DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 44
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN: Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has made questioning the state’s commitment to green energy a key plank of his gubernatorial platform.
Not so long ago, he had an entirely different focus. Back in 2017, the Republican served as a green energy company executive who was seeking a multibillion dollar federal contract to build a border wall comprised of solar panels.
“The best thing about it is we could sell the energy to Mexico,” Blakeman said at the time during an appearance on Fox News. “So in fact, they would be paying for the wall. It’s a win, win, win.”
Blakeman created Sustainable Technology LLC soon after President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration and quickly began promoting the idea of having the government pay a private company to build the promised wall along the Mexican border.
His pitch? The months-old company would be the perfect vehicle to manage the massive construction project thanks to its unique steel mesh design: “You can see through it,” Blakeman said of his 30-foot tall wall. “There’s no graffiti that can be put on it.”
The plan also involved the feds guaranteeing the bonds needed to fund Blakeman’s barrier building. The company, his thinking went, would then sell around $120 million of energy annually and that would cover “between a third and a half of the price.”
Trump wound up briefly flirting with the idea of a solar wall. “The rumor is, he saw us on [Fox News] and he saw our design and he started talking about it as a viable idea. I don’t know that to be a fact, but that is the rumor,” Blakeman said on Fox Business.
“Solar wall, panels, beautiful,” Trump said at a rally 10 days later. “Pretty good imagination, right? My idea,” he said while pointing to himself.
These days, Blakeman is a much less aggressive proponent of solar power — at least in the state he’s hoping to govern.
“Our carbon footprint is miniscule compared to the rest of the world, here in New York state,” he said in Albany last week. “When you look at the cost-benefit analysis, you don’t get the return from green energy.”
Long Island environmentalists say it’s “bizarre” to hear Blakeman’s attacks on solar power after a tenure in town and county government when he was largely silent on the issue.
“There are solar panels all across the county he serves,” Citizens Campaign for the Environment’s Adrienne Esposito said. “Thirty years ago, we were working with groups across Long Island to get 1,000 homes to have solar roofs. Today, it’s like one out of every 10 homes has solar panels. So its success is growing and it’s been widely embraced by members of the public and businesses.”
In a visit to Schoharie County last month, Blakeman criticized state efforts to install solar panels in rural neighborhoods.
“Here in New York, it doesn’t make any sense,” he said, pointing to the fact that the panels are occasionally covered in snow. “This is a scam.”
Still, he doesn’t oppose it everywhere — and specifically pointed to a “beautiful state” on the border.
“I’m a big proponent of solar energy. I think it’s great in Arizona,” Blakeman said in Schoharie. “When you have 350 days a year of sunshine and the mean average temperature’s about 80 degrees all year long, yeah, it makes sense there.” — Bill Mahoney
From the Capitol
TAXING TIMES: New York lawmakers are weighing a statewide tax on cash real estate purchases, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s office confirmed.
It’s not clear how the tax would be structured or what dollar amount would trigger it. The discussion is being held as state officials are poised to grant a similar tax for New York City.
The proposal was panned by the Real Estate Board of New York.
“New Yorkers are already the most heavily taxed residents in the country, and the City’s budget issues will not be solved by more taxes,” said the group’s president, James Whelan. “On the back of $500 million in a new second-home tax, putting even more costs on home buyers and sellers will further discourage transactions and threaten existing revenue collected by the State, City, and MTA.”
Read more from POLITICO Pro’s Nick Reisman
STICKER SHOCK: Democratic socialist congressional candidate Chuck Park seems to be a fan of the work of someone else running for Congress: upstate GOP contender Anthony Constantino.
Park, the lefty challenger for Rep. Grace Meng’s Queens seat, has spent $3,180 — across 15 disbursements — on campaign materials from Sticker Mule, the sprawling sticker and printing business owned by Constantino. The irreverent Republican is locked in his own primary battle with Assemblymember Robert Smullen for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s seat.
Constantino is a rapper, former boxer and massive pro-Trump sign owner who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
When Playbook asked Park if he had a comment on his campaign’s Sticker Mule spending habits, he attacked his opponent and the support she receives from a pro-Israel PAC.
“My opponent is taking hundreds of thousands in donations from AIPAC and weapons makers, but we can talk about where I buy stickers for volunteers,” Park said. “I’d be happy to compare my campaign’s finances with Rep. Meng’s at a debate.”
Meng’s campaign declined to respond to Park’s attack.
Financial records related to Park’s run for Congress — or lack thereof — also made headlines today for a different reason. City & State reported this morning that Park is four months late on filing his personal financial disclosure form. — Jason Beeferman
PIED-A-RETURN: Democratic state lawmakers aren’t finished discussing an annual surcharge on luxury second homes outside of New York City.
The statewide proposal, initially championed by Albany state Sen. Pat Fahy, was excised from state budget talks, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters this week.
But Assembly Democrats were told recently in a closed-door meeting that the matter may resurface next year after it’s reviewed by state tax officials, according to three people with direct knowledge of the conversation.
Read more from POLITICO Pro’s Nick Reisman
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
SLEEPY SCHLOSSBERG: Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg spent the day defending himself after The New York Times published a deep dive into his campaign’s internal operations.
The paper reported that Schlossberg’s campaign has experienced extremely high turnover — something we’ve covered at length in this newsletter — and that Schlossberg opted to take a nap or not show up during key campaign calls, the Times reported.
Schlossberg also pulled out of a Working Families Party candidate interview in January and at least one candidate debate.
In response to the piece, Schlossberg fired off posts on X in an apparent attempt to defend himself. In one, he posted a photo of himself where he appears to be sleeping. “Needed a quick nap !!” he said.
Schlossberg went on CNN today too, telling the network’s host Dana Bash: “Once you’re declared the frontrunner, and early voting starts in less than a month, everyone’s got something to say,” he said. “People are trying to figure out how our campaign has been so successful. — Jason Beeferman
IN OTHER NEWS
— ‘BETTER WHEN DEAD’: Congressional candidate Alex Bores’ father wished death on Zionists and justified the bombing of a child in a screed of online posts. (Jewish Insider)
— GUESSING GAME: Inconsistent market valuations for luxury New York City homes are muddying efforts to determine which properties will be targeted under Hochul’s proposed second-homes tax. (The New York Times)
— BIG PRICETAG: Erie County is directing most of its $29 million surplus to a $21 million civil rights settlement, and the county attorney is waving off questions from lawmakers. (Buffalo News)
Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.