INDIAN LAKE, NY — Don’t worry, New Yorkers. We’re in charge — really!
Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo channeled their inner mountain men — and showed off their office tans — during a white-water rafting race in the Adirondacks yesterday to promote upstate tourism.
The pair, joined by crews of assorted relatives and staffers, engaged in a three-mile contest on the Indian River, about 310 miles north of Manhattan.
Cuomo, 55, clearly had a home-stream advantage. His team, which included his teenage daughters, Cara and Michaela, beat Bloomberg’s by 18 seconds, finishing at 18 minutes and 31 seconds.
Team Andy also paddled to victory in an event on Sunday, despite one crew member going overboard.
The 71-year-old Bloomberg had tried to lower expectations. Before the race, he joked that just surviving would be a victory and that the governor’s team had youth and experience.
Hizzoner, who jumped in the river for a dip after the race, cracked that Cuomo had used the power of his office to force the mayor into joining him.
“He called me up and I said, ‘Oh, I can’t do that.’ And he said, ‘You will come,’ ” Bloomberg said.
The two-day event cost taxpayers about $175,000. But Cuomo said the publicity was “priceless” and brought reporters from as far away as the United Kingdom and Taiwan.