In April, Cynthia joined local families in protesting the plant, whose construction was directly tied to the bribery conviction of Cuomo’s right hand man, Joe Percoco.  

New York, NY – Today, after years of protests and organizing by local residents and environmental advocates, the Cuomo administration delayed the opening of the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) power plant in Wawayanda, Orange County.

In April, Cynthia visited Wawayanda and protested with residents. She also sent a letter to the Governor’s Environmental Conservation Commissioner demanding that all permits for the plant be revoked. The announcement that the state was denying a needed facility air permit came in a Friday afternoon news dump. The denial will cause a delay and reopen the public comment period, which could stop the plant from ever opening.

Cynthia Nixon released the following statement on the announcement.

“This is an important milestone in the campaign to stop the CPV plant. For years, New Yorkers have been telling the Governor that they do not want this plant, but because Cuomo has always listened more to his donors than to his constituents, they were ignored. Today, they made an important step towards the victory they deserve. Meeting with these residents and hearing how hard they had been fighting was one of the most humbling moments of my campaign. I am so excited to celebrate this milestone with them, and I call on Governor Cuomo once again to revoke all the permits for this plant.”

The CPV plant also has deep ties to corruption in Governor Cuomo’s administration. Joseph Percoco, a top staffer and confidante of Governor Andrew Cuomo, was convicted in March of criminal violations related to the construction of the plant. Percoco serves as a vivid illustration of corruption in Cuomo’s Administration that puts special interests and his corporate donors over the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers.

As governor, Cynthia pledges to halt all new use of fracked gas in New York State which threatens our communities and contributes to climate change. She would instead prioritize major investments in energy efficiency and renewables that will create far more jobs and protect our environment for future generations. Her full plan for a just transition to 100 percent renewable energy is available here.

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