Cuomo Gets Vaccinated In Harlem Amid Political Crisis

HARLEM, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo received his coronavirus vaccine in Harlem on Wednesday, following a wide-ranging news conference flanked by neighborhood luminaries who voiced support for the governor amid a crisis that has engulfed his office.

Cuomo got the shot at Mount Neboh Baptist Church, where the state created a pop-up site Wednesday as part of an effort to increase vaccinations in Black and Latino neighborhoods that have lagged so far.

The governor was surrounded by prominent Harlem leaders — including former Congressman Charlie Rangel, state NAACP President Hazel Dukes, and Assemblymember Inez Dickens — who vocally backed Cuomo as he contends with harassment allegations and scandals over nursing-home deaths and faulty bridge construction that threaten his governorship.

"Due process and a hearing is basically what we believe in in this country," said Rangel, 90, who retired from Congress in 2017 after a half-century representing the neighborhood. "You go to your family and you go to your friends because you know that they are going to be with you."

Many of those present were longtime allies of the governor's, including Dickens, who recently sought to discredit one of Cuomo's accusers by alleging she was politically motivated.

Before getting his vaccine, Cuomo sought to dispel reports that Black Americans were more hesitant to get the vaccine than whites, due to a history of mistreatment by the medical establishment.

"It's not hesitancy. It's trust," Cuomo said, before getting his own single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

A recent survey of Harlem residents found that most Harlemites wanted to get the vaccine, including 77 percent of Black residents — though that figure was the lowest of any group surveyed.

Cuomo also announced Wednesday that the state would commit $110 million of the $240 million needed to build Harlem's new National Urban League Headquarters, a major development coming to 125th Street.

About a dozen people stood behind Cuomo as he spoke, although the indoor event was closed to press due to COVID-19 restrictions, according to his office.

Earlier Wednesday, leaders of the State Assembly announced they had hired a law firm to help conduct an impeachment investigation into Cuomo.