New York State

Everybody just has a great time at the State Fair

Elected leaders do their best to show how much fun they had.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and company chowing down on some Gianelli sausage.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and company chowing down on some Gianelli sausage. The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

The 2019 New York State Fair will end Sept. 2, but don’t worry if you’re not going to make it. The fun will live on through the social media posts of the elected leaders who have been doing their darndest to show just how much they love schlepping to Syracuse in the August heat. 

Here are some highlights.

This is the “Summer of Andrew” – haven’t you heard? 

Maybe the Legislative session didn’t end exactly as the governor would have liked – but since then, the summer has been all Andrew. The governor brought quite an appetite to the fair after a busy summer of bill signings, fishing, ziplining and bridge-opening. He replenished his strength with some milk shots and sausages as he glad-handed his way across the fair.

Amtrak is comfy – but don’t depend on it.

Cuomo may have taken the decked-out promotional Amtrak train to the fair – but he left by car. Apparently, it’s hard to cram in so much fun when the train gives you just just over an hour and a half to take in the sights.

State Sen. John Liu got to show off his pilot’s license

We get it, senator. You have the coolest ride in state politics. But aren’t you afraid that once you offer one colleague a free ride, everyone else is going to be hitting you up come January?

Cuomo isn’t the only one stuck on sausage

The governor has favored Gianelli sausage for nine years straight. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul made sure to add her own stamp of approval before teaming up with Stewart-Cousins for a celebration of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

Democrats raise a (tiny) glass with their Dear Leader

Even at the state fair, Democrats couldn’t pass up a chance to mention how much they love state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins – and 25-cent shots of milk.

Paying homage to King Dairy

New York is numero uno when it comes to the production of yogurt, cottage cheese and sour cream. While Wisconsin and California have the edge in churning out the butter, do their state fairs display such buttery goodness?

Cuomo needs to help Heastie punch up his video game

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie gets credit for showing up, but the country-tinged video his office put out just couldn’t measure up to all the baloney-related fun Cuomo was having.

Sometimes things get awkward

Just ask state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who posted about his trip to Syracuse on Facebook, but didn’t think to hit up state Sen. Bob Antonacci, who lashed out (OK, in jest) during an appearance on “The Capitol Pressroom.” Luckily, Antonacci had another political friend to play with. 

Even when it rains, the fun continues

For some reason (maybe he’s just a sucker for huge milkshakes?), New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams decided to make an appearance. His bid for statewide office fell short last year, but he’s building up his political brand statewide – just in case. The sausage options might have been limited for the outspoken pescatarian, but the Brooklyn native put on a smile for his his upstate excursion – despite the weather.

Getting serious, too

State Attorney General Letitia James reconnected with her often overlooked upstate roots - the Brooklynite once lived in Schenectady - and showed up for a Law Enforcement Day event. The state's top prosecutor took the opportunity to reflect on her first eight months in office.

Senators MIA?

If U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand made an appearance at the state fair, they didn’t post about it in social media – the outrage! Gillibrand of course was busy with other states’ state fairs. But Schumer? WTF, this is the guy who visits every county in the state each year – who gives speeches about canned wine, Greek yogurt and cheese! Maybe they’re both going to make an appearance over Labor Day weekend. Gillibrand certainly has more time on her hands now.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that state Attorney General Letitia James did not attend the fair. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.