Jimmy Vielkind
@JimmyVielkind
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Public media reporter @WNYC covering Upstate America & New York politics. Papa to the RVs and partner to KN. Please don't DM me; email jvielkind at wnyc dot org
Albany, N.Y.
Joined February 2010
Personal News — I'm starting a new job this week as a reporter for @WNYC / @Gothamist as part of an expanded public media bureau at the New York State Capitol in Albany. I'm excited to get started!
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With all precincts reporting, Steve Stern (D) has bested Janet Smitelli (R) for a Suffolk County #nyassembly seat. Has been in GOP hands since 1978.
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The #nyassembly just passed a bill changing New York's double jeopardy law to let NY prosecutors bring state charges against people close to the president who receive a federal pardon. It previously passed the #nysenate, and @NYGovCuomo says he'll sign it.
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EXCLUSIVE: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top advisers successfully pushed state health officials to strip a July report of data showing that more nursing-home residents had died of Covid-19 than the administration had acknowledged.
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I spoke today to Audrey Murray, 59, who works for private companies that clean the Smithsonian and State Dept. She’s lost both jobs bc of the shutdown, and unsure how she’ll pay her mortgage on 1/1. “It’s just so depressing,” she said through tears.
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A source tells me @HillaryClinton will be a special guest at an upcoming fund-raiser for @Mimirocah1, a candidate for Westchester County district attorney.
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NEWS: Rick Cotton, head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs NY’s airports, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, @NYGovCuomo announced.
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Happy Monday. @NYGovCuomo just announced New York State has developed its own line of hand sanitizer. It’s being produced by prison inmates. NY’s is 75%. Cuomo says we’re making 100,000 gallons per week.
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NEWS: Fourteen Democrats in the #nysenate are calling for pandemic emergency powers granted to Gov. Andrew Cuomo last March to be rescinded. Republicans, who are in the minority, have called for this for months. Background —>.
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The @nytimes: "The central role played by the governor’s top aides reflected the lengths to which Mr. Cuomo has gone in the middle of a deadly pandemic to control data, brush aside public health expertise and bolster his position as a national leader.".
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NEWS: Charlotte Bennett, the woman who says New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made her uncomfortable with questions about her sex life, issued a statement: “The Governor has refused to acknowledge or take responsibility for his predatory behavior.". Full Stmt —>
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Some personal news: I’m excited to be joining the @WSJ next month covering New York State politics and government.
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THE LATEST: New York State Lawmakers Reach Tentative Budget Agreement. Spending reduced; no tax hike. School aid held flat. Billions in Medicaid reductions. @NYGovCuomo has power to do mid-year cuts. Bail law pared back. Pot not legalized
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.@NYGovCuomo says he doesn’t support canceling rent, something being pushed by @SenGianaris and backed by progressives like @BernieSanders . Cuomo says New York has put a 90-day moratorium on evictions, which should give people relief.
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.@ChrisCuomo: What’s next? A curfew? . @NYGovCuomo: I don’t like the word curfew. Chris: You had trouble with that. Andrew: “You violated curfew all the time. Caused much pain.”. Chris: BTW, “there’s always time to call mom.”. Andrew: “I called mom.” She said I’m the favorite.
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NEWS: Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D) said that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) "has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office.". He says the chamber's impeachment inquiry will move expeditiously.
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.@JonLemire: "For the second straight day, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s matter-of-fact and slightly scolding demeanor from an epicenter of the pandemic was a stark contrast Thursday to the often haphazard and hyperbolic messages coming from Trump.".
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and other officials are announcing they'll solicit proposals from architectural firms to renovate Penn Station. Hochul says there will be skylights, to remind people that "the heavens are out there, still, even if you may be living in hell.”
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NEWS: The New York state attorney general’s office has expanded its investigation of sexual-harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to look at whether one of his top advisers linked access to Covid-19 vaccines to support for the governor.
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NEWS: The Democratic governors of Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) should step down in the wake of a report on sexual harassment.
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The best part of Andrew Cuomo getting more national attention is that the parodies have really broken through to the next level.
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That was a nice 18 hours. fml.
Have a good week, folks. I’m off on vacation where the cell phones don’t shine.
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In Worst-Hit Covid State, New York’s Cuomo Called All the Shots. As part of the @WSJ’s COVID Storm series, I spent months with @joe_palazzolo & @jacobgershman looking at how @NYGovCuomo managed the early days of the pandemic. Here’s what we found —>.
