We don’t normally find much agreement with New York’s Green Party when it comes to policy. But in this year’s election for governor, the Greens stood out by doing what third parties are supposed to do — but in New York so rarely do:

They ran their own candidate, giving voters a real alternative.

Their man was Howie Hawkins, who ended up with more than 175,000 votes — a huge increase over the 65,000 he received last time around.

In sharp contrast, every other minor party with a permanent ballot line backed either Democratic Gov. Cuomo or GOP candidate Rob Astorino, thanks to New York’s bizarre system of allowing cross-endorsements. And except for the Conservatives, all saw their totals decline.

That’s especially true of the Working Families Party, the union front that abandoned its own self-professed principles and cut a cynical deal to back Cuomo, despite strong disagreements with him.

That left its leaders in the perverse position of arguing that a vote for Cuomo on the WFP line was in fact a vote against Cuomo.

In a perfect world, the Legislature would put an end to this cross-endorsement circus and the corruption it invites. But too many people have a stake in the smelly status quo.

So until that day comes, congratulations to the Green Party for sticking with its convictions — and showing New Yorkers what a genuine third party looks like.