ALBANY—After Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) announcement last week which spearheaded a soon to be detailed no-cost public college incentive for middle class and below families, the Cuomo administration is turing heads yet again this week by taking the usual State or the State address on the road.

While traditionally the governor has given one annual address to all Albany lawmakers, it has always taken place in the nearby 3,300 seat Empire State Plaza, leading some to speculate that the change from norm is a direct result of a possible Democrat-led boycott in the Assembly.

But that accusation was quickly squashed by Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.

“By definition, these regional addressees are designed to communicate directly with the citizens of New York, not legislators,” said Azzopardi in a statement. “In fact, the legislature is in session, so it would be virtually impossible to attend, and our goal has always been to bring the issues to the people, to develop the public support, and then have it communicated to the elected representatives.”

The this year's contested flight from convention isn't a first for Cuomo, as the governor has never held his State of the State address in the Assembly chambers, as all N.Y. governors before him have done for nearly a century. Cuomo has instead has implemented PowerPoint-style presentations.

The January address is typically a laundry list of goals intended for inclusion in the state budget for the fiscal beginning April 1.