‘Thank you for being here’: Cuomo appears with state Senate leader for first time since she demanded his resignation
Awkward!
Gov. Cuomo appeared in public with state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for the first time Wednesday since she called on him to resign over accusations that he sexually harassed several women.
Stewart-Cousins and Cuomo made the joint appearance in Yonkers, the Democratic Senate leader’s hometown, to announce that, starting Friday, New Yorkers over 60 will be able to receive the coronavirus vaccine at the state’s 16 mass immunization sites without an appointment.
The Democratic honchos stayed mostly on topic and remained remarkably cordial throughout the event despite the massive elephant in the room.
“Thank you for being here and congratulations on a great budget,” Cuomo told Stewart-Cousins, referring to the $212 billion spending plan adopted by the Legislature earlier this month.
Stewart-Cousins — whose chamber would consider whether to convict and remove Cuomo from office if the Assembly impeaches him over his sexual harassment scandal — returned the favor.
“Thank you also for talking about the work that we did on this budget, because it really, I think it’s extraordinary, because it is a people-centered budget,” she said.
Cuomo and Stewart-Cousins were even seen elbow-bumping before their remarks.
Pleasantries aside, a spokesman for Stewart-Cousins said the senator remains of the belief that Cuomo should resign immediately.
“Our position on the governor has not changed but this event is in her district and it important that people get vaccinated and she has been pushing to expand access to this location for a long time,” said the spokesman, Mike Murphy.
Cuomo maintains he won’t resign and denies sexually harassing anyone, though he has apologized for making women feel uncomfortable.
State Attorney General Letitia James’ office is investigating allegations that Cuomo subjected seven women, many of them former and current staffers, to sexual harassment and misconduct. The AG’s team is expected to produce a report on its findings.
After Stewart-Cousins left the Wednesday event at a vaccination site in Yonkers, Cuomo was asked by a reporter if he’ll resign should James’ investigation substantiate the accusations against him.
“Let’s see what the report says and then we will take it from there,” he replied.
Back in Albany, the Assembly Judiciary Committee’s Cuomo impeachment investigation churned on.
Assemblyman Charles Lavine, a Long Island Democrat leading the investigation, said the panel’s lawyers have spoken to four government agencies and roughly 70 individuals who may have information relevant to the probe.
The impeachment inquiry is reviewing Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandal, in addition to allegations that his administration for months concealed the true number of New Yorkers who died from COVID-19 in state nursing homes.
The probe expanded further earlier this month amid reports that Cuomo may have violated state laws by recruiting government staffers to help him write “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic,” the book he published in October.
Despite the compounding legal woes, Cuomo has tried to perform business as usual.
At Wednesday’s event, the governor said all COVID-19 numbers in the state “are headed in the right direction” and predicted a brighter future.
“It has been a long horrendous year with COVID. We’ve all suffered here, but spring is here, the sun is out,” he said. “We’re poised for rebirth.”
