Cuomo: Focus on virus, not my scandals
Touts COVID fight & budget, stays mum on harass
ALBANY — A confident Gov. Cuomo pushed back at critics Tuesday, claiming that COVID-19 will have a greater impact on budget negotiations than the multiple scandals swirling around his administration.
The governor said those calling for his resignation and claiming he can no longer effectively lead the state “don’t understand the nature of the job.”
“I say it’s clearly not true,” he said at a remote news briefing from his Manhattan office. “Because the reality is the exact opposite. The nature of being governor is that there are always multiple situations to deal with.”
Cuomo, who spent more than an hour outlining budget priorities and touting vaccination efforts, again declined to address the multiple allegations made against him by a number of current and former staffers who say he made unwanted sexual advances or inappropriate comments.
The 63-year-old is facing an outside probe into the women’s claims being overseen by the attorney general’s office, a federal probe into the state’s mishandling of data related to COVID deaths in nursing homes and an impeachment investigation in the Assembly.
Cuomo, who has denied any inappropriate behavior and apologized for making “anyone uncomfortable,” said coronavirus will shape — and potentially slow down — budget negotiations leading up to the April 1 deadline.
The governor specifically mentioned the fact that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) tested positive for COVID, which will hamper efforts as the administration works out fiscal details with lawmakers and legislative staff.
“That will then trigger quarantine measures for staff that he worked with, and it is going to complicate the budget process,” he said.
Heastie almost immediately pushed back on the governor’s take, tweeting that his “diagnosis and any quarantine of staff will not affect budget negotiations.”
The governor later clarified that he meant the virus, in general, could affect budget negotiations and prevent an ontime conclusion.
Cuomo, who called himself “obsessive” about getting budgets done on time, repeated his false assertion that his administration has overseen a string of punctual fiscal plans.
COVID is likely just one aspect of the negotiations that could drag things out, including major differences in spending priorities and Cuomo’s aversion to raising taxes on the wealthy.
On Monday, state budget director Robert Mujica said the state suddenly identified over $5 billion in “resources available,” potentially negating the need to institute higher levies proposed by Dems in charge of both chambers.
Heastie as well as Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), who called on Cuomo to resign, are standing by various tax increases on upper-income earners and corporations that could generate around $7 billion annually.
Despite his myriad troubles, Cuomo began his briefing, ostensibly an update on the state’s handling of the COVID crisis, with a joke about two staffers wearing similar outfits. The comment follows reports that some women in the governor’s office have complained that they felt pressured to dress in certain ways and wear high heels to please their boss.
Cuomo’s acting senior counsel Beth Garvey, meanwhile, said the administration is working to ensure the safety of two current staffers who claim Cuomo harassed them and, in one case, groped a woman summoned to assist him with his cell phone.
“Certainly, every individual who comes forward and makes a complaint is protected from retaliation and we are taking measures to ensure that that occurs in this case as well,” Garvey said. “And any further comment as to the specifics would be inappropriate at this time.”
Cuomo, who previously insinuated that some of his accusers could have political motivations, again refused to take questions on the growing number of women who have said he acted inappropriately.
“There are rules conditions about how people make complaints are handled and we’re following those,” he said.