New Yorkers agree with fracking ban, survey finds

The majority of New York state voters agree with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) decision to ban hydraulic fracturing in the state, a new poll found.

Fifty-five percent of New Yorkers approve of the Cuomo administration’s policy, announced last week, to make permanent the moratorium that the state had on fracking for oil and natural gas, Quinnipiac University found in a survey released Monday.

{mosads}Cuomo and his Cabinet said they reached the decision based on their research into the environmental and health effects of pollution from fracking.

In every political party, gender, age and regional group, more voters agreed with the fracking ban than disagreed by at least a small margin, Quinnipiac said. Even Republicans and upstate residents, which would stand to benefit the most from the economic impacts of fracking, backed Cuomo.

“It’s a clean sweep, but not a big sweep, for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to ban fracking in New York state,” Maurice Carroll, assistant director of Quinnipiac University’s polling operations, said in a statement.

“None of the groups we list is opposed, but the long-awaited decision barely moves the job approval needle, although his disapproval does go down.”

Democrats approve of the ban more than Republicans, and women like it more than men.

In both upstate and New York City, 56 percent of voters said they approved, compared with 30 percent disapproval in upstate and 19 percent in New York City. In New York City’s suburbs, the breakdown is 52 percent agreement to 27 percent disagreement.