-
Never Having to Say You’re Sorry
November 5, 2012 | 38 comments
-
Rudy Returns
August 6, 2012 | 70 comments
-
The Politics of Tragedy
March 26, 2012 | 388 comments
-
Reflections on Amanda Knox
October 5, 2011 | 148 comments
-
Obama’s Alter Boy
September 28, 2011 | 24 comments
Special Report
Crooked Cuomo?
Why does the New York governor want to close down his state’s most important power plant?
National security mascot Rudy Giuliani is back in the headlines this week for his latest project with private consulting firm Giuliani Partners. America’s mayor is considering taking a spokesman job with the Entergy Corporation, which operates two reactors at the Indian Point nuclear plant in Buchanan, New York, just 35 miles outside New York City. Giuliani Partners has done some P.R. work for Entergy in the past — during safety controversies in early 2003 and again in 2006 — but this is an entirely different situation. Though it generates 25 to 30 percent of the city’s energy and pumps $126 million a year in labor wages into the local economy, the Indian Point plant is now facing extinction.
In late June, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo sent “one of his top advisers” to meet with Entergy officials and inform them that he is planning to close the Indian Point site. The original 40-year operating permits for the reactors are set to expire in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Though Entergy is applying for a permit renewal from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Cuomo can effectively terminate that application. All he has to do is withhold a certain water permit that is necessary for Entergy to win the renewal. According to the New York Times, Cuomo’s plan — supposedly based on fear of a meltdown or terrorism — is shortsighted. It “would take years and require a long-term energy strategy” to wean New York off Indian Point’s private-sector 2,000 megawatts of energy, which currently light up schools and businesses across New York City and Westchester County.
Mayor Bloomberg strongly opposes Indian Point’s closure and predicts profound economic consequences. According to a leaked preliminary draft of a report by New York City’s Department of Environmental Conservation, Indian Point’s closure would result in the city’s energy costs rising up to 10 percent, with 1,100 layoffs at Indian Point and citywide reliability problems beginning within a year of the second reactor’s expiration.
So why is Cuomo so determined to close the site now? After all, he’s always maintained that he’s “not against nuclear power.”
Cuomo, of course, took $100,000 in campaign contributions in 2010 from his top individual donor Dan Tishman — chairman of the Board of the National Resources Defense Council, which ranks as one of the most active anti-nuclear special interest groups.
He also took $50,000 from the New York law firm Kaplan Fox and Kilsheimer — one of his top ten organizational donors. That firm’s veteran counsel Charles J. Moxley sits on the board of the anti-nuclear Lawyers’ Committee for Nuclear Policy and also wrote an anti-nuclear book.
Leveraged-buyout guru Fred Iseman, meanwhile, got to Cuomo early, handing him $55,900 on July 7, 2009. Iseman serves on the Advisory Board of Ted Turner and Sam Nunn’s Nuclear Threat Initiative.
And let’s not forget about all of Cuomo’s real estate developer donors, like Stephen Garofalo ($62,800 in individual contributions) of the Millbrook Ventures commercial real estate firm in Dover Plains, New York. Since 2000, his company has been developing a 670-acre five-star destination spa with its own private residential community in Amenia, New York — just a stone’s throw from Indian Point, with all its tourist-deflecting danger.
Now here’s where it gets good.
Cuomo accepted $55,588 in campaign contributions from the law firm Nixon Peabody. As recently as October 12, 2010 (a month before Cuomo’s election) Nixon Peabody represented an energy company called Competitive Power Ventures (CPV). At the time, CPV was petitioning the State of New York Public Service Commission for allowance to build a 650-megawatt natural gas-powered plant called the CPV Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda, New York — 50 miles from Manhattan and directly competitive with Indian Point.
The previous month, Nixon Peabody lawyer Ruth E.
Leistensnider — a partner in the firm’s Albany energy practice and
the sole lawyer representing CPV —
had been named to the New York Solar Energy Industries
Association board of directors just as that board, coincidentally,
announced its support for Cuomo’s solar energy
platform.
If Giuliani is getting paid to protect Indian Point, then he has no reason to be defensive. He needs to start questioning Cuomo’s motives and looking into the governor’s relationship with Nixon Peabody and CPV. The results could be explosive.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (28) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Patrick Howley
More Articles From Special Report
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/08/11/crooked-cuomo
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
The Spectacle Blog
Former IRS Commissioner Refused to Say That Targeting Conservative Groups is Wrong
Benjamin Brophy | 2:27PM
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Quartermaster| 8.11.11 @ 6:39AM
Democrats are never corrupt, and, if they were, it would be OK since they have their hearts in the "right" place.
