It’s no secret that I think Andrew Cuomo is one of the worst Democrats out there, and here is some more evidence:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who should be using his power to make New York City more hospitable to working-class and middle-class families, has instead slipped a little poison into his executive budget that could cripple the city’s ambitious efforts to build affordable housing.
Housing is the centerpiece of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s agenda. He has promised to build or preserve 200,000 affordable apartments over 10 years — a tough proposition under the best of circumstances. It could be even tougher now that the governor has proposed placing new layers of state control over the city’s use of federal tax-exempt bonds to build and preserve affordable rental apartments. It’s not a stretch to call this sabotage.
Mr. Cuomo says it’s transparency and accountability, but it is more about intrusion and control. It would give the head of the Empire State Development Corporation, a Cuomo appointee, the power to sign off on the flow of tax-exempt bonds to New York City, which uses them almost exclusively for affordable housing. It would also require that every single affordable-housing project in New York City that uses the bonds get the approval of the Public Authorities Control Board, a shadowy entity controlled by the governor and the leaders of the Assembly and Senate.
These are the proverbial “three men in a room” who hold a death grip on policy-making power in New York State government. The phrase evokes the low-minded, chronically corrupt jockeying and deal-making that govern how the Albany game is played. That two of the three — Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos — were ejected from the room last year, because of federal felony convictions, is about all you need to know.
History buffs- have there ever been a governor of a state and a mayor of a major city in the same state in which the governor, for no reason other than political ambition and spite, has done everything he can to screw the mayor?
At any rate, remember this when Cuomo announces his inevitable run for President down the road. He’s horrible, and should never be allowed to advance.