Republican Bruce Blakeman joined a Queens Democrat over the weekend in attacking Gov. Kathy Hochul’s ban on gas stoves in new buildings, with City Councilman Phil Wong saying the policy would leave Asian families in new buildings unable to cook with a wok and that he would vote for the candidate “who is going to let me keep my wok.”
“If you move into a new building, you’re out of luck. No wok for you,” Wong, who was born in Hong Kong, said at a Saturday event hosted by the Juniper Civic Association that Blakeman also attended. “There’s not a single Asian family who said they can cook [stir-fry in a wok] with an electric stove top.”
The cross-party moment came three days before Election Day in a race where Blakeman has made energy costs a centerpiece, pledging to cut utility costs by 50%. He has called the ban in new housing part of Hochul and Albany Democrats’ “green energy scam.”
The state law, aimed at cutting carbon emissions, bars gas stoves and other fossil-fuel equipment in new buildings up to seven stories starting this year and in taller buildings by 2029. Restaurants are exempt. A federal appeals court upheld the law in June, rejecting a challenge from builders, gas suppliers and unions, but the mandate remains on hold amid pending litigation.
Blakeman pressed the point in an Instagram video filmed in a Chinese restaurant kitchen in Queens, where he grabbed a wok and spoke with the chef. “Is Kathy Hochul trying to put Chinese restaurants out of business?” the post asks.
“We got to make sure we protect all of these gas stoves so you can use the wok and get great Chinese food in New York,” Blakeman says in the video.
The ban has drawn fire since it passed, triggering lawsuits and implementation delays, and critics seized on reports that Hochul has gas stoves at her Buffalo residence and at the Executive Mansion in Albany. Earlier this year, as she prepared for her reelection bid, Hochul persuaded legislative Democrats to delay the timetable for some green mandates after her administration said they would add thousands of dollars in costs for residents.
Hochul’s campaign said Blakeman was misleading voters. “Bruce Blakeman is finishing off his campaign with more ‘100% MAGA’ BS: this law allows every restaurant and business to keep gas stoves, and as usual, it’s Blakeman who hurt small businesses by cheerleading Trump’s cost-raising agenda that’s made everything harder with tariffs, sent gas prices skyrocketing, and killed jobs,” spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
