Michael Gormley

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday said he would decide whether New York should allow hydraulic fracturing for natural gas by Election Day next year _ maybe.

Cuomo also cautioned that he doesn't want even that ballpark estimate to pressure his staff into a hasty recommendation to lift or make permanent a 2008 moratorium on the "fracking" drilling method to tap gas deep in shale deposits.

ALBANY -- It turns out that after months of self-congratulatory backslapping over finally steering New York away from fiscal crisis, the sky is falling again.

And for many lobbyists and politicians in Albany, that's just perfect.