As pressure mounts, some Queens legislators keep quiet on Cuomo future
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Fourteen of Queens’ 25 state lawmakers have called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign. AP Photo/Seth Wenig
By David Brand
There’s little love for the gov among lawmakers in his native Queens.
Fourteen of the borough’s 25 state legislators signed a letter Thursday calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and a nursing home death cover-up. Four have issued a vague statement about letting an independent investigation run its course and one, Assemblymember David Weprin, called for the probe earlier this month.
But six others have yet to take a stance on the fate of the governor, even as the Assembly prepares to begin a formal probe.
State Sens. Leroy Comrie and Joseph Addabbo and Assemblymembers Jeff Aubry, Ed Braunstein and Cathy Nolan have not taken a public position or responded to inquiries from the Eagle.
Assemblymember Clyde Vanel said he plans to “stand with the Speaker,” in reference to Speaker Carl Heastie, who is set to open a formal Judiciary Committee investigation, lawmakers said Thursday.
The legislators have kept a low profile at the same time as dozens of their colleagues call on Cuomo to step aside after six women accused him of sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and forcible kissing. Cuomo is also facing scrutiny for suppressing nursing home death totals.
More than 55 state lawmakers — including nine assemblymembers and five state senators from Queens — submitted a joint statement Thursday calling on Cuomo to “step aside.”
“In light of the Governor’s admission of inappropriate behavior and the findings of altered data on nursing home COVID-19 deaths he has lost the confidence of the public and the state legislature, rendering him ineffective in this time of most urgent need,” the lawmakers wrote.
The Queens legislators joining the statement include State Sens. Michael Gianaris, John Liu, Jessica Ramos, James Sanders Jr. and Toby Ann Stavisky.
Assemblymembers Khaleel Anderson, Brian Barnwell, Catalina Cruz, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Andrew Hevesi, Ron Kim, Zohran Mamdani, Daniel Rosenthal and Nily Rozic also signed on.
Another faction of Queens assemblymembers joined a separate statement Monday that said in vague terms that Attorney General Letitia James should be given “appropriate time to complete her investigation rather than undermine her role and responsibility as the chief law enforcement officer” of New York. James has tapped two prominent attorneys to lead the probe.
Assemblymembers Vivian Cook, Alicia Hyndman, Stacey Pheffer Amato and Jennifer Rajkumar joined on to that statement, which was released after Cuomo reached out to lawmakers across the state, THE CITY reported.
Hyndman said Monday that the statement was intended to support James’ investigation and to allow the probe to “play out” before a final decision is made on Cuomo’s future in office.
Outside Albany, several other Queens leaders have called on Cuomo to resign.
Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, a candidate for Queens borough president, urged others in the race to take the same stance.
Van Bramer said Cuomo “has shamefully continued to gaslight and malign” his accusers,
while attempting to undermine the Attorney General's independent investigation by silencing female lawmakers.”
“This is absolutely unacceptable and I'm calling now on my opponents in this race to join me in calling on the Governor to resign,” he said. “The #MeToo movement has exposed systemic workplace sexual harassment and assault, but it's up to leaders to take bold action.”
Cuomo has denied many of the allegations, including a staffer’s claim that he groped her. He said James’ investigation would exonerate him.
“I am confident in the result of the attorney general’s report,” Cuomo said.
