I don’t love Bill
But Andy used to say they’d be great team
GOV. CUOMO popped up again in the city Friday and pondered his “professional” relationship with ex-pal Mayor de Blasio.
After de Blasio was elected — and for months, even as the tensions between the two men grew — Cuomo vowed that their friendship would result in the best working relationship between a governor and mayor in New York history.
But Cuomo took a different tack Friday.
“It’s not really a personal, lovey-dovey relationship,” Cuomo told reporters following an event in Breezy Point, Queens. “It’s a professional relationship.”
Cuomo and de Blasio’s connection dates to the 1990s, when the future mayor worked for the future governor at the federal Housing and Urban Development Department under President Bill Clinton.
“Good Lord willing, we’ll work together for another 30 years,” Cuomo said Friday.
But he and the mayor have yet to speak to each other since de Blasio went on the attack June 30, accusing the governor of thwarting the city’s agenda and branding him vindictive.
“He says things, that’s his style,” Cuomo said. “I say things, that’s my style. But at the end of the day, it works, and that’s all that matters.”
Cuomo, who has previously nixed a pasta peace summit — as has the mayor — said he sees no reason to hug it out with Hizzoner.
“You guys like to bring a little drama to situations,” Cuomo joked. “Some Italians are prone to drama, but not me. I’m a drama-less Italian; there’s no reason to quote unquote break bread between me and the mayor.”
With his public feud with de Blasio simmering and his poll numbers dropping, Cuomo has spent a good deal of time of late in New York City.
He’s had seven public events in the city since mid-June, compared with three each during the corresponding periods in 2013 and 2014, according to his schedules.
Cuomo, though, dismissed the idea that his increased presence in the city had an ulterior motive.
He said it’s simply the result of the six-month legislative session in Albany ending.
“When the legislative session ends, I am then liberated to visit parts across the state,” he said.
The governor, who received a warm welcome from local elected officials and the community in Breezy Point, signed a bill that allows property owners to forgo a special city permit before repairing buildings damaged by Hurricane Sandy. He also announced a new study that will examine the elevation of homes in the oceanfront community.
It’s not really a personal, lovey-dovey relationship. It’s a professional relationship.
Gov. Cuomo