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IMPORTANT BREAKING NEWS:. By a 2:1 margin, the people of Argyle, N.Y. have voted to REPEAL THEIR DRY LAWS. Alcohol will be sold there for the first time in a century —>.
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With 0% of votes reporting, the Associated Press calls New York for @JoeBiden at 9 p.m.
BREAKING: Joe Biden wins New York. #APracecall at 9:00 p.m. EST. #Election2020.
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For folks who were asking, New York’s average wage for prison inmates was 65 cents an hour in 2015, per @Gothamist. And per a report cited in this 2019 legislation, it’s 62 cents an hour.
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The scene outside the #DNCinPHL arena: @BernieSanders supporters chanting "hell no DNC, we won't vote for Hillary!"
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.@NYCMayor Bill de Blasio says since we’re on a war-time footing, he would like to see someone “nationalize or federalize” key factories, including those that make medical supplies like ventilators.
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After GNYHA President Ken Raske complained nursing homes were refusing to accept patients, Mr. Cuomo’s team approved an order from the NYSDOH which said nursing homes couldn’t refuse to admit patients simply because they had tested positive.
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NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Is Losing Major Political Donors Amid Federal, State Probes. The defections could complicate the Democratic governor’s expected re-election bid as he fights off allegations that he sexually harassed staff and mishandled the pandemic.
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"Listen: When you're tasty, they want to bite you, the bees.".~ Eric Leroy Adams, 110th Mayor of the City of New York
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NEWS: A third former female aide has accused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) of inappropriate behavior in the workplace. This is the story of Ana Liss —>.
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Cuomo says it costs $6 a gallon to make the NYS hand sanitizer. It’s being produced at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County. The hand sanitizer is not available to the general public; it’s being provided, for free, to school districts & municipalities.
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Andrew Cuomo says there is a “floral bouquet” scent to the NYS hand sanitizer. He says this is much cheaper than other hand sanitizers on the market. And if there’s price gouging, Cuomo WILL release this onto eBay and Amazon. I don’t know if he’s joking or not.
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(1) Andrew Cuomo once hired Allison Gollust as comms director.(2) Andrew Cuomo felled by sexual harassment allegations.(3) Chris Cuomo felled by investigation after helping Andrew grapple with allegations.(4) Investigation of Chris Cuomo finds Jeff Zucker relationship w Gollust.
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NEWS: In phone calls last week, New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) sought advice on potential first steps in office as well as whom to hire and which members of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration might stay on if he resigned or was removed from office.
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We finally got to see the full proposal that New York City submitted to win the Amazon #HQ2 . My colleagues @katie_honan & @KeikoMorris report that officials offered the Farley Post Office building, and were offering to use eminent domain .
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Cuomo and his small team took command of the Health Dept and overrode local govs that wanted to go beyond the state’s social distancing restrictions. That delayed the New York City shutdown and slowed the reaction time as the virus spread in nursing homes.
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NEWS: Melissa DeRosa, a top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is resigning from her position as the Democratic governor faces possible impeachment and a criminal investigation into allegations he inappropriately touched an executive assistant. Her stmt:
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BREAKING: @NYGovCuomo says he will stop his daily press conferences on Friday. “These daily briefings, while fun, take a lot of time. And I’m going to finish the daily briefings on Friday.”.
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NEWS: For the next six weeks, any person between 12 and 17 years-old in New York who is vaccinated against Covid-19 will be entered into a lottery for one of 10 full four-year scholarship to any SUNY or CUNY school, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said.
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BREAKING: SUNY and CUNY systems, starting on March 19, will move to a distance learning model because of #coronavirus, @NYGovCuomo just said.
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NEWS: NY Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said the state will distribute at-home tests to school districts so that students can take a test, and return to school if it's negative, if there's a positive case in their classroom. “There’s no reason why our children can’t stay in school."
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It's really cool. Twitter lets you see New York state and city officials working together to get coronavirus vaccines distributed to New Yorkers —>.
Spare me the deflection, there are 917k front line workers in NYC. They need to be vaccinated as, as others have done competently in other parts of the state.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D): "We cannot allow our subway to be a rolling homeless shelter." . The room, very audibly: Mmmmmmm. Hochul: "We need to expand involuntary commitment . to include someone who does not have the capacity to care for themselves.".
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New York will set a 10 p.m. curfew for most bars and restaurants and will limit gatherings at private residences to 10 people, @NYGovCuomo said Wednesday, as the number of novel coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continued to rise around the state.
