A day after Andrew Cuomo entered the NYC mayoral race following months of speculation, a slew of New Yorkers said Sunday they have not forgotten the sexual harassment allegations that led him to resign as governor nearly four years ago.
On March 2, inside 395 Hudson St., Cuomo outlined his plan to transform the city streets if he were elected mayor; outside the location, however, dozens of women against his campaign protested his comeback.
Invoking his 2021 resignation due to sexual misconduct allegations that the governor had always denied, the protesters said “hell no to Cuomo” and his mayoral bid.
“I refuse to forget Cuomo’s abuse of women and his abuse of power. Women must be the moral compass of NYC and remind all New Yorkers of the harm he has caused. We will not back down. We will do all in our power to make sure he doesn’t return to power,” filmmaker and author Paola Mendoza said.
Cuomo’s downfall in 2021 was the result of several sexual harassment allegations involving members of his staff and others that emerged in the preceding months, as well as criticism of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes where the virus quickly spread. By the time he announced his resignation in August 2021, the state Assembly had launched an impeachment investigation, and other lawmakers — including then-President Joe Biden — had called upon him to step down.
On Sunday, those protesting Cuomo’s re-entry into politics sought to remind the Big Apple of the sexual harassment allegations by reading a legal deposition from a victim aloud explaining the way he allegedly touched her inappropriately.
“This is a man who we forced to resign in disgrace. A man who built his career on fear, intimidation, and abuse. And now, he wants us to believe he’s the victim? That the real problem wasn’t his own actions, but that we dared to hold him accountable?” said Rana Abdelhamid, a Queens organizer.
Showing no love for current Mayor Eric Adams, who they also deemed corrupt, the fuming females railed that they were sick of “strong men” and said they refused to trade one politician mired in scandal for another. Holding signs that rebuked both Adams and Cuomo, they implored fellow New Yorkers to turn their backs on both men.
“New York has a long history of powerful men who believe they can do whatever they want, who abuse their positions and expect to be rewarded for it. Cuomo is no different. 13 women came forward, detailed the harassment they endured, and he was forced to step down…we should not be debating whether he deserves another shot at power,” Asiah Quattlebaum said.
In his 17-minute campaign announcement Saturday, Cuomo acknowledged that he made mistakes during his time as governor, and that he learned for them.
“Did I make mistakes? Some painfully, definitely,” he said. “And I believe that I learned from them, and I am a better person for it. And I hope to show you that every day.”
In response to the protest, Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi issued the following statement: “Five district attorneys looked into these allegations and found no there there. The civil cases have either been dropped or are completely falling apart because the discovery revealed over an agonizing four years the truth: that the governor never harassed anyone. The only people still clinging to these falsehoods are either seeking notoriety, lawyers seeking a payday, or craven politicians seeking to punch up and advance their own careers despite the fact that they have no accomplishments under their belt.”
