Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman rolled out his own affordability agenda Tuesday, promising to cut taxes in part by slashing services for asylum seekers.
The Nassau County executive vowed to eliminate state income tax for the first $50,000 on income for single filers, and first $100,000 for joint filers. Speaking to supporters in Chili, he also promised to bring down energy costs, reiterating his intent to lift the state’s fracking ban, if elected in November.
In his speech, Blakeman accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of buying into "green energy scams," blaming much of the rising cost of energy in the state on offshore wind and solar panel projects, and the cost of taxes on Democratic policies.
"Kathy, you're the one that made it unaffordable," Blakeman said. "We are the highest tax state in the United States of America. You are the biggest pickpocket in the United States of America. You picked our pocket for the last five years, and it ends on November 3rd."
According to a 2026 WalletHub survey on tax burden, New York has the second highest individual tax burden in the nation, behind Hawaii. Hawaii's high tax rate is largely driven by sale and excise tax, with New York having both the second-highest income tax burden — behind Oregon — and fourth-highest property tax burden.
Blakeman's solution was largely framed as cutting funding for asylum seekers in New York.
"They get free food, free housing, free transportation, and a free cell phone, just by landing in New York State and claiming asylum," Blakeman said. "They're not New Yorkers, they're not Americans, and they haven't earned anything. There's no requirement that they earn anything, and we're paying for it."
The safety net programs for asylum seekers can vary and often are often locally supported or provided through charitable organizations, such as with food or transportation. Emergency housing assistance is temporary, or time limited. The state does not provide cell phones, though federally supported programs like Medicaid provided subsidized phone services like Lifeline if they meet certain additional requirements. Services for asylum seekers in New York account for roughly .3% of the state's budget, according to the New York State Comptroller's office. That amounts to about $780 million per year in a current budget of $268.5 billion.
Blakeman also touted a push for shale fracking in New York, pointing to Pennsylvania's natural gas industry, which has grown to the second largest in the nation since it began commercial hydraulic fracking in 2004. According to data from Power Outage, the average electricity bill in Pennsylvania is $151 per month, compared to $166 in New York.
Blakeman blamed the difference in cost on renewable energy – rather than natural gas prices, aging infrastructure and tightening power supplies cited by the New York Independent System Operator.
"We have foreign corporations that are taking rich farmland here in New York state and putting solar farms on them," Blakeman said. "I went to visit one of these solar farms in February in Columbia County. It was under three feet of snow. Now, that's not producing any energy, but these foreign corporations are getting billions of dollars of the money that we pay every month when we pay our utility bill."
About 40% of New York's electricity generation comes from natural gas, with the remainder a mix of hydropower, nuclear and renewables.
In June, Hochul announced that the state was ahead of schedule to reach ten gigawatts of solar capacity by 2030. That's roughly equivalent to 10 large nuclear reactors worth of power. Hochul has framed her energy strategy as an “all-of-the-above" approach, which includes renewable sources, advanced nuclear power and natural gas.
Hochul’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
