Governor Cuomo can thank the Supreme Court and an upstate manhunt for distracting New Yorkers from the end of the legislature's epically depressing session.
Lawmakers did the absolutely bare minimum before heading for the hills – hoping that they can hide from their constituents longer than those two fugitives who were found by authorities over the weekend.
The state flag should perhaps be replaced by a picture of someone from Long Island punching Mayor de Blasio in the stomach after lawmakers avoided doing anything substantial when it comes to mayoral control of city schools or dealing with a complicated tax abatement for developers.
The thumbing to Mayor de Blasio's eye by State Senators continued even with his appointments made to the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which they refused to confirm before taking leave for the rest of the year. God forbid the city have any serious representation in an agency that runs the subways.
Cuomo and the two legislative leaders held a press conference on Thursday to trumpet their achievements before voting began in earnest – but it ended up getting bogged down in the governor's near-admission that he was the source of anonymous attacks against de Blasio. It was an odd but fitting end to a session in which both legislative leaders were arrested on corruption charges while the governor nervously looked over his shoulder.
From performing a gay marriage yesterday to being front and center with the end of the hunt for those fugitives, Cuomo is back to playing "Action Governor", grabbing the limelight and looking like the man in charge. But faced with a challenge tougher than a photo-op, he largely watched from the sidelines as the legislature badly drifted off course.
With this year largely in the books, it would be smart for Cuomo to map out a broad blueprint for a real plan of attack for next year. Meanwhile, the legislature will be hiding out in the woods, hoping they can continue doing nothing until the New Year.
Bob Hardt