De Blasio Blasts Cuomo After Embattled Gov’s NYC Swipe

NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio hasn’t missed a chance during Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandal to land burn after burn on his longtime rival.

When Cuomo finally emerged from a week of uncharacteristic silence, he seemed to respond to the burns with shade toward New York City. The city is in a “very precarious situation,” he said Wednesday.

"It's teetering, to use a word," he said.

De Blasio on Thursday responded with displeasure. He said Cuomo was being “disrespectful” to the people of New York City.

“Clearly, he's trying to distract attention from his own problems,” de Blasio said. “He's got three women who have brought forward allegations of inappropriate activity and sexual harassment. He has a nursing home scandal and a coverup related to that scandal. He's trying to distract attention away from that. And people are smarter than that. They understand that everyone in this city is moving Heaven and Earth to come back strong. He should address his own problems, not try and put down the people of New York City.”

The temperature has risen significantly in the longtime hot- and cold-running feud between Cuomo and de Blasio.

De Blasio has taken nearly every recent opportunity to blast Cuomo’s handling of nursing homes in the coronavirus pandemic and denounce what he called the governor’s “bullying.”

Normally, the pugnacious Cuomo would not only respond but more often than not lead the attacks. But the sexual harassment scandal appears to have caught him flat-footed and caused him to withdraw from the public eye, giving de Blasio more space to take the stage and twist the knife.

During de Blasio’s daily briefing on Wednesday, reporters asked him to describe Cuomo’s bullying behavior (“It's always something about what he needs,” he said) and whether Hizzoner himself would be a good governor (“I'm focused on bringing the city back,” he said).

But if de Blasio obliged, he also tried to reframe the story as less about gossipy personal animus and more about how the feud harms New York City dwellers.

He noted when he first publicly denounced Cuomo’s behavior in 2015 it was in the context of getting things for the city’s schools.

“So, when we think about this kind of bullying attitude or approach, don't just dwell on the personality feature,” de Blasio said. “Let's talk about what it leads to. A lot of times it leads to working people being left out of the equation. And that's what troubles me the most.”

When the coronavirus first hit in March 2020, de Blasio — who previously pushed against closing schools — called for a “shelter in place” order. Cuomo quickly swatted down the idea only to a few days later declare the state was on “PAUSE,” which he denied was a shelter in place but accomplished what those orders in other states did.

A study later found if lockdown orders were instituted earlier that 17,000 lives could have been saved in New York City, Politico and other outlets reported.