The Cuomo administration’s top energy official defended a plan that would all but privatize the Long Island Power Authority, arguing that a competing proposal to restructure it as a fully municipalized public utility would be unwieldy and could perpetuate political meddling. “Municipalization could take many of the problems LIPA has had for years and make them even worse,” Richard Kauffman, the governor’s chairman for energy and finance, said in an email to City & State on Thursday. “It would mean… [More]

  Just when you thought Albany couldn’t get any more disgusting, Vito Lopez’s ethics-bending sexual harassment report became public. The findings eviscerate Lopez for his lecherous behavior toward eight former staff members and taint Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as his enabler. The report’s slimy details made us so uncomfortable that we’ll go take another shower while you take a look at our winners and losers.   Ray Halbritter – The Oneida Nation’s representative extolled this week’s catchall agreement between his people, the state and two… [More]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has taken a number of steps to revamp New York’s energy policy since taking office, but critics still have found plenty to criticize in the direction the state is moving. At City & State’s State of Our State conference in Albany on Tuesday, panelists took issue with the governor’s proposed overhaul of the Long Island Power Authority, a portion of the New York Energy Highway initiative to upgrade transmission lines, the fate of hydraulic fracturing and more.… [More]

Only after Superstorm Sandy slammed Long Island did the governor finally take a serious look at the Long Island Power Authority in search of a solution to its longtime problems. … [More]

When Superstorm Sandy battered Long Island and shut down power for thousands of residents and businesses for days or weeks, much of the frustration residents felt was quickly directed at the Long Island Power Authority, which was criticized for its slow response and poor communications. Since then, public officials have agreed that something needs to be done to change the unusual structure of LIPA—but there’s little agreement as to what the solution is. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for privatizing… [More]

Since Gov. Andrew Cuomo came into office two years ago, his administration has been taking steps to try to upgrade the state’s electrical grid and increase the production of renewable energy. Now, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the governor wants to continue those efforts while also making sure that the state’s energy infrastructure is better prepared for the next natural disaster—making energy a key policy area the Legislature will be taking up this year. “We also have the added… [More]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday announced a new “energy czar” position in New York, then promptly introduced Richard Kauffman as just the man for the job. “There’s an opportunity to have New York State be a model in many ways, including in energy,” Kauffman said following Cuomo’s State of the State address. A long-time New York resident, Kauffman will finish his work for the federal Department of Energy, where he works in clean energy financing, deployment and market development, and by… [More]

An annotated press release about a Moreland Commission on the storm response.… [More]

Lawmakers scale back their solar expectations, and hope for a Cuomo boost State lawmakers and renewable-energy advocates are trying to let a little more sunshine into the state’s energy portfolio. To do so, they’re scaling back and simplifying a stalled solar bill and attempting to link it to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recently launched solar-power initiative. The hope is that the new strategy will allay concerns about costs associated with more solar investment, garner enough support to get legislation passed this… [More]

* Reform-oriented Brooklyn political clubs which have sprung up in recent years are expected to announce the formation today of a new group called the “Brooklyn Reform Coalition.” The group is expected to include clubs from the New Kings Democrats in Greenpoint to the Bay Ridge Democrats in south Brooklyn, with several other clubs in between also joining in. The purpose: to collectively fill up as many Kings County Democratic Committee seats as possible, and eventually to win enough that… [More]