\sarc
oldfart| 8.11.11 @ 7:19AM
Yes - there hands are in my wallet.
Mimi| 8.11.11 @ 7:32AM
Interesting....very interesting... are we talking PAY-OFF here? He is the DEMS only hope after the catastrophe is over.
ENOUGH ROPE| 8.11.11 @ 8:10AM
Gay marriage and no nukes. Democ-rats always destroy the good in favor of the bad.
Dick Gnome| 8.11.11 @ 8:22AM
Daddy Mario nuked the Shoreham plant after it was built and gave the $3b tab to the taxpayers. There it sits in it's idle glory not generating a single electron of juice. Like father, like son. The Big A-hole.. ,....I mean Apple, had better prepare for a California style utility with brownouts, blackouts and excessive rates. I think the NE grid should just flip the breaker on the NYC substation and let them put windmills on the buildings. NYC politicians and public interest whackos can power them.
Old Soldier| 8.11.11 @ 9:58AM
I was thinking of Shoreham too. I think the final tab was more like $6 Billion by the time the thing was cleaned up. NYC and Long Island residents are still paying for it.
Sure, shut it down and jack-up electric costs for NY residents and businesses. One more reason for people for flee the state.
Mike Hawk| 8.11.11 @ 11:42AM
It didn't need 'cleaning up'. It never went on line, The cost was to 'mothball it'. The fuel rods and parts were largely sent to Limerick in PA where that plant is cranking out Electricity for SE PA.
Old Soldier| 8.12.11 @ 7:58AM
Yes it did. The plant was fully fueled and tested. It required the same clean-up as if it had operated for 50 years.
loulou| 8.11.11 @ 10:16AM
Great idea: let them use windmills.
hardcard| 8.11.11 @ 8:36AM
The (big) apple dosen't fall far from the tree. Like father like son they are both as crooked as a bucket of worms. Maybe jr. can torch Indian Point like grandpa slumlord did in Brooklyn. A double hit payday.
P.Smith| 8.11.11 @ 8:55AM
I hope Cuomo is successful in shutting the plant down. New York State by their free will elected this person to be their governor; they deserve him and what they get.
Bob K.| 8.11.11 @ 9:05AM
I read the Title to this article and the caption below it asking why he would want to shut down NYC's biggest power source and I said to myself: "The Bastard probably got paid off by the Natural Gas Industry to do it!"
And sure enough, there it was down in the 10th and 11th paragraphs, the link to CPV Industries!
The Natural Gas Industry, the only energy industry that has not been taxed and regulated to death (like Coal, Nuclear and Oil) is paying off New York politicians just as they have paid off the politicians in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
Look for the Southern Tier counties of New York and the Catskill Mountains, where NYC's drinking water is stored, to be turned into pig pens for the industry in their search for gas!
Dan Hirsch| 8.11.11 @ 9:22AM
I wonder if anyone has done the math for lil' Andy?
If he thinks that closing Indian Point will clean up his adjacent tourist spa in his lifetime, he better plan on living a long, long time.
Shoreham's 850 MW has been replaced with two wind generators generating 0.1 MW. Anybody see any resorts going onto the south shore of Long Island Sound near there? They still haven't taken down the containment dome there...
Does he really think that unplugging 2000 nuclear MW and plugging in 650 natural gas MW will leave NYC unaffected? Those New Yorkers may think that they are smarter than street three card monte dealers, but they'll get rolling blackouts and who caused them. A dozen lawyer/donors may be able to write really big checks to lil' Andy, but blacked out citizens will vote him out in minutes.
The left has given us one good idea in Wisconsin: recall while emotions are hot. Surely lil' Andy would be vulnerable if he rolls out rolling blackouts.
Don't tread on me...
DH
PS - New York City is the only place in the country I have ever seen three card monte dealers on the street. Everywhere else in the country is obviously too smart to fall for that ol' scam. Sheesh.
PPS - I am NOT the anti-nuke 'Dan Hirsch' from California. That guy's been an embarrassment for me for thirty years.
Occam's Tool| 8.11.11 @ 5:42PM
We can tell you're awesome, Dan.
JimH| 8.11.11 @ 10:38AM
I used to live in Queens. In one primary years ago Ed Koch (perpetual bachelor) was running against Andy’s dad Mario for the Dem. Gubernatorial nomination. We started seeing campaign literature saying: ‘vote for Cuomo not the homo’. Now we have Andy as a big proponent of Gay marriage. Progress I guess.
rone5847| 8.11.11 @ 11:58AM
CORRUPTION RUNS IN HIS FAMILY
YES DON COLONE
Apen| 8.11.11 @ 3:11PM
This son of Cuomo is no different than the father, just another notch up in the bloodline of the NY political franchise Tweed started.
k962| 8.11.11 @ 3:45PM
Let em close it down, when the lights go out in NYC during a heat wave, we will know who did it!
