Cuomo remains very popular with voters

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's approval rating remains above 70 percent as he pushes for a property-tax cap and stronger ethics rules with a month left in the legislative session, a Siena Research Institute poll said Thursday.

The Democratic governor's favorability rating is 71 percent, compared with 73 percent in the institute's poll last month.

The governor's "honeymoon with voters is five months and counting," said Steven Greenberg, a Siena College pollster.

Cuomo, 53, last week kicked off a statewide tour to urge New Yorkers to pressure lawmakers to approve a property-tax cap, tighter ethics rules for legislators and a bill to allow same-sex marriage.

The tax cap would set a limit of 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. The plan is similar to one successfully championed last year by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican.

Cuomo's approach would prohibit increases above the cap, with limited exceptions for extraordinary expenditures, unless endorsed by the local governing board and 60 percent of voters.

Seventy-one percent of voters supported the proposed tax cap and 80 percent approved the plan for tighter ethics disclosure, the poll said. Fifty-four percent favored legalizing same-sex marriage. The legislative session ends June 20.

The poll also found that New Yorkers aren't buying into the economic recovery yet. Ninety percent say the state economy is poor or fair.

The survey of 807 registered voters was conducted from May 11-17, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.