ALBANY — Gov. Paterson yesterday passed up a chance to trade blame with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for “The Jersey Shore” phenomenon, but he admitted he was jealous to learn that his Garden State counterpart has time to watch TV.

Christie, during an interview on ABC’s “The Week,” called the reality show “a negative” for New Jersey and noted that most of its cast of misfits hails from New York.

Paterson suggested he hasn’t had time to watch the show because he’s been trying to get lawmakers to consider his plans to close a budget gap and cap property taxes — two things Christie has done.

“He passed a property-tax cap,” Paterson said. “That’s why he has the time to watch the show.”