HISTORIC BREAK: Andrew Cuomo will move his State of the State speech from the Assembly chamber, where FDR and Al Smith (shaking hands) delivered theirs (AP)
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ALBANY — In a provocative break with tradition, Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo is moving the annual State of the State address out of the ornate Assembly chamber to a larger convention hall.
The Democratic attorney general — who takes office as governor Saturday — argued that a convention center in the adjacent Empire State Plaza would allow more regular folks to hear the speech.
The traditional venue would crowd out the taxpaying public from the address next Wednesday in favor of Albany insiders, Cuomo told Albany radio station WGDJ 1300-AM.
“We can only fit legislators and the lobbyists — what a metaphor for the problem!” Cuomo said. “One of the most important discussions of the year, who’s excluded from the room? The people.”
Cuomo — who also revealed the change in venue in a joint press release with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) — said general-admission tickets to the so-called “Message to the People” will be doled out by lottery.
Cuomo estimated the new venue could hold 1,000 people — double the capacity of the 141-year-old Assembly chamber, with its mahogany dais and marble columns.
Despite Silver’s apparent blessing, the move will likely be seen as a slap at the Legislature, which for generations has hosted the annual policy address.
“Many people will take it that way,” said Assemblyman John McEneny (D-Albany), also a Capitol historian.
“It’s a mistake. I’m troubled with it. It’s turning its back on a rich tradition. Some very great individuals have given that speech in this chamber.”
Other lawmakers, particularly senators, who often had to battle for seats in the cramped and sweaty Assembly chamber, praised the move.
“It’s a very positive step to include more people,” said Sen. Neil Breslin (D-Albany).
“I don’t view it as a slap at all.”
In another break, Cuomo asked both Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-LI) to deliver remarks.
“If anything, vis-Ã -vis the Legislature, this is going to be more inclusive and more participatory,” Cuomo said.
The state Constitution makes no mention of venue, but requires the governor to “communicate by message to the Legislature at every session the condition of the state.”
The speech dates back to colonial times, but was deemed too monarchal and discontinued in 1823 in favor of a written message.
In 1923, Gov. Al Smith restored the address to the Assembly chamber, where it has continued ever since.
Governors who delivered annual speeches in the chamber include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Nelson Rockefeller and Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo.