Moving the State of the State

Cuomo Explains Moving State of the State
Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo is moving his State of the State Speech out of the Assembly chamber and into the arms of the people. Cuomo announced this morning that he'll deliver the annual address at the Empire State Plaza's Convention Center, a decision he explained on Fred Dicker's Radio Show this morning. "We can only fit the legislators and the Lobbyists," Cuomo said of the Assembly chamber. "What a metaphor for the problem!" Instead of legislators and Lobbyists, Cuomo said he would like to...

Cuomo shifts State of the State site to signal new era
The Assembly chamber won?t be the focus of attention for the State of the State next week, but it was Wednesday as state Supreme Court Presiding Justice Anthony V. Cardona, left, swears in Assemblyman Ron Canestrari of Cohoes and other top Democrats. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) ALBANY -- In 1923, Gov. Alfred E. Smith, a former actor known for his booming Irish tenor, announced that rather than writing his annual address to the Legislature, he would deliver it in person to colleagues in the Ass...

Cuomo Moves First Big Speech To Convention Center
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo has shifted the venue for his first major policy Speech from the state Assembly chamber to the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, roughly doubling the capacity with about 1,000 more seats. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says requests for invitations to the Jan. 5 State of the State Address have exceeded the Assembly capacity. Cuomo says he wants more of the public to attend. General admission tickets will be distributed through a lottery...

Cuomo Moves State of State To Larger Venue
Incoming Gov. Andrew Cuomo will hold his first State of the State address in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, a larger venue than the traditional Assembly chambers. Cuomo said holding the Jan. 5 address in the convention center will allow “regular” state citizens to attend and participate. General admission tickets will be provided through a lottery, but details were not yet available. It is also unclear how many seats will be available to the public. The Speech will also ...

State Of The State Venue Change
Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo will not deliver his State of the State address in the Assembly chamber, as has been the custom for the past several decades. In a joint press statement, the Cuomo administration and the Speaker of the Assembly announced that he will instead speak from the Empire State Plaza’s Convention Center. Obviously, there has been much talk about the political fight that Cuomo and Silver are likely to have over Budget cuts, and Controversial fiscal policies like a proper...

Cuomo's State of State gets a new room
ALBANY -- In a break from tradition, Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo will deliver his State of the State address in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center instead of the Assembly Chamber. "This innovation has two points," Cuomo said on WGDJ Talk 1300 AM. "Let's invite the people of the state -- because this about reconnecting with the people of the state, building trust and building a relationship -- and let's introduce a more productive partnership with the Legislature." Roughly 1,000 tickets for th...

Cuomo moves State of the State from Capitol
In a break from tradition, Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo will deliver his State of the State address in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center instead of the Assembly Chamber. “This innovation has two points,” Cuomo said on WGDJ Talk 1300 AM. “Let’s invite the people of the state, because this about reconnecting with the people of the state, building trust and building a relationship, and let’s introduce a more productive partnership with the legislature.” Roughly 1,000 tic

Cuomo Seeks to Make a Tradition More Inclusive
Andrew M. Cuomo’s first Speech to the New York Legislature will be a triple-header, the Governor-elect said on Wednesday. In a break from tradition, Mr. Cuomo has invited Dean G. Skelos, the Republican who will become the leader of the Senate, and Sheldon Silver, the Democratic Assembly Speaker, to join him in addressing New Yorkers next Wednesday, the day scheduled for Mr. Cuomo’s address. The two men accepted the invitation, aides to Mr. Cuomo said, and will deliver their own spee...

Cuomo Snubs New York Assembly
Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said his first State of the State address would not be delivered from within the chamber of the Assembly. The decision cut loose a nearly century-long tradition in Albany and unsettled some lawmakers. Mr. Cuomo said he would deliver his Speech at a state convention center next to the Capitol, opting for a venue double the size of the legislative chamber. He said he wanted to accommodate a larger audience and would invite members of the public to attend, distr...

How to get your State of the State tickets
Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo’s transition team has announced that members of the general public can enter the lottery for tickets to the January 5 State of the State Speech at www.nystateostate2011.com. In a break from tradition, the Speech will be held in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. Those seeking tickets are asked to register before midnight on Saturday, January 1. ...

Cuomo Explains Moving State of the State
Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo is moving his State of the State Speech out of the Assembly chamber and into the arms of the people. Cuomo announced this morning that he'll deliver (Read more...) ...

Moving the State of the State (UPDATED)
The State of the State Address is a hot ticket - so much so that Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo and Assembly (Read more...) ...

Eerily familiar echoes from January 3, 1923
The first Governor to verbally deliver a State of the State address was Alfred Emanuel Smith, the son of Irish immigrants from the Lower East Side who unsuccessfully ran for president in 1928. The New York Times article on the Speech — which ran January 4, 1923 — provides a good summary, but I was left breathless by some of these opening paragraphs. Substitute Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo for Smith and see if things still make sense. (Also note the great epithet the Times gives to William Rando...

