To promote tourism to the Adirondacks, Governor Cuomo spearheaded a two-day rafting competition, the Adirondack Challenge, between his office and other parts of the state—other state agencies (like the tourism office), counties, legislative correspondents, the Senate, the Assembly. The marquee event is today's showdown between Cuomo and a team from NYC, which is supposed to include Mayor Bloomberg, but Cuomo's rafting trip yesterday looks like a total blast.
In a press release revealing the teams in the Sunday competition, Cuomo (who was in a team with his daughters Cara and Michaela, Secretary to the Governor Larry Schwartz, and Deputy Secretary for Civil Rights Alphonso David) said yesterday, "The Adirondack Challenge is designed to highlight all of what the Adirondacks region has to offer to New Yorkers and visitors - and it is also a friendly competition on the beautiful Indian River. Today’s events illustrate firsthand the natural wonders of the Adirondacks. Now, let the competition begin!"
Apparently Schwartz was the only one to fall in the water. The Times-Union reports that Cuomo was dripping wet at the end of the event. He said, "People think of New York, they think of New York City. And there's a lot more," and pointed out that tens of millions visit NYC, "We just need a fraction, a small fraction of them to come north. ... You can't find this anywhere else on the globe."
Anyway, Bloomberg spokesman Marc LaVorgna is keeping expectations low, "We are definitely the underdog. They have home-stream advantage... What we learned, shockingly, was that when your entire staff resides in New York City, you don’t have many people who raft."
