Metro

New Yorkers favor letting cities boost local minimum wage

ALBANY — A new statewide poll shows a large majority of New Yorkers support giving municipalities authority to raise the minimum wage locally, something Gov. Cuomo opposes.

The Siena College poll, released Tuesday, showed 85 percent support among Democrats, 48 percent among Republicans and 74 percent among independents.

Mayor de Blasio has requested state permission to set New York City’s wage “consistent with the needs of working people in the five boroughs.”

The statewide minimum rises to $8 starting this year, which is 75 cents above the federal minimum. It will increase to $8.75 an hour at the end of 2014 and to $9 an hour at the end of 2015.

In a radio interview hours after the poll was released, Cuomo said that letting municipalities raise their base wage could lead to destructive competition “to lure the employees or the employers right from the other side of the border.”