Cuomo watch: New clout with NIFA, LIPA

It took a while, but Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has put his stamp on two major Long Island entities: the Long Island Power Authority and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority.

Cuomo took control of NIFA last week when he named Jon Kaiman to succeed Ronald Stack as chairman. Stack's term expired nine months ago, but he remained on the board while Cuomo waited to act.

Similarly, Cuomo waited to remake the LIPA board. After superstorm Sandy hit New York he moved to overhaul and downsize the utility.

Nearing the end of his third year in office, the Democrat has now seized political ownership of NIFA and LIPA -- and the actions their boards take.-- Yancey Roy