Blaz hopeful for Kathy after ‘aberrant’ Andy
Hizzoner just wants a regular governor. Mayor de Blasio kept kicking Gov. Cuomo on the way out on Tuesday, ripping the resigning leader’s behavior as “aberrant” ahead of his meeting with the governor-in-waiting, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, in New York City.
Following their meeting, Hochul and de Blasio issued a joint statement touting their desire for cooperation between city and state.
“We had a productive conversation today discussing issues that are important to New Yorkers, from fighting the delta variant to getting our kids back to school safely this fall to keeping our communities safe. We look forward to working with each other to continue New York City’s recovery and end the fight against COVID.”
Earlier in the day, the mayor took a dig at his disgraced longtime political rival.
“Andrew Cuomo was really aberrant, but people had gotten used to it,” said de Blasio. “He was not normal, he is not normal, that’s not how most people do things, that’s not how professional people do things — to bully and harass people all day long.”
Cuomo, who announced his resignation last Tuesday in the face of a mushrooming sexual harassment scandal, became notorious for his sharp elbows during three terms in Albany.
His office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the mayor’s remarks.
Hochul (photo), the amiable and relatively unknown lieutenant governor, is due to take the top job next week. She didn’t have a close relationship with Cuomo — when he resigned, she hadn’t spoken with him since February, according to her office — and she’s pledged that nobody will find she fosters a toxic work environment as governor.
De Blasio said he anticipates he will work well with Hochul, which would be a decided change from his current relationship with Albany. The outgoing mayor has quarreled publicly and privately with Cuomo since taking the reins at City Hall in 2014 and continues to revel in his rival’s exit.
“Let’s go back to something approximating normalcy,” the mayor said in a news briefing. “And just have elected officials work together and address the issues.”