Courtesy of Remy Chevalier
Astorino, considering bid for governor, pitches new upstate nuclear plant Indian Point would remain open too
Jan. 10, 2014
Written by
Elizabeth Ganga with LoHud.com
TARRYTOWN — Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said Friday in addition to keeping the Indian Point nuclear power plant open in his county, another nuclear plant should be built upstate.
He suggested Massena, a small town in St. Lawrence County, as a possible location. Local officials proposed in 2011 that a plant be built there as an economic development tool.
The idea, which would face significant hurdles, as few new plants have been built in the U.S. in decades, comes as the Republican county executive is considering a run for governor against Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo has called for the closure of Indian Point.
Astorino, who was co-endorsed for re-election by the New York League of Conservation Voters, said a new plant would be important to Westchester and the entire state.
“Look, you’ve got to have something,” he said. “You can’t be opposed to natural gas, oil, nuclear and everything, because there’s just not enough hot air and wind to go around.”
Astorino was speaking at a breakfast meeting of the Business Council of Westchester. He focused his remarks on how he will promote economic development and job growth as he starts his second four-year term.
Astorino said he recently met with two New York City companies considering leaving the city and said the more expensive New York City becomes, the better for Westchester, alluding to proposed tax increases by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“I never thought that the mayor of New York City could be a major part of our economic development team,” he said.
With new leadership on the Westchester Board of Legislators, Astorino also said there will be a new push for $274 million in capital projects to fix aging roads and bridges and invest in parks. Legislator Michael Kaplowitz, D-Somers — one of the two Democrats who joined with Republicans to pass the 2013 budget — was recently elected chairman of the board.
“With the bipartisan cooperation, what we will see is more projects move quicker through the process,” said Deputy County Executive Kevin Plunkett after the speech.
