Politicians’ Rush for Bills Box Meets Little Ethics Defense
Guidelines limiting gifts of taxpayer resources have “no teeth whatsoever,” according to good government watchdog.
Chris Bragg · April 4, 2024
![Governor Kathy Hochul of New York stands behind a podium with a Buffalo Bills logo and her arms spread wide.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/9_9enslGtFhcqwwM_8X93E4IcqusqJjxtqUDSk2sB-4/w:820/h:546/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtYmlsbHMtc3RhZGl1bS5qcGc.jpg)
Governor Kathy Hochul announces construction milestone on the new Buffalo Bills stadium on January 26, 2024. | Darren McGee / Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
![Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Governor Kathy Hochul, wearing Buffalo Bills gear, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, wearing Dallas Cowboys gear, at the Buffalo Bills game on December 17, 2023.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/RsZ00u2KTNaUfZaGgufran-MWhd805VP1ZTtWtp8Q4s/w:820/h:615/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9wZW9wbGVzc3Rva2VzLWhvY2h1bC1oZWFzdGllLmpwZWc.jpeg)
Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie at the Buffalo Bills game on December 17, 2023.
| Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
Cuomo “never set foot” in the ESD suite.
—Rich Azzopardi
![Several people, including former governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, stare out a well-lit window while a football game plays in the background.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/B35mGuQnf2a_vq8LW8BZWIL5rNXOqwUwlOieZ1Bd6bI/w:820/h:592/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9jdW9tby1iaWxscy1ib3guanBn.jpg)
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo watches a Bills game from the team owners' suite on October 20, 2019.
| Mike Groll / Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo
“The whole mess is a perfect example of why government officials should not get free tickets to anything.”
—John Kaehny, Reinvent Albany
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/-UKCkzG-AoHYswtqkYDJPlrxSIxgcW-vNq6e6HntUkE/w:135/h:190/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9IZWFkLXNob3QuanBn.jpg)
Chris Bragg is the Albany bureau chief at New York Focus. He has done investigative reporting on New York government and politics since 2009, most recently at The Buffalo News and Albany Times Union.
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