New York’s high energy prices are becoming a focal point ahead of Election Day.
Both the Democrat and Republican candidates say they’ve got a plan.
Gov. Kathy Hochul starts by sending New Yorkers an energy rebate check — conveniently slated to arrive less than two months before Election Day.
“Yes, there’s an election but I cannot stop listening to New Yorkers and if I can give them relief from something that is frustrating them, show them we care, we are listening,” Hochul said during an exclusive interview on “Inside City Hall.”
Hochul pitched her energy rebate checks, which will soon to hit 8.2 million New Yorkers’ mailboxes, and touted expanded eligibility requirements for the state’s Energy Affordability Program that gives discounts on monthly bills.
“I’m not giving up on my quest to drive down our costs but also holding utilities accountable,” she said.
Formerly limited to low-income families, like those on food stamps, since January, household heads can apply if they’re below the area median income.
Like in the five boroughs, single tax filers making up to $113,000 can apply.
Meanwhile, in Queens’ Howard Beach neighborhood, GOP candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman promised he’ll slash energy bills in half.
“We will get rid of the green energy scam, and we will open up our own natural gas resources that we have here in abundance in New York state,” he said.
“This is a big election year scam. Kathy Hochul thinks we’re stupid and we don’t know that she’s trying to buy votes because she knows that her utility bills have skyrocketed,” Blakeman added.
He said a big part of the plan includes eliminating New York’s ban on the oil and natural gas extraction process known as fracking.
“We’ll be able to cut bills significantly by opening up the Marcellus shale, by doing both, increasing our supply of natural gas,” Blakeman said.
“We could see relief within the first six months in office. First of all, it’ll take about two months for them to become operational immediately,” he continued.
Also a big player in this year’s election: President Donald Trump — who has his own national rebate plan aimed at keeping control of Congress.
“Wouldn’t you rather have $5,000 in your pocket than $100?” Blakeman said.
So, what’s the difference?
Hochul says her ideas are a “continuation of what I’ve done for years.”
She also described her last phone call with Trump.
“It’s probably been a little over a month,” she said, since the pair last spoke.
“We talked a little about Penn Station. We talked about my nuclear ambitions. I asked him at the time if he could leave the Haitians alone, that [Temporary Protected Status] was expiring,” she said. “And that didn’t go very far.”
Besides focusing on her own reelection, she’s keen on politically kneecapping a Hudson Valley congressman, who is favored by Trump.
“This year, we’re going to take the seat that will soon be formerly held by Mike Lawler. Cait Conley will win that seat. I’m very confident of that,” Hochul said.