ALBANY — Hell, no! We won’t vote!
Protesters for and against gay marriage mobbed the Senate chamber yesterday as talks on whether to vote on same-sex weddings ground down over the most unlikely of issues: rent regulation.
The two issues have been inextricably linked by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau), who sources said was holding back any gay-marriage vote until he cut a deal with Gov. Cuomo to extend expired tenant protections on more than 1 million Big Apple apartments.
Reasons were twofold: Rent regulations provide the upstate and suburban Republicans their only leverage over city-centric Democrats. Also, GOP lawmakers largely oppose same-sex nuptials and want to flee Albany immediately after any vote.
Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said the impending marriage vote wasn’t discussed when they huddled in Cuomo’s office for more than an hour to discuss rent regulations.
Rent regulations, which briefly lapsed last week, were last night extended for a second time and will now expire at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow.
Skelos would not accept demands by Silver to raise to $300,000 a year and $3,000 a month the income and rent thresholds at which landlords can strip price controls from a unit. The limits currently stand at $175,000 and $2,000.
“We’re looking to protect lower- and moderate-income families,” Skelos said.
“But we’re not looking to protect the wealthy in New York City.”
As the leaders met, the shouts of hundreds of demonstrators echoed through the halls. Some demanded stronger rent laws, some called for a ban on natural-gas drilling, but a vast majority sought to influence any vote on same-sex marriage.
Thirty-one of the Senate’s 62 members — including two Republicans — have already committed to supporting the same-sex-marriage bill, leaving it just one vote from passage.
Lawmakers were originally scheduled to leave town yesterday, but are now expected to stay in Albany for much of the week.
Three moderate GOP senators appointed by Skelos to negotiate stronger protections for the same-sex marriage bill for religious objectors reported no progress after meeting with Cuomo.