Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday blasted rival Andrew Cuomo for stepping down as governor as he was being investigated over sexual harassment allegations — and swiping his political “playbook” by working for mayor as an unbiased.
“Listen, he comes from a popular name. His dad was a great governor. His dad stood for three terms and did a great job. In the midst of his obligations to the state, he stepped down,” Adams advised The Submit whereas attending the seventy fifth anniversary celebration of NYCHA Bronx River Homes on the Bronx Neighborhood Middle.
“Personal strife should not cause you to leave office. During my personal strife, I stepped up. I continued to deliver for the city,” stated Hizzoner, who had his historic bribery and fraud prices dismissed by the Trump administration earlier this 12 months.
Cuomo, who has lengthy disputed allegations of sexual harassment by a number of girls, has been fiercely criticized over his administration’s disastrous March 2020 determination to ship contaminated COVID-19 sufferers into nursing properties, which resulted in as many as 15,000 deaths.
Adams, who’s working for re-election as an unbiased himself, additionally accused Cuomo of repeatedly making an attempt to sabotage black politicians to claw again energy.
“This is his history, and he’s using the same playbook in my mayoralty,” Adams stated.
“He ran in the primary, he lost by double digits. He knew I was gonna run in a general election. Why would he throw his name in as an independent as well, unless he thought he was gonna do to me what he did to others, and it just did not happen.”
Cuomo shortly tossed his hat into the race as an unbiased after a humiliating loss to socialist Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in final month’s Democratic major election.
The embattled mayor continued to pour salt on the wound, slamming the ex-gov for spending hundreds of thousands to defend himself towards the sexual misconduct claims — whereas hundreds died in nursing properties below his watch through the peak of the pandemic.
“His record has been painful to our cities, and I had to fix his mess,” Adams lamented.
Cuomo was additionally accused of undercounting the nursing dwelling loss of life toll by as a lot as 50%, one other declare for which he denied all wrongdoing.
The Metropolis Corridor wannabe — who attended the identical Bronx occasion and missed his frosty opponent by half-hour — pushed again on Adams’ claims he hijacked his marketing campaign method.
“He dropped out of the primary because Democrats wouldn’t vote for him,” a spry Cuomo shot again, including that his one remorse was not being extra direct in his messaging to voters forward of the first.
He believes the overall election will drive a better turnout — and that surge will assist him outpoll Mamdani for mayor.
“I stayed in the primary, and 400,000 Democrats voted for me,” Cuomo stated.
“The people who voted for me in the primary, I believe they’re going to vote for me in November. There’s no new Andrew Cuomo.”
