Council Member and Queens Borough President candidate Jimmy Van Bramer (Emil Cohen/ NYC Council)
March 10, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Queens Borough President candidate Jimmy Van Bramer is calling for Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign amid sexual harassment allegations — and now wants his opponents in the BP race to do the same.
Van Bramer is asking his fellow borough president candidates to join the growing number of lawmakers demanding Cuomo to resign.
The council member first called on Cuomo to step down on Feb. 27 following the accounts of two former female staffers who accused the governor of inappropriate comments and behavior.
Four more women have since come forward with their own accounts and New York Attorney General Letitia James was granted the authority to conduct an independent investigation into the accusations on March 1.
“After reading Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett‘s accounts of disgusting and demoralizing workplace abuse I called on Governor Cuomo to resign on February 27th, and since re-upped my call several times, circulating a petition to build public support,” Van Bramer said in a statement Monday.
“I want to be absolutely clear: I believe all the other women who have since come forward as well.”
Now he wants his fellow borough president candidates, including current Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and former Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, to join him in that call.
“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,” Van Bramer said Monday. “The #MeToo movement has exposed systemic workplace sexual harassment and assault, but it’s up to leaders to take bold action.”
Richards said the allegations against Cuomo must be investigated, but didn’t call for his resignation.
“The claims made against Gov. Cuomo must be investigated thoroughly, and I am confident our Attorney General Tish James will conduct an extensive review led by former U.S. Attorney Joon Kim and highly-respected employment attorney Anne Clark,” Richards told the Queens Post.
Crowley, who founded an organization to help elect more women to public office, called the allegations against Cuomo “alarming.”
She thanked the women for having the courage to speak up. However, she stopped short of calling for his resignation.
“Sexual harassment in the workplace is unacceptable in all cases, and particularly in our highest levels of government,” Crowley said in a statement. ” I am glad Attorney General James will be leading an investigation into the Governor’s conduct, and her investigation must be allowed to happen free of political influence.”
President of the Central Queens Republic Club Danniel Maio, tenant organizer Stan Morse and immigrant advocate Diana Sanchez are also running for the borough president seat, according to the NYC Campaign Finance Board.
The other candidates in the race didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A June primary and November general election will determine who will serve as borough president for a full four-year term. Current Borough President Richards only has the position until the end of the year because he won the race in a special election to replace the outgoing BP Melinda Katz.
Featured Events
35 Comments
Grandstanding VanBlamer who needs to resign. Everyone deserves a hearing.
Needs the young white female vote, and the nursing home issue is too complicated for most everyone to understand, much less explain.
So JVB wants the Gov to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct, but not over the allegations of the Gov causing the deaths of seniors in the thousands? What’s that about?
The Governor wasn’t the cause of deaths, Trump and his negligent administration caused the deaths. Cuomo allowed the re classification of their location.
It’s about looking for the female vote in his Borough President race, especially the young progressive ones. The nursing home controversy is too complex for most people to understand, and hard to explain even if you do.
Cuomo’s got to go-go!
No worries, look for Cuomo’s next book;
New York Crisis
Passing a Budget During Accusation Harassments ~
Lol bye Felicia ✌?
LOL relax. The constitution ensures due process.
So they used cuamo to attack president trump and now that they are done with him and are trying to cancel him. ??
Dems want him gone before the nursing home deaths see the full light of day. Too late.
We should urge the Biden’s administration to hear us out! The Gov needs to resign.
You and JVB can finally lock hands in public and side with the Republican Party.
Sorry Amy, Biden does want to see the results of the investigation led by the NY Attorney General. The Gov was elected by a majority of New Yorkers, and should NOT resign because a mob wants him to.
This is all republican propaganda.
The Love Gov strikes again!!! The number keeps rising. Cuomo needs to go!
Stay mad haters!!!! Cuomo ’24!
The Rise and Fall of Andrew Cuomo. ??
Where there’s smoke there’s fire. This is rarely, rarely untrue. And now there are sic accusations. I am no longer a Cuomo fan.
Greg But you voted for Trump
Hollywood should take back the Emmy! And give it to Jimmy.
If found guilty he deserves forgiveness and a another chance. Cuomo did not know it was wrong. he apologized. I thought this is what releasing people from prison, bail reform and giving chances to people is all about is all about. Innocent until proven guilty. Give him community service is found guilty and lets move on.
Sunnyside agrees with Jimmy. Impeach, charge, and convict Cuomo!
Michelle -No we don’t !
We really don’t. You don’t speak for us.
I am no fan of Cuomo for sure. If they get rid of Cuomo for this then they don’t have to address ( or make public ) his abysmal performance as governor during the “pandemic”. Interesting that its only NOW these allegations have come forward.
There goes his run for president. Its sad. Most people (voters) will forget about the old folks and blame Trump. But the young woman victims will be remembered. Liberals and Dems will not forget.
These incidents may have happened. Yet this is designed to throw us off the scent of the nursing home scandal. That’s what most people are saying that I know.
This dude is canceled he just doesn’t know it yet!
Al Capone, John Gotti, Vito Corleone, Rudy Giuliani and now Cuomo!
Well there he goes again, Saint Jimmy who has never done any wrong, well at least as far as he and his progressive friends are concerned. As a Democrat I would prefer if Jimmy resigns and Billy resigns before we even discuss The Governor. They all make mistakes, as humans do, but I believe Jimmy and Billy have done a lot more damage. Jimmy no longer listens to the folks who helped get him elected in the first place, he went rogue.
Killed Amazon Jobs , Steve Madden Jobs bye bye, Phipps , Increased housing density , homeless shelters ,
Anti Cop, Pro Criminal , Done Zip to stop drag racing in our neighborhood, so after YOU resign , then and only then will we talk about your latest crusade!
Whaaat?? Don’t you think our Attorney General Tish James, the first woman and the first African-American to be elected to that position, is capable of conducting an independent investigation? Even AOC has tweeted “There must be an independent investigation,” so why are you not trusting the top female Democrat in the state to do her job?
You obviously are trying to score political points against the incumbent, Donovan Richards, as you put it, in “this highly charged and vitriolic space we call politics.”
And who made you judge and jury, Jimmy? Where’s the justice without due process? FYI, EVERY woman I’ve talked to about these allegations has expressed serious doubts not only about the charges, but also questions the timing of why they all waited until now to speak up.
Correction: Lt. Gov Kathy Hochul is the top female Democrat in the state. She hasn’t called for his resignation. She called for an independent review and supports the AGs investigation.
Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Wait until the FACTS are determined legally. Remember how upset you were when allegations were made against your husband’s project!!!
Due process. Due process. Due process. Accusations do NOT equal guilty. Believe EVIDENCE and not word of mouth. If there was wrong doing, then there will be evidence and he should be disciplined accordingly.