The push for Propel project: Politically connected firms face community opposition

As developers charge ahead with a plan to build a sprawling $3.26 billion power line project from Long Island to Westchester, they're doing so with an army of politically connected lobbying, consulting, legal and construction firms, many of which have already benefitted from the project or stand to gain millions as it advances. 

The list of those working within the realm of influence of the project known as Propel NY Energy include a politically connected Long Island law firm whose partner advises the Hochul administration, an influential Albany law firm and a construction company whose principals have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Gov. Kathy Hochul's campaign over the years. 

No one's accusing the developers or the state of any improprieties, but opponents say the air of inevitability of a project whose primary purpose has changed over time lends credence to the notion that higher forces are at work pulling for Propel. Backers of the plan dismiss the claims and say the project is desperately needed as downstate New York faces impending power shortfalls. 

Propel, being developed by the New York Power Authority and utility consortium New York Transco, this summer awarded pre-construction contracts for a project that will bring a series of high-voltage power lines and substations from western Suffolk and across Nassau to Queens, the Bronx and Westchester. Transco is owned by subsidiaries of investor-owned utilities including National Grid and Con Edison.

NYPA and Transco are filing construction plans in preparation for a late 2026 start of construction, even before the project has received two critical federal permits and a final certificate from the state.

While Hochul has called Propel a “critical infrastructure” project, North Shore residents who oppose its convergence point through their community have complained about potential health, economic and environmental concerns over the five-year construction period.

“I think the investment’s already been made—I don’t think they can stop the train,” said Daniel McAree, a Glen Head resident who has filed numerous objections to the project in state Public Service Commission filings. “It’s a little disturbing to me that they’re able to continue with this process and it seems they don’t have all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed.”

“It’s just very frustrating being part of a process where the facts are irrelevant to steamrolling this project ahead,” said Bruce Kennedy, administrator for the Village of Sea Cliff, who has also raised numerous objections to the plan.

The project, initially developed in response to a need to transmit upwards of 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind from offshore Long Island to the upstate region, has since morphed into a “power agnostic” line that proponents say will help energy reliability and address future power constraints facing the downstate region.

When Propel NY Energy was first awarded in 2023, offshore wind was touted to replace aging natural gas-powered plants to become the baseload power source for Long Island and, with the proper extension, much of the state. Long Island alone was expected to see up to 2,400 megawatts of wind coming its way, and proponents cheered the project on.

“Five major offshore wind projects are underway in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island. Together, they have the potential to help wean the state’s homes and businesses from pollution-generating fossil fuels,” wrote former Public Service Commissioner William Flynn and Thomas Garry, a top state and Nassau Democratic Party counsel, in a Long Island Business News special section in 2023.

Flynn, a former president of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, heads the energy practice for Harris Beach, the law firm that has represented New York Transco through the state permitting and approval processes for Propel, and Garry is head of the firm's Long Island office. Garry, who is an advisor to the Hochul administration on a judicial panel, also co-chairs the Nassau Democratic Committee and is law chair of the state Democratic Committee. He helped PSEG Long Island negotiate its new contract extension with LIPA last year, Newsday reported.

Harris Beach spokesman Brian Carnevale, in an email, said the firm “proudly represents” New York Transco and NYPA on regulatory matters and approvals for Propel, which it called a “critical” initiative to boost resiliency and “lower energy costs.”

Carnevale noted that Flynn, a partner in the firm, is “one of the attorneys on the [Propel] project.” Garry, however, is “not an active part of the team supporting the project,” adding that his political activity and role the state judicial screener committee “have no connection to the project.”

Transco spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said in an email that Harris Beach "does not perform any lobbying work for Propel," working instead as the project's regulatory attorneys.

Transco has employed other firms to help ease the plan through the myriad state and federal approval processes. In all, according to state records, Transco has spent more than $1.9 million lobbying state and local officials, including the governor’s office, dozens of state legislators, mayors, supervisors and county executives from Nassau to Westchester. They’ve met on several occasions to lobby Carrie Meek Gallagher, the chief executive of the Long Island Power Authority, including when she formerly served as head of the Department of Public Service’s Long Island office.

Most of Transco’s semi-annual lobbying reports filed with the state since 2022 list Propel as among its named projects being lobbied for. Lobbying the governor’s office about Propel began in earnest in the later part of 2022, according to the records. 

Almost from the start, Transco has worked with Bolton St. Johns, the influential Albany lobbying firm, to represent it on utility matters. Among the more than 50 lobbyists registered by Bolton to work for Transco is Michael Keogh, a firm vice president. Keogh is the husband of Karen Persichilli Keogh, the second in command to Hochul as secretary to the governor. Transco said Keogh "does not work on Propel." 

In responses to Newsday, Hochul spokesman Ken Lovett said Karen Keogh has recused herself from matters pertaining to Propel. "The administration voluntarily created a more stringent recusal process than the law requires when Secretary Keogh was appointed that she continues to follow today,” Lovett wrote. “As Secretary to the Governor, she has never had any discussions about Propel NY or any of the matters of her husband's clients."

Asked if Transco’s legal and lobbying expenses were ultimately passed on to New York ratepayers, Guilfoyle said the company “pays and accounts for lobbying expenditures separately from ratepayer costs.”

She wrote the company retains “experts to ensure state and local officials, municipalities, and other stakeholders have accurate and timely information about this complex and vital project. These expenditures are paid for by New York Transco.”