GENE HAUBER| 8.11.11 @ 3:59PM
AS AN AMERICAN AND ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT BELIEVES WE LEND OUR POWER TO OUR ELECTED DELEGATES AS PER THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, I HAVE A NOVEL IDEA WITH WHICH WE CAN BRING THESE ELITE, KNOW NOTHING POLS INTO LINE VERY QUICKLY.
INSTEAD OF SEEKING A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SIGNATURES, (BE IT 70,000 OR 700,00) TO START A RECALL OF A POLITICIAN OR TO PLACE AN ISSUE ON A BALLOT....WHY DON'T WE JUST REQUIRE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SIGNATURES TO REQUIRE A SUMMARY EXECUTION OF AN OFFICIAL THAT IS LEADING OR ASSISTING IN LEADING THIS COUNTRY INTO VERY DANGEROUS TERRITORY AND MAKING US WEAK IN THE MEANTIME???.HUH
I'M READY TO CRANK OUT THE PETITION FORMS, FREE OF CHARGE.
NO ONE ELSE SEEMS TO BE DOING ANYTHING OTHER THAN BLATHER FOR THE TV.
PCC| 8.12.11 @ 4:59AM
Your "caps lock" key is frozen, man.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.11.11 @ 4:56PM
New York is trying its best to be Detroit. They may succeed.
Richard Baker| 8.11.11 @ 5:32PM
Cuomo is a crook.
Occam's Tool| 8.11.11 @ 5:41PM
Crooked Cuomos---are there any other kind?
fred| 8.11.11 @ 7:20PM
Cuomo's motives may be entirely venal. Transition out of nuclear power would be painful for NYC, nuclear power is surely a necessary, major part of the energy mix for the US, and we should be building new nuclear power plants now. All that stated, I've always, since first seeing Indian Point on the Hudson, twenty or so miles upstream from New York City, had the feeling that its site was problematic. Problematic meaning any serious but otherwise manageable radiation leak there could be catastrophic because of its location.
Ariel| 8.11.11 @ 10:33PM
The merits of Indian Point aside, I know for a fact that this "editorial assistant" never spoke to anyone at Nixon Peabody, nor checked out the party affiliation of the lawyer mentioned in the article (registered republican). Its unfortunate that there was not sufficient fact-checking in this article.
Reality Chick| 8.12.11 @ 1:56AM
Wow, you're really stretching the truth here by saying Amenia is a "stone's throw" from Indian Point. It's about 60 miles upwind. It's much farther from a potential Indian Point accident than NYC. I doubt Indian Point is in the minds of anyone considering a visit to Amenia.
As for Shoreham, the decommissioning of it was expensive, but the Fukishima accident is going to be considerably more expensive. Compare $3 billion to the costs of cleanup after a nuclear accident affecting densely populated region in the Northeast. Shutting Shoreham was a bargain.
Someone in this thread said that New Yorkers got what they deserved in Cuomo. And we did. We FINALLY got a property tax cap after decadess of dithering by both parties up in Albany. Viva Cuomo!
Atomikrabbit | 8.12.11 @ 5:05PM
Thanks to The Spectator.
I’ve been begging the NYT to get a team of their award-winning investigative reporters onto this story for six months. As Howley points out, Cuomo wants to replace Indian Point because:
1) it will curry favor with the lefty enviro-wacko wing of his base,
2) it will curry favor with his rich liberal donors in nearby Westchester, making them think he is protecting their real estate values,
3) it will create a huge windfall to the tune of $2 million/day for the owners of the (Marcellus shale-fracked) methane-fired generating units he wants to put in.
He has tried to shake down Entergy by forcing them to install $2 billion cooling towers instead of much less expensive but more readily deployable wedgewire screens, which have been allowed with other Hudson River power plants.
Nature often provides warning signals about the character of its creations. The poisonous Amazonian dart frog is arrayed in dazzling patches of blue or yellow, warning other jungle denizens to keep their distance.
There’s a good reason God gave this guy the mug of a B-movie gangster.
POST America| 8.13.11 @ 7:23AM
----AS the American taxayer underwrites
the construction of power plants across
RED China.
'AWE---stare---IT---he' the Globalists call it.
Remember folks, we're the IT's, and the wordplay
is REAL.
------SO ITs, have you had E----nuff?