With almost a hundred different policy proposals, Governor Cuomo had an ambitious start to the year. And a lot of the big-ticket items went through. The Child Victims Act passed, he signed off on a congestion pricing plan for Manhattan, and the state's rent laws were overhauled. But a big reason for the successes was that this was the first time in years that Democrats controlled the Assembly, Senate AND governorship.

"There was this pent up demand to get things done, so much so that some of the things the governor called for in his State of the State passed even before his proposals made it to the printer," said New York Public Interest Research Group executive director Blair Horner.

One notable flop: legalizing recreational marijuana. But Cuomo is expected to push hard for that in the new year.