New York Political Leaders’ Chorus of Calls for Gov. Cuomo to Resign Increases in Volume

    Now that six allegations of harassment have been brought against Gov. Andrew Cuomo, more than 55% of New York’s state legislators are now calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign, which he has said he never would.

    In fact, after Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called on the governor to resign on Sunday, the Gov. Cuomo replied that she would have to impeach him for him to leave.

    Yesterday, NY State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, (D), responded in kind by taking the first step to draft articles of impeachment of the governor, by asking the chamber’s Judiciary Committee to open an investigation into the many allegations.

    “This week, the second assault allegation, and the sixth harassment allegation was leveled against Gov. Cuomo,” Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Brown wrote in a joint statement. “The fact that this latest report was so recent is alarming, and it raises concerns about the present safety and well-being of the administration’s staff.

    “These allegations have been consistent and highly-detailed, and there are also credible media reports substantiating their accounts.”

     Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Brown went on to say that in addition to “engag[ing] in a pattern of harassment and assault,” the “attorney general also found that the Cuomo administration hid data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths from both the public and the state legislature.”

      “As members of the New York delegation to the U.S. House of Representative, we believe the reporting, we believe the attorney general, and we believe that 55 members of the New York State legislature, including the State Senate Majority Leader, who have concluded that Gov. Cuomo can no longer effectively lead in the face of so many challenges.”

       Days ago, at a press conference, when a reporter asked Mayor de Blasio whether he believed the governor’s denials of harassment, the mayor gave an uncharacteristically one word answer, simply saying, “No.”

       Weeks ago, a reporter asked the mayor to comment on Assemblyman Ron Kim’s reports that the governor called him to threaten for his criticism of the administration’s handling of nursing home COVID-19 deaths, the mayor said, “A lot of people in New York State have received those phone calls. The bullying is nothing new.”

       “That’s classic Andrew Cuomo.”

      In the wake of allegations that have increased in seriousness, rising to the level of criminal charges that are being handled by the Albany Police Department, this morning the mayor told NBC News, “The governor must resign.”

 (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)