Dec 12, 2008 — State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants to simplify New York's patchwork quilt of local government entities. He says they have a "chokehold" on state residents, but he says, complicated statutes prevent local governments from consolidating. He's proposing legislation to fundamentally reform the overlaps as a way to control New York's highest-in-the-nation property taxes. At a press conference yesterday, Cuomo traced the discussion of consolidation back 20 years. Karen DeWitt reports.