Governor Andrew Cuomo (Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office/ Flickr)
March 12, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Queens Congressmembers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Grace Meng, Carolyn Maloney and Nydia Velazquez are all calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign amid a flurry of sexual harassment allegations.
The congressmembers are among the latest to call on Cuomo to step aside and allow the lieutenant governor to take over. Cuomo faces sexual harassment accusations from six women — including multiple former or current staffers– as well as a nursing home scandal.
Ocasio-Cortez, in a joint statement with Rep. Jamaal Bowman of Yonkers, cited the most recent allegation, where a young female staffer said Cuomo groped her underneath her blouse during a meeting at the Executive Mansion late last year.
“The fact that this latest report was so recent is alarming, and it raises concerns about the present safety and well-being of the administration’s staff,” Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman said in a statement Friday. “These allegations have all been consistent and highly-detailed, and there are also credible media reports substantiating their accounts.”
Meng released her own statement Friday morning in which she called the allegations “alarming” and said Cuomo must resign.
“The challenges facing our state and New Yorkers are unprecedented, and I believe he is unable to govern effectively,” she said. “The Governor should resign for the good of our state.”
Maloney said she admired the courage of Cuomo’s accusers and thanked the #Metoo movement for supporting the women who come forward.
“I join with Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, my colleagues and others who have called on Governor Cuomo to resign in the best interest of all New Yorkers,” Maloney said Friday. “We have come a long way, but now is the time to finally ensure that this generation’s courage stops harassment once and for all.”
Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman also noted the nursing home scandal that has plagued the Cuomo administration for months.
An investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James found that the administration hid data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths and estimated the death toll was undercounted by as much as 50 percent. The number was revised in January from 8,500 to about 15,000 deaths.
James is now investigating the sexual harassment allegations against the Governor.
Representative Jerrold Nadler — the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the highest-ranking members of Congress — as well as Representatives Kathleen Rice, Mondaire Jones, Yvette Clark, Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velázquez have also called for Cuomo’s resignation.
