Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to be a part of it.
The lifelong upstater dropped a geographic bombshell on Sunday saying “I live in Manhattan” while ranting about Big Apple congestion and reckless e-bikers and cyclists.
Hochul, who has a home on the Buffalo waterfront, also rents an apartment in Midtown East, not far from her Manhattan office on Third Avenue, sources said.
“The streets are so crowded and I live in the city, I live in Manhattan,” Hochul told WABC 770 AM host John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” program.
Hochul’s team was guarded on where Hochul’s pad is located, with a spokesperson saying, “Gov. Hochul maintains a Buffalo residence and recently rented an apartment in New York City.”
Upstate Republicans chuckled that Hochul has been catering to the voter-rich Big Apple so zealously they’re not surprised she landed an apartment in ritzy Manhattan.
“This brings her pandering to New York City full circle,” quipped Sen. Joseph Borrello, who represents a Western New York district that borders Buffalo.
He recently took a gid at Hochul for holding a Manhattan fundraiser during a Buffalo Bills home playoff game before news of her second home emerged.
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Borrello also wondered — tongue firmly in cheek — if Hochul was getting the same sweet arrangement on a rent-stabilized apartment that Upper West Side Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal has, paying just $1,575 for a five-room pad in a landmarked building.
“Is the governor getting the Linda Rosenthal deal?,” he said.
Insiders say Hochul’s Manhattan pad is modest, not luxurious.
Radio host John Catsimatidis said he was surprised but pleased when Hochul said she had a residence in Manhattan.
“I wasn’t aware of it. But I’m glad she’s got an apartment in Manhattan. She gets to see what’s going on in our city,” Catsimtadis said.