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State Sens. Jessica Ramos, Mike Gianaris and James Sanders are standing behind Queens DA candidate Tiffany Caban as she gives a victory speech. She ran an insurgent campaign and finished ahead of Queens BP Melinda Katz, who has the support of the party machine.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he should have been more aggressive at going after reporters who retweeted his critics. We're at minute 90 of this briefing, folks. This is where the good stuff happens!.
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Just a reminder for anyone reading this headline that @NYGovCuomo appoints the leaders of the MTA, appoints a plurality of board members and has regularly micromanaged its operations. That’s been true for his entire tenure as governor. It’s been 9.5 years.
New York Gov. Cuomo says NYC subway system is disgusting and deteriorating, orders cleaning plan
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NEWS: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) repeats that, "I’m not going to resign because of allegations.”. “It’s damning to publicize allegations before you know that they are credible,” Cuomo says, mentioning JCOPE. “Let the attorney general do her job.".
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Buffalo — for real: "Poll worker pre-stamped ballots with Byron Brown's name, but no proof of widespread fraud".
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.@NYGovCuomo to @realDonaldTrump:. "You want me to say thank you? Thank you for doing your job.” . “Thank you for participating in a modicum of federal responsibility in a national crisis.”. Thank you for having the federal government participate in a national emergency.
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At a rally in Washington Sq. Park, State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou just endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president. Comes as Warren won backing of the WFP. Also here: Tiffany Cabán and Jumaane Williams (no endorsement speeches from them)
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It's 12:52 p.m. As of this moment, I have been a father for a full decade. What an awesome journey these last 10 years have been. I look forward to many more decades to come. xoxo
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A note: Cuomo says NY’s sanitizer is 75% alcohol. I guess most are 60%, so Cuomo says that NY’s is better.
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NEWS: The NYAG’s office has subpoenaed dozens of officials in the Cuomo administration, including his top aide Melissa DeRosa, requesting that they produce documents as part of an investigation of sexual-harassment accusations against the governor.
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“Perhaps when he sees we’re all serious—and when the articles of impeachment are right in front of his face—he’ll realize it’s time,” Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Democrat from Westchester County, said. “Nixon didn’t resign right away.”.
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NEWS: Just 17 New Yorkers died as a result of the novel coronavirus, @NYGovCuomo just announced. This is starkly lower than earlier. Also, NY found less than 1% of 59,341 tests yest. were positive. “This one of the best days for New York since we started,” Cuomo said earlier.
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Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn asked the Cuomo administration in February for information about nursing-home deaths, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Federal prosecutors expressed interest in the July DOH report, people familiar with the matter said.
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Cuomo: “That was a joke. I don’t necessarily know that it has a floral bouquet. I did detect a hint of citrus — but you be your own judge.”.
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Big questions, @NYGovCuomo says. “Why weren’t we ready with a tele-education system? Why weren’t we better with telemedicine?”. “Why don’t we have medical supplies made in this country? Why are we shopping in China for basic medical supplies?”.
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Caban just called the Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America the “engine of this campaign.”. The crowd chanted: DSA! DSA!.
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ALBANY, N.Y.—New York has become the first state to restrict cryptocurrency mining after Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Tuesday signed a two-year moratorium, calling the move necessary to help protect the environment.
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The Albany @timesunion has called for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), whose election the paper has endorsed, to resign over his handling of Covid-19 in nursing homes. "Mr. Cuomo has squandered the public’s trust at a time when it’s needed more than ever.".
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Columbia University researchers estimated that 17,514 deaths in the metropolitan area could have been avoided if officials had instituted seven days earlier each of the social-distancing measures they eventually enacted.
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I was a trend-setter here by completely missing the last trend.
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.@NYGovCuomo just referenced an @nytimes op/ed on Sicilians which said they were referred to as “nigger wops.”. And yes, the Democratic governor of New York said the n-word on air.
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NEWS: @NYGovCuomo says there can be no public gatherings in New York of more than 500 people. Exceptions for schools, hospitals, nursing homes and mass transit. Other gatherings, under 500, can only be filled 50% capacity. Rules take effect at 5pm Friday; Broadway shows today.
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EXCELLENT @nypost scoop here: A member of @NYGovCuomo’s security detail started dating one of his daughters. Now that State Trooper does “highway therapy” in the North Country.
