New York
With Cuomo Leading NYC Mayor’s Race, His Political Baggage Grows Heavier
Being the front-runner in a race for mayor of New York City often comes with exceptional scrutiny. But few have presented their opponents with quite as many targets as former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
In the weeks since Mr. Cuomo joined a crowded Democratic primary field and immediately catapulted to its front, a group of New Yorkers whose relatives were nursing home residents who died of Covid have repeatedly blamed him for their suffering.
Women’s groups have picketed his campaign events to remind voters of the sexual harassment accusations that drove him from the governor’s office.
Then, on Thursday, years-old sworn testimony surfaced in The New York Post describing Mr. Cuomo and his longtime top aide, Melissa DeRosa, as having been in an “emotionally intimate” relationship.
Mr. Cuomo’s proximity to Ms. DeRosa would seem to have little bearing on his qualifications to be mayor. But the sudden re-emergence of the long-denied rumors underscored how his tenure as governor left Mr. Cuomo with a lengthy list of enemies and political baggage ripe for attack.
For now, Mr. Cuomo has maintained a comfortable polling lead against nine Democratic challengers, including Mayor Eric Adams. Yet as New York City political history has long demonstrated, a perceived lead comes with real risks — especially months before Primary Day.
“When you’re the only game in town, you’re the only person to take down,” said Mike Morey, the campaign spokesman for then-Council Speaker Christine Quinn in 2013, who watched her early polling lead in that year’s mayor’s race collapse. “You’d probably rather be second or third place and just climbing.”
New York City lets voters rank up to five candidates in order of preference on their primary ballots. Opponents of Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Adams are trying to stop their ascent by popularizing the acronym D.R.E.A.M., or “Don’t Rank Eric or Andrew for Mayor.”
Mr. Cuomo’s result may well be different than Ms. Quinn’s. He is better known and more battle-tested than almost any of his predecessors. His allies believe that that he can prevail as long as he can redirect voters’ attention toward his record of accomplishment during roughly a decade as governor, during which New York State legalized same-sex marriage, raised the minimum wage and rebuilt LaGuardia Airport.
“New Yorkers know the city is in crisis and Governor Cuomo is the only candidate in this race with the experience and the record of results to help fix it and make it a safer and more affordable place for all,” said Rich Azzopardi, Mr. Cuomo’s spokesman. “This is why these petty attacks are falling on deaf ears.”
But as Mr. Cuomo’s opponents are eager to point out, his tenure in Albany was also marked by turmoil, controversy and heavy-handed tactics that have left him with higher unfavorable ratings in recent polls than any candidate except Mr. Adams.
“The fly in the ointment is that he’s not particularly lovable,” said Mark Green, who narrowly won the 2001 Democratic primary for mayor, only to lose in the general election to Michael R. Bloomberg.
Those trying to stop Mr. Cuomo have been far more vivid. On Sunday, nine mayoral candidates gathered in Brooklyn alongside relatives of nursing home residents who died of Covid-related complications during Mr. Cuomo’s governorship. They hammered him for his policy directing nursing homes to admit hospital patients who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
“Could any other issue bring us all together with the differences that we have?” said Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for mayor. “No — it’s the death, the unneeded death, of all these folks who were trusting the governor to do the right thing.”
Mr. Cuomo has said the state’s public health policies, including those involving nursing homes, adhered to federal guidelines, and he has accused federal authorities of trying to scapegoat him politically.
That controversy was largely eclipsed by accusations, including from former state employees, that Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed them. The claims prompted an investigation by the office of the New York attorney general, who concluded in August 2021 that Mr. Cuomo had harassed 11 women.
He resigned within days of the report’s release, though in the years since, he has spent millions of dollars in legal fees fighting to clear his name. He denies any wrongdoing.
It was in March of that year, around the time that Mr. Cuomo was facing the first of those accusations, that The Daily Mail approached the governor’s office with questions about his relationship with Ms. DeRosa. It was preparing to publish photographs that showed the pair seated close together, huddled in conversation over drinks at a Manhattan restaurant.
Ms. DeRosa was also concerned that the outlet would publish longstanding rumors that she and Mr. Cuomo were more than just colleagues. She called Josh Vlasto, who had previously served as Mr. Cuomo’s chief of staff and who was an informal adviser, for advice on dealing with the publication, according to Mr. Vlasto’s testimony during the sexual harassment investigation.
In the transcript of that testimony, Mr. Vlasto is quoted as saying that Ms. DeRosa, who was married at the time, told him she did have an “emotional romantic relationship with the governor,” but said that the two had never been sexually involved.
“Emotionally intimate was the words she used,” Mr. Vlasto said. “I didn’t press on what that meant.”
The former governor’s younger brother, Chris Cuomo, was also brought in to brainstorm a response, according to Mr. Vlasto’s account. “He had said do you intend to be together in the long-term or do you intend to be together after you’re in office,” Mr. Vlasto said of Chris Cuomo. “She said I don’t know.”
The trio agreed that Ms. DeRosa would deny a romantic relationship to The Daily Mail; Ms. DeRosa ultimately told the publication that she and the governor “never had an intimate relationship.”
Mr. Vlasto testified that after The Daily Mail published the photographs, Ms. DeRosa told him that she had not had a romantic relationship with Mr. Cuomo, contradicting her earlier account.
Months later, in her own testimony in the sexual harassment investigation, Ms. DeRosa also denied having had a romantic relationship with Mr. Cuomo.
