Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino dared city business leaders to “take a risk” and back him over Gov. Cuomo in the race for the state’s top job.
“I am calling on the New York business community to redouble its efforts to save New York . . . to stand up and fight with me,” he said at a Crain’s New York breakfast Tuesday.
The Westchester County executive battered Cuomo over the state’s bottom-dwelling rankings for economic outlook and taxes.
“It takes a conscious decision to come in 50th out of 50 in anything, and New York has perfected it to a tee,” he said.
But swaying industry titans could be a tough sell.
Cuomo pushed through a litany of tax cuts in this year’s budget, including $1.5 billion in property-tax relief, an income-tax cut for manufacturers, an extension of a 2 percent cap on spending and an estate-tax break that raised the exemption from $1 million to $5.25 million.