Gov aide in hot seat

Vax czar accused of muscling pols for Andy

Larry Schwartz, a longtime ally of Gov. Cuomo who has overseen the state’s vaccination efforts, recently called county officials to gauge their support of the embattled governor, according to a published report.

An unnamed Democratic county executive then informed the state attorney general’s office of intent to file an ethics complaint about a call from Schwartz, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

“At best, it was inappropriate,” the executive was quoted as saying. “At worst, it was clearly over the ethical line.”

That official, who asked for anonymity to avoid retaliation, said they feared Cuomo would squeeze their county’s vaccine supply if Schwartz wasn’t happy with their response to questions about supporting the governor.

The conversations reportedly took place before Cuomo’s office announced on March 8 the locations of 10 new vaccination hubs

— sites that local officials had been eager to host, the Post noted.

Schwartz (photo), who has overseen vaccination efforts as a volunteer, denied any suggestion of impropriety.

“I did nothing wrong,” he told the Post. “I have always conducted myself in a manner commensurate to a high ethical standard.”

He said he didn’t talk about vaccines in his calls with officials, but acknowledged he was trying to assess political support for Cuomo, who’s reeling from allegations of sexual misconduct and other scandals.

The governor has denied allegations of impropriety and refused to leave office, saying state Attorney General Letitia James’s probe of his conduct should be allowed to proceed.

“Any suggestion that [Schwartz] acted in any way unethically or in any way other than in the best interest of the New Yorkers that he selflessly served is patently false,” Beth Garvey, acting counsel to Cuomo, said in a statement.

Schwartz has been friends with

Cuomo for three decades, serving as his top aide from 2011 until 2015. He at one point moved into the governor’s mansion while overseeing vaccine distribution, the Post noted.

The Cuomo administration has been in turmoil in recent weeks, with the state Assembly launching an impeachment investigation on Thursday.

On Jan. 28, James released a damning report finding the Cuomo administration had undercounted nursing home deaths by as much as 50%, prompting the governor to release data he had withheld for months and reviving questions about his policies on nursing homes last spring.

On Feb. 17, Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens) claimed that Cuomo had threatened to “destroy” him for speaking to reporters about the nursing home deaths, while a Cuomo spokesperson said Kim was lying.

The reports drew outrage about the governor’s bullying style.

Then former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan made detailed accusations of sexual harassment against Cuomo, the first in a series of bombshell allegations from women.

Seven women so far have accused the governor of misconduct, leading both the state’s U.S. senators, among many other high-ranking Democrats, to call on him to resign.

“It’s been almost an imperial governorship,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday on “Face the Nation.”

“I think an impeachment proceeding will begin, and I think he will be impeached, and perhaps right before that he’ll decide to resign.”