On March 22, 2023, Assemblyman Ed Flood and State Senator Anthony Palumbo wrote a letter to Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis requesting that the University reject the paid parking plan amid concerns that it would negatively affect the University.

Despite being met with mixed reactions when it was first proposed in January, over 75,000 students have applied for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $87 million “free tuition” program ahead of the July 21 deadline.