Exclusive | Blakeman joins Queens Dem in accusing Hochul of going wok with NYS gas stove ban

Hochul’s getting fried for going wok!Republican gubernatorial Bruce Blakeman joined a Queens Democrat who is blasting Gov.Kathy Hochul for her gas stove ban — saying it’ll take a bite out of Asian culture.City Councilman Phil Wong (D-Queens), who was born in Hong Kong, said he’d vote for the candidate “who is going to let me keep my wok” at a Saturday event hosted by the Juniper Civic Association that Blakeman also attended.“If you move into a new building, you’re out of luck.
No wok for you,” Wong said.“There’s not a single Asian family who said they can cook [stir-fry in a wok] with an electric stove top.”The gas ban — aimed at reducing carbon emissions — applies to new buildings up to seven stories tall this year, and taller buildings by 2029.The law exempts restaurants from the green prohibition, so wok stir-fry cooking on gas stoves will continue in Chinese eateries.Blakeman posted a video on Instagram of him visiting a Chinese restaurant kitchen in Queens, where he talked to the chef and grabbed a wok.“Is Kathy Hochul trying to put Chinese restaurants out of business?” the post asks.“Jackie, they want to take away gas,” Blakeman tells the chef.“No good, no good,” Jackie says in the spot.Blakeman responds, “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.”Hochul’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Blakeman has torched the gas ban in new housing developments as part of Hochul and Albany Democrats’ “green energy scam.”The gas stove ban provoked outraged, triggering lawsuits and delays in implementation.Critics torched Hochul for the ban after it was revealed she had gas stoves at her residence in Buffalo and the executive mansion in Albany.Earlier this year as she readied for her reelection bid, Hochul persuaded fellow Democrats in the state Legislature to delay the timetable for some green mandates after her admi...