She noted that Mike Keogh “does not work” on the Propel project, and that Harris Beach has been Transco’s “long-standing outside legal counsel.” She declined to say how much Transco has paid Harris Beach.

Lobbying by Transco hasn’t slowed even as the project prepares to launch construction. In the first six months of 2026, New York Transco has spent $327,498 to pay six separate lobbying firms to advocate for Propel, among other lobbying initiatives, according to state records. Among those lobbied  this year: six staffers at the state Department of Public Service, the governor’s office, the Nassau County executive’s office and the mayor of Roslyn, according to the records.

Transco’s effort to get out the message on Propel hasn’t just been in New York State. It has also hired firms to help move the project through several layers of needed approval at the federal level, where the Trump administration wields power over the plan through required permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Trump administration agency spokesmen have declined to say whether permits will be approved, or if Propel’s origin as a wind farm cable will impact the approvals.

According to federal filings, Transco hired McBride Consulting & Business Development Group of Melville to work with another firm, Holland & Knight, to lobby for it in Washington, D.C. Media reports indicate that McBride’s focus would be on advancing the Propel project through federal regulatory matters, including permits.

McBride on its website said it’s been working on Propel since the state grid manager, the New York Independent Systems Operator, selected Propel in 2023. The lobbying and consulting firm “has spearheaded the engagement efforts on Long Island with elected officials, town and municipalities, community groups, and key stakeholders to proactively educate and update those groups on the Propel NY details and timeline.” Among those registered to work for the firm are chief executive Robert McBride and former Suffolk County Deputy Executive Jon Schneider.

McBride also employs Gregory Lavine, the son of state Assemb Charles Lavine, whose district covers much of the North Shore territory through which Propel will run. The assemblyman has been criticized by local opponents of Propel for a relatively non-committal stance on the project. He told Newsday his stance has nothing to do with his son working for McBride. Gregory Lavine is not a registered lobbyist for Propel or Transco.

“You ask if my son’s affiliation with a Propel lobbyist has any impact on my position on the project. The answer to that question is no,” Lavine wrote in an email.

North Shore residents who oppose the project say Lavine and Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola), whose district represents the area, have been relatively quiet when it comes to supporting them in their concerns about Propel.

“It’s disheartening if it turns out that there were gains that were made by their not representing their constituency,” said Vincent Suraci, a Glenwood Landing resident whose home on Glenwood Road will directly face cable lines.

Last week Lavine filed comments with the PSC following a motion by three school districts along the route to dismiss or deny the project’s needed permits. Lavine’s position was that he had “reviewed the submissions” and “I respectfully urge that all submissions receive full consideration.”

Matthew Cantor, his spokesman, said Lavine “approves of adequate infrastructure, but has concerns over any disruptions to members of community.”

But community residents say they want more. They point to other politicians such as  Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, who has taken a stance against the cable construction plan as proposed in state filings “because too many critical questions remain unanswered and too many potential impacts have yet to be fully evaluated.”

Another politician who many residents say they want to take a tougher stance against the cable is Martins. When he’s not working as a senator, Martins is an attorney for Harris Beach. 

Denise Paredes, a spokeswoman for Martins, said the senator “is concerned about the concerns that his constituents have. These concerns need to be addressed efficiently.” He’s “been on record for years consistently voicing concerns about the project,” she added.

Asked if his position at Harris Beach influenced his position on Propel, Paredes said no. “He keeps his law practice and his public advocacy and his legislative responsibilities completely separate. I don’t think it’s a concern at all," she said, noting that the state Senate has no voting role on matters pertaining to Propel.

Still, constituents say, Martins could have done more.

“It’s very disappointing, to be honest,” said Suraci, the Glenwood Landing resident. “I don’t believe he [Martins] was committed to stopping this project at the state level. He’s not running for office in November, and I feel there were some business priorities that took precedence over him standing up for the local constituents.”

Even before it has secured all needed state and federal permits, Propel and its developers have begun awarding contracts. One of the prime pre-construction projects went to Haugland Group, the Melville-based firm that has been awarded state contracts for offshore wind farms, cables and battery storage for a decade.

Haugland principals, William and son Billy Haugland, are major political contributors, giving more than $1 million to parties and candidates on both sides of the aisle for decades. Over the past five years, the Hauglands and other family members have donated $299,100 to Hochul’s campaign.

Billy Haugland, who as CEO now runs the company, earlier this year appeared with Hochul at a rally championing wind energy and other state green-energy projects at the IBEW union headquarters in Hauppauge.

Haugland, whose company won a $200 million-plus contract for the Sunrise Wind land cable and the previously completed South Fork wind cable construction, told the crowd in January that he’d voted for Trump, but now had a new message for him on green-energy projects. “Build, baby, build,” he said.

Referring to political contributions and contract awards, Haugland, in a text message, said, “I have not seen those two worlds intersect.” 

“Transco/Propel is our customer, not the state,” he said, noting the Sunrise Wind converter station’s contract was with Siemens. “If our contributions had any influence over the state elected [officials], there would never be a moratorium again on anything,” he said.

NYPA and Transco have declined to release the value of the construction contracts linked to Propel.

Lovett, a spokesman for Hochul, said campaign donations have "absolutely no impact on actions taken by the governor," adding that she "does not involve herself in the individual procurement processes of the state agencies. Any suggestion otherwise is simply inaccurate and irresponsible."