New Yorkers”™ opposition to fracking is growing although voters remain divided on the issue, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Friday.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method of mining natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale that has yet to be undertaken in the state.
The poll said 48 percent of voters are opposed because of environmental concerns, while 43 percent support the drilling method because of potential economic benefits. The 48 percent is the highest amount of opposition measured in the university”™s polling, with 44 opposed in a May poll and 46 percent opposed in a March poll.
The results were also split by region: New York City voters opposed fracking 55 to 35 percent, with suburban voters more closely split, 47 to 45 percent.
Fourty-one percent of those polled said Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has yet to take a stance on fracking, is “dragging his feet” on making a decision. Twenty percent of voters say he is carefully evaluating the issue. (Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate, has made his pro-fracking stance a campaign point.)
According to the poll, 71 percent of respondents identified as Republicans support drilling while only 30 percent of Democrats support it. There is also a gender divide ”“ with the majority of men polled, 52 percent, favoring drilling, while 53 percent of women oppose it.
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