Governor Andrew Cuomo (Darren McGee/ Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)
March 2, 2021 By Christina Santucci
Several Queens elected officials are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to step down in the wake of three women accusing him of sexual harassment.
Politicians — such as state Sen. Jessica Ramos, Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas and Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer — have said that he should resign.
Meanwhile, others — including U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Grace Meng and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as Assembly members Nily Rozic and Catalina Cruz — have called for an independent investigation — a move that is currently in the works.
The most recent calls for his resignation come after a third accuser — Anna Ruch — told the NY Times about an unwanted advance by Cuomo at a wedding in 2019. The paper also published a photo from the event of Cuomo gripping Ruch’s face in his hands.
“That photo. It’s chilling. Like I said Saturday night, #CuomoResign,” Van Bramer tweeted.
González-Rojas and Ramos also posted about the governor on social media.
“It’s time for Governor Cuomo to resign,” González-Rojas tweeted on Monday evening. Just hours later, Sen. Jessica Ramos wished political candidates good luck on their first day of collecting signatures to get on the ballot, and added, “It’s also a great day for the governor to resign.”
If Cuomo were to step down or is removed, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would finish out his term.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani also joined five other Socialist state legislators in issuing a statement that advocated for the governor’s impeachment.
“Impeachment proceedings are the appropriate avenue for us to pursue as legislators to hold the governor accountable for his many abuses of power and remove him from office,” the statement read. It was released from the office of Sen. Julia Salazar, who represents a district in Brooklyn.
Ruch is the third woman to come forward with allegations against the governor. Just days earlier, Charlotte Bennett, a former aide to Cuomo, accused him of asking her inappropriate questions about her sex life and making comments that she interpreted as overatures.
Meanwhile, another former staffer — Lindsey Boylan — published an essay last week, saying that the governor suggested they play strip poker and tried to kiss her in 2018. A spokesperson for Cuomo called Boylan’s allegations false.
The governor has not appeared publicly since last Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In a statement Sunday, Cuomo responded to what he called questions about his past interactions and denied propositioning or touching anyone inappropriately.
“I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that,” he said.
But State Sen. Michael Gianaris, who represents western Queens, called Cuomo’s statement “unfortunate” during an interview with NY1 Monday.
“There’s a big difference between ‘I’m sorry if you were offended by what I did,’ and ‘I’m sorry for what I did,’” Gianaris said. “His was more of the first and less of the latter.”
Cuomo had already been under fire for under-reporting deaths of COVID-19 victims from nursing homes. His admission followed a report by New York Attorney General Letitia James that found his administration failed to include thousands of deaths in its totals.
Assemblyman Ron Kim, who represents Flushing, and several other Democrats accused the governor last month of “intentional obstruction of justice” for withholding the nursing home data from state and federal officials.
Kim has suggested that the state legislature begin a formal investigation into the governor “with all options on the table, including impeachment.”
Kim had also been among legislators calling for Cuomo to be stripped of his COVID-19 emergency powers — which was in the works Tuesday afternoon.
The Assembly and state Senate had reportedly struck a deal to remove the governor’s expanded powers and require legislative review of modifications to and renewals of pandemic-related directives, according to published reports.
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15 Comments
Judge Jimmy and Judge Jessica and the rest don’t get to be the judge and jury on this issue, no matter how much they want to elevate their own political profile and unseat the Governor. Wait for the results of the independent investigation.
I find it interesting how De Blasio,JVB, AOC and Gianaris have the daggers out for Cuomo,
But had no problem with Biden. Just google Biden and hair sniffing and some lovely pictures show up of Our newly minted President getting up close and personal with lots of females young and old, some might say he just being playful! Maybe their sense of right and wrong all depends on if they like you or not!
Cuomo the clown has a very big ego and thinks he can do whatever he wants.
While evryone was praising him as a hero I could not stand him bc of his dumb stories of his mother & daughters. He cant get along with anyone as the comical dispute with the Blaz. Well now Andy its time you take a seat . You shamed your father ?
He should resign because he killed the elderly in nursing homes! That is a far worse and more lethal scandal. But the woke mob does not care about the elderly.
The initial allegation from a staff member on Andy happened months ago. It took a nursing home scandal and more reports to come to finally get a full probe on him and the embarrassment that comes with it. A porn star makes allegations on Trump and its news from day 1 till today. The liberal media tried its best to protect the nations governor while Trump was dragged under the mud on a daily basis. But it’s finally good to see Chris Cuomo squirm.
The nursing homes deaths are a stain on Cuomo and this state
He was joking with his brother fredo while this was going on and fools called themselves cuomosexuals because he checked the right blue boxes
You voted for this
There would be no nursing home deaths if Trump didn’t close the pandemic office and ignore people flying into the US with the virus. Trump saw the news interview symptomatic passengers on TV and still did nothing.,
Trump gave Cuomo the Comfort ship and Javits Center to take care of infected people. Cuomo choose not to use them, because it would have made Trump look good.
All of Trumps actions (and they’re nothing compared to his inaction) were too little too late. Fact !
My
My my
Maybe he should return his Emmy ?
How about the dead people from the nursing homes ?
People worshipped Andrew until it became inconvenient
I think he needs to go.
An independent investigation is the appropriate path forward. Calling for Cuomo’s resignation now is premature and irresponsible, especially during such a critical period in the vaccine rollout during the pandemic, and during the budget negotiations in Albany.
Let’s get everyone under oath and on the record. That’s what fair and what New Yorkers deserve.
The wedding photo is chilling?? Seriously??
With respect to Gianaris’s comments, there’s a big difference between “I must parse my words and watch my figurative steps because Cuomo could still cause me a lot of political difficulty ,” and “Cuomo’s offenses require his departure, one way or another.” His was more of the first and less of the latter.
This is all a charade to distract from the fact he is responsible for the deaths of over ten thousand elderly nursing home residents.
They’re using the small crime to to cover up a much larger crime, nay, an outright atrocity.
A charade? Lol. If anyone planted the harassment story, it’s the Trump GOP. To cover up DTs rape lawsuit, his tax return scandal, the Jan. 6 insurrection, etc.