State Of The State Venue Change (Updated)
Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo will not deliver his State of the State address in the Assembly chamber, as has been the custom for the past several (Read more...) ...

Sampling of editorials from NY state
When Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the heads of New York State United Teachers, 1199 SEIU and the Civil Service Employees Association come out against a tax cap, you've got to consider the possibility that the cap is a good idea. Gov.-elect Andrew M. Cuomo hasn't even taken office yet, but these three unions have issued a blistering attack against Cuomo's effort to limit local property Tax Increases to 2 percent annually. Silver, speaking more cautiously, says he supports the concept of a ...

McEneny unhappy SOS will be in cellar
Assemblyman Jack McEneny, D-Albany, is “not happy” with Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo’s decision to hold the State of the State Speech at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center . “I feel the same way a congressman would feel if they moved the State of the Union down to the Kennedy Center,” McEneny said. “I think it’s a rich tradition to have it in the Assembly chamber, and it goes back now for 90 years.” “I view it with sadness. I’m not impressed wit

Mount Kisco restaurant names healthful soup after soon-to-be governor
A restaurant in Mount Kisco, Westchester County, has unveiled a new soup in honor of Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo, who lives in the part of New Castle with a Mount Kisco mailing address. Via Vanti! is now serving “Lago di Cuomo” soup. It is a “puree of warming winter greens served with a crostini topped with Goat Cheese, chopped tomato and fresh basil,” the restaurant said in a news release. The soup is vegan and non-dairy, and a gluten-free crostini is available upon reques...

Advocates Push Andrew Cuomo To Start Reform
Yahoo! Finance: ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Reform advocates say New York Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo can start fixing State Government without waiting for any legislative support, using executive authority to take dozens of steps to improve ethics and openness, protect consumers and help the environment. In a 129-page report, the New York Public Interest Research Group lists 30 specific problems and initial measures that Cuomo, who has promised reform, could take immediately after assuming ...

Youre on Carl Paladinos Christmas card list!
Well, at least via Facebook. The GOP Gubernatorial Candidate just posted his thanks and holiday greetings, studded with a “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” poke at Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo. Well, actually it’s more of a “Peut-être Je Regrette Beaucoup”: I made a lot of mistakes but I think we sent out a clear message and certainly raised the bar for Andy. I firmly believe that we woke a lot of people up and we are all better people for having done it. Merry Christmas and...

Does Cuomo support SNUG?
During his campaign, Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo cited “group-based violence reduction strategies” as a path to safer communities in his Urban Agenda. So does he support continuing funding for the SNUG program in Albany, which started work this summer? I asked Josh Vlasto, Cuomo’s spokesman point blank: does Cuomo support hiring ex-offenders for this kind of work? He refused to answer, instead referring me to one of Cuomo’s many policy books. I found an entry on this to...

Post-Election Paladino Slowly Emerges
Buffalo developer and failed Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino is slowly stepping back into the public sphere, this time with a letter to Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Dennis Mullen on the future of his city’s downtown. Never a shrinking violet to begin with, Paladino, a tea-party favorite who received about 32 percent of the vote against Democrat Andrew Cuomo, was silent in the weeks after his defeat. Then came a long and rambling letter to Liz Benjamin, host of Y...

Ernst & Young sued over Lehman: Going for the auditors
WAS the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 aided by a fraudulent cover-up of balance-sheet shenanigans? Andrew Cuomo, New York’s outgoing attorney-general and incoming state Governor, thinks so, and has filed suit against Ernst & Young, Lehman’s auditors. Mr Cuomo alleges that E&Y committed Fraud by signing off on an Accounting manoeuvre used by Lehman, known as Repo 105. Under this scheme, towards the end of each quarter Lehman temporarily swapped some of its assets for ca...

Theater ends run in drama
Patricia Snyder retired under a cloud from the New York State Theater Institute in Troy. The troupe later collapsed when the state ended its support. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union archive) ALBANY -- When the state Inspector General's report on Patricia Snyder's management of the New York State Theatre Institute was released in April, the Troy-based stage company was presenting "Orphan Train," a musical about Children who had been shipped out West in search of a new life in the 19th century. T...

Getting Ready For Cuomo
Here’s a rather blurry photo (those TV lights are really, really bright) of the preparation going on today in the Capitol Building’s “War Room” where Andrew Cuomo will be sworn in as Governor and Robert Duffy will take the oath as his Lieutenant Governor on Saturday. The inauguration will be a scaled down version of past governors who threw lavish parties when they entered office. The ceremony will take place at 8:30 a.m. and last about 45 minutes. Cuomo and Duffy will ...

Mississippi to Release the Scott Sisters
Happy Thursday! Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has ordered the release of Jamie and Gladys Scott, who [TW] have served 16 years for supposedly robbing a man of $11. Jamie Scott has developed end stage renal failure. In addition to granting both sisters their freedom, this action will allow Gladys Scott to donate a kidney to her sister. Barbour decided to suspend the sentence, stating "the Mississippi Department of Corrections believes the sisters no longer pose a threat to society." [Emphas...