NY Dems and GOP blast New York Power Authority over $7.5M private plane

Source: USA Today

Nov. 18, 2025. 6:13 a.m. ET


The New York Power Authority should stop flying its top executives to press conferences and ribbon cuttings on a $7.5 million plane staffed by three full-time pilots, each making six figures, the state’s leading Democrat and Republican lawmakers say.

The state power authority's board members also shouldn't be able to use the plane to fly to monthly meetings, the lawmakers added.

In rare bipartisan agreement, the leadership of the New York State Senate, Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Republican Rob Ortt, separately called out NYPA’s use of a turboprop that emits tens of thousands of gallons of carbon-spewing jet fuel annually, a practice highlighted by a USA TODAY Network investigation published in September.

“New Yorkers are grappling with skyrocketing energy costs and uncertainty about heating their homes this winter,” said Stewart-Cousins, the Senate majority leader who represents Yonkers and parts of Westchester County. “It is unacceptable that the agency tasked with overseeing the production and distribution of this power is wasting millions of dollars of taxpayer money on a private jet. This must stop immediately.”

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/11/18/ny-democrats-republicans-blast-new-york-power-authority-private-plane/87332380007/