Groups Hold "Bake Sale to Save New York" Outside Gov. Cuomo's "Top of the Rock" Fundraiser

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Cuomo, whose side are you on? Wall St or Main St?

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NEW YORK, NY (02/18/2011)(readMedia)-- A crowd of angry New Yorkers from around New York City converged on Rockefeller Center on Thursday night to protest the fundraiser Governor Andrew Cuomo's was hosting on the 67th floor of Rockefeller Center, also known as "The Top of the Rock." The funds raised at the governor's event -- $15,000 per person -- are reported to be for Cuomo's re-election campaign, which is more than 3.5 years away, but the fundraiser's invite stated plainly that the funds were actually, "to help fund a planned public-relations blitz" to defend the drastic budget cuts the Governor has proposed.

A small contingent of protesters disrupted the lavish Top of the Rock party, holding a 9 foot banner that asked of the wealthy guests and the governor himself, "Cuomo, whose side are you on? Wall Street or Main Street?" The group disrupted the event by chanting, "Hey you, millionaires, Pay your fair share!"

"It's a cruel irony that while many New Yorkers can't afford to put a meal on the table, Governor Cuomo is holding a $15,000 per person fundraiser so he can push through his agenda of tax breaks for millionaires and Wall Street Bankers," said Robert Tolbert, a leader and Board Member of VOCAL-NY (Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders). "New York is setting a lot of records now around homelessness, poverty and unemployment, but fixing those problems doesn't seem to be on the Governor's list of priorities. We're holding a mock bake sale to save our state's budget because the plan put forward by Governor Cuomo protects the richest 2% of New Yorkers while leaving the rest of us with crumbs."

The protesters hosted a makeshift bake sale outside the Governor's fundraiser in hopes of raising revenue for the state revenue shortfall. They were offering the governor's contributors cupcakes for $25,000 and cookies for $15,000, asking "Buy a cookie to save the state, won't you?" The price list also included $15,000 as the going rate for "The Governor's Ear," a reference to the fundraiser's minimum contribution, and listed $10 million as the going rate for "The Governor's Budget," a reference to the amount of money the big-business Committee to Save New York has raised to support the governor and his drastic budget proposals.

They marched around Rockefeller Center ice skating rink with a 10 foot banner that read: "BAKE SALE TO SAVE NY – Cookies: $15,000 | Help Close New York State's Revenue Shortfall | The Rich get Tax Breaks and We Get Cupcakes"

"We are here today to highlight the fact that this is not a budget crisis it is a revenue crisis. The focus should be on raising revenue and keeping critical services in the budget," said Ann Valdez, a leader with Community Voices Heard. "We elected Cuomo so that he would care about those most in need and instead of pushing for tax cuts for wealthiest New Yorkers, he should keep his commitment to the vast majority of New Yorkers. He should renew the millionaire's tax instead of cutting services, because if he doesn't renew the tax it is simply a billion dollar bonus to those already doing well."

Some of the groups involved in the protest filed a complaint yesterday with the state's lobbying watchdog asserting that the Committee to Save New York, which is energetically pushing the Governor's budget proposal with millions of Wall Street and big business dollars, did not comply with state lobbying laws by missing its registration deadline and asserting that the Committee should have listed the governor as their client on whose behalf it is lobbying. The site of the fundraiser holds its own special place in the budget fight this year, as Rockefeller Center, its tenants and landlord each have their own connections to the Committee to Save New York.