'Luck Of The Irish' May Have Sealed Ethics Deal

They say everyone’s a little Irish on St. Patty’s Day.

Assemblyman Mickey Kearns told City & State that Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided to skip the parades and parties yesterday and instead invited certain members of the state Legislature to a private St. Patrick’s Day soiree at the Governor’s Mansion, where talk of ethics reform presumably took the place of corned beef and green beer (no word on whether either were served) and the details of today’s deal were hammered out.

“I only know what I’ve read, but I think anytime we’re talking about ethics … when we not only talk about it, but actually come up with some solid and concrete agreement between the Assembly and the governor I always think that’s a good starting point,” Kearns said, adding that he'd heard of prior discussions on an ethics deal before the St. Patrick’s Day get-together.

The holiday—or the agreement—must have put Cuomo in the spirit: the governor was reportedly seen strolling the halls of the State Capitol on Tuesday evening, serenading passersby in a faux Irish accent, even going so far as to sweep Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie off his feet in a bear hug-like embrace in the hallway outside the speaker's office.