Governor Cuomo, who just turned 55, was at the Waldorf-Astoria on Park Ave. Monday night for a birthday celebration-and-fundraiser combo — and so were a vocal contingent of fracking foes. Brandishing a giant, signed birthday card to the governor and protest signs, the opponents of hydrofracturing, a.k.a. fracking, demonstrated and marched back and forth on the sidewalk outside the posh hotel. The Cuomo administration — saying it wanted more review of the data of fracking’s potential health effects — recently decided to extend the date for deciding on whether to allow the controversial gas-drilling technique in New York. Cuomo reportedly said he was taking the added step to ensure that his administration could win expected court challenges from environmental groups. According to polls, New York State voters are about evenly split on the issue, though downstate and New York City residents are more strongly against fracking. — Photos by Tequila Minsky
