaming Facility Location Board voted to open up the application process for a full-fledged casino, which would allow live table games and create more tax revenue for the state. The board will review each application and consider several factors, including how many jobs a prospective operator plans to create, how much revenue a casino expects to bring in, and a commitment to contract with minority and women-owned business enterprises. Jobs generated by casinos must also pay a living wage.”

DINING SHED DEMOLITION SPURS LAWSUIT — New York Post’s Priscilla DeGregory: “An East Village hotspot is suing the city for tearing down its $90,000 artsy outdoor dining shed ‘without any warning’ — driving it into financial ruin, new court papers allege. Pinky’s Space — through its parent company Cherry Velvet Inc. — says the city Department of Transportation on Oct. 27, without notice, demolished the 30-foot outdoor dining shed built during the pandemic under the city’s Open Restaurant Program, a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed Thursday charged.”

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KKR PICKS UP FACEBOOK’S OFFICE SPACE — Wall Street Journal’s Konrad Putzier: “KKR & Co. Inc. is taking a big chunk of Manhattan office space being vacated by Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc., the latest sign that modern buildings can continue to attract tenants despite the rise of remote work and recession risks. The private-equity company last month signed a lease for around 220,000 square feet at 30 Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s west side, nearly doubling the size of its headquarters in the building, according to KKR and the landlord, Related Companies.”

STUY TOWN TENANTS SCORE LEGAL WIN — The Real Deal’s Kathryn Brenzel: “Stuy Town tenants emerged victorious Friday, which could upend landlords’ plans to deregulate scores of other apartments in the city. A state court judge ruled in favor of residents of the complex, who argued that changes to New York’s rent law in 2019 barred the owner, the Blackstone Group, from deregulating some 6,200 apartments.”

LOUIS C.K. SELLS MANHATTAN HOMES — New York Post’s Jennifer Gould: “December was an active time for comedian Louis C.K.’s New York real estate holdings. Late that month, he sold a downtown co-op at the John Adams, 101 W. 12th St., for $1.8 million, according to city property records filed just before the new year. That’s well below the $2.45 million the funnyman paid for it in 2016.”

— Crime increased by 22 percent in Mayor Eric Adams’ first year in office.

— The city has proposed two more rest stops for food delivery workers.

— Mayor Eric Adams criticized the federal government and the governor of Colorado over the arrival of busloads of asylum seekers.