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NEWS: @NYGovCuomo says he is posting the National Guard to airports and increasing other enforcement presence. “You should not land if you do not have proof of a negative test upon landing,” Cuomo says.
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NEWS: Brittany Commisso, the woman identified as Executive Assistant #1 in a report describing sexual harassment by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has revealed her identity in an interview with CBS and the Albany Times Union.
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NEWS: New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker has submitted his resignation, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) just announced.
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“The richest man in America, who’s a direct competitor, has just been handed $3 billion in subsidies. I’m not asking for money or a tax rebate,” Nancy Bass Wyden, owner of The Strand, said of the proposal to landmark her bookstore. “Just leave me alone.”.
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Today is one year since my “testy exchange” with Andrew Cuomo over school closures went viral. So much has changed!. Thanks to everyone from different phases of my life who emailed and called with nice messages in the days that followed. I really appreciate it.
@elizashapiro @JimmyVielkind Watch the testy exchange between Gov. Cuomo and @JimmyVielkind over school openings.
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As I've said, I don't want to live in an America without the New York Post.
MTA manager caught using blow-up doll in apparent attempt to skirt HOV laws
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NEWS: Rep. Pat Ryan (D) has won re-election over Alison Esposito (R) in #NY18, according to the Associated Press.
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New Jersey update: Jack Ciattarelli (R) holds a 56,000-vote lead over Gov. Phil Murphy (D) with 68% of precincts reporting. However, that includes no results from Essex County (Newark), which Murphy carried by 100,000 votes in 2017.
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Apparently Goldman Sachs donated 100,000 masks to New York, @NYGovCuomo said. Question from me: Goldman Sachs had 100,000 masks? Why?.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) says she is working on changing the definition of fully-vaccinated to include a booster, if someone is indeed eligible based on the date of their initial doses. Hochul says they're working through logistical considerations to make that checkable.
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Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn sought data this month on nursing-home deaths from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, after the administration took months to respond to a separate inquiry by the Justice Department.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Cuomo(D) and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) have not spoken since February, a senior official told @danarubinstein.
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“Now you learn: you have to disinfect subway cars.” ~ Gov. Andrew Cuomo, May 5, 2020 — approximately 116 years after the NYC subways first started operating. Someone tell me they’ve disinfected the cars before. Please. Somebody tell me even if it’s not true.
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NEWS: Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed material related to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent memoir as part of their probe into Covid-19 deaths in the state’s nursing homes, people familiar with the matter said. With @coryramey —>.
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Let's take a moment today to remember that time in February 2017 when, because I was bored, I asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) why he was such a stick in the mud about marijuana. He said it was a gateway drug. Four years later, he's set to sign this bill.
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There really, truly are only six people in the state of New York.
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Hi — Just re-upping this thread from a month ago about how New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office uses conference calls and virtual forums to control who asks questions. Today, no members of the Capitol press corps were called on. Cuomo (D) has also excluded the press from events.
Take this tweet as a reminder that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office halted in-person press conferences last year, citing CDC guidance. In this virtual format, his aides control who is selected to ask questions. In the past, they have tried to plant questions.
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NEWS: All state-mandated capacity restrictions in New York have been lifted, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) just announced, because 70% of adult New Yorkers have received their first coronavirus vaccine dose. Cuomo is having an event thanking business and union leaders. Fireworks tonite.
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.@CynthiaNixon attempts to justify a cinnamon-raisin bagel w cream cheese and lox: “That’s my go-to . I t’s not uncooked oatmeal but it’s pretty delicious and I say — don’t yuck my yum. Don’t knock it til you try it . sweet and salty, it’s an unbeatable combination.”
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NEWS: Democratic U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mondaire Jones, Jamaal Bowman, Carolyn Maloney and Yvette Clarke have issued statements calling on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to resign from office. Background —>. Statements —>
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"I don't think you've had a governor who has spent more time in the subways than I have," said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who lives in Albany and hasn't resided in NYC more than a decade. Then: "I'm there when you're not there. I'm there 1 o'clock in the morning.".
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Officials in both parties on Friday rebuked NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo after learning his administration held off releasing a fuller accounting of Covid-19 deaths in NY nursing homes out of its fear that the Trump administration would politicize the info.
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Name the only presidential candidate who:. Is a New Yorker. Has a campaign being run by a person who roots heavily for New York’s only NFL team. I have no doubt that the correct answer, Andrew Yang, will gain votes in the 716 because of this article —>.
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