Investigators separately asked Mr. Cuomo whether he had had any romantic relationships with members of his staff.
“Never,” he said.
On Thursday, after The Post published its article, both Catherine M. Foti, a lawyer for Ms. DeRosa, and Mr. Azzopardi reiterated that there had been no physical relationship between Mr. Cuomo and Ms. DeRosa.
“Of course after seven years of working together for New York, the governor and Melissa were emotionally close,” Mr. Azzopardi said. “We all were after going through Covid and everything else together.”
Mr. Vlasto declined to comment.
The interview with Mr. Vlasto took place in the summer of 2021, but Mr. Vlasto’s account of Ms. DeRosa’s request was not reported before Thursday.
The transcript of his testimony posted on the attorney general’s website is redacted, and it conceals Ms. DeRosa’s name and much of Mr. Vlasto’s remarks about her and Mr. Cuomo. But an unredacted version of the transcript was posted briefly in 2022 as part of a broader tranche of investigative materials, before it was taken down and replaced.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general, Letitia James, said the unredacted version had been posted by accident, and that it had only been up for two hours.
The New York Times was able to access the unredacted transcript of Mr. Vlasto’s testimony using The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, which preserves web pages.
Mr. Azzopardi, though, called for an investigation into how the unredacted transcript became public. In a statement, he accused Ms. James of using “lawfare” to harm Mr. Cuomo and of helping to resurface the transcript as part of a “transparent ploy” to aid one of his rivals in the mayor’s race, Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker.
The spokeswoman for Ms. James declined to comment on the accusation.
Every week since 1976, Metropolitan Diary has published stories by, and for, New Yorkers of all ages and eras (no matter where they live now): anecdotes and memories, quirky encounters and overheard snippets that reveal the city’s spirit and heart.
For the past four years, we’ve asked for your help picking the best Diary entry of the year. Now we’re asking again.
We’ve narrowed the field to the five finalists here. Read them and vote for your favorite. The author of the item that gets the most votes will receive a print of the illustration that accompanied it, signed by the artist, Agnes Lee.
The voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21. You can change your vote as many times as you’d like until then, but you may only pick one. Choose wisely.
Click “VOTE” to choose your favorite Metropolitan Diary entry of 2025, and come back on Sunday, Dec. 28, to see which one our readers picked as their favorite.
Click “VOTE” to choose your favorite Metropolitan Diary entry of 2025, and come back on Sunday, Dec. 28, to see which one our readers picked as their favorite.
Two Stops
Dear Diary:
It was a drizzly June night in 2001. I was a young magazine editor and had just enjoyed what I thought was a very blissful second date — dinner, drinks, fabulous conversation — with our technology consultant at a restaurant in Manhattan.
I lived in Williamsburg at the time, and my date lived near Murray Hill, so we grabbed a cab and headed south on Second Avenue.
“Just let me out here,” my date said to the cabby at the corner of 25th Street.
We said our goodbyes, quick and shy, knowing that we would see each other at work the next day. I was giddy and probably grinning with happiness and hope.
“Oh boy,” the cabby said, shaking his head as we drove toward Brooklyn. “Very bad.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in horror.
“He doesn’t want you to know exactly where he lives,” the cabby said. “Not a good sign.”
I spent the rest of the cab ride in shock, revisiting every moment of the date.
Happily, it turned out that my instinct about it being a great date was right, and the cabby was wrong. Twenty-four years later, my date that night is my husband, and I know that if your stop is first, it’s polite to get out so the cab can continue in a straight line to the next stop.
Ferry Farewell
Dear Diary:
On a February afternoon, I met my cousins at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Their spouses and several of our very-grown children were there too. I brought Prosecco, a candle, a small speaker to play music, photos and a poem.
We were there to recreate the wedding cruise of my mother, Monica, and my stepfather, Peter. They had gotten married at City Hall in August 1984. She was 61, and he, 71. It was her first marriage, and his fourth.
I was my mother’s witness that day. It was a late-in-life love story, and they were very happy. Peter died in 1996, at 82. My mother died last year. She was 100.
Peter’s ashes had waited a long time, but finally they were mingled with Monica’s. The two of them would ride the ferry a last time and then swirl together in the harbor forever. Cue the candles, bubbly, bagpipes and poems.
Two ferry workers approached us. We knew we were in trouble: Open containers and open flames were not allowed on the ferry.
My cousin’s husband, whispering, told the workers what we were doing and said we would be finished soon.
They walked off, and then returned. They said they had spoken to the captain, and they ushered us to the stern for some privacy. As the cup of ashes flew into the water, the ferry horn sounded two long blasts.
Unacceptable
Dear Diary:
I went to a new bagel store in Brooklyn Heights with my son.
When it was my turn to order, I asked for a cinnamon raisin bagel with whitefish salad and a slice of red onion.
The man behind the counter looked up at me.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t do that.”
Teresa
Dear Diary:
It was February 2013. With a foot of snow expected, I left work early and drove from New Jersey warily as my wipers squeaked and snow and ice stuck to my windows.
I drove east on the Cross Bronx Expressway, which was tied up worse than usual. Trucks groaned on either side of my rattling Toyota. My fingers were cold. My toes were colder. Got to get home before it really comes down, I thought to myself.
By the time I got home to my little red bungalow a stone’s throw from the Throgs Neck Bridge, the snow was already up to my ankles.
Inside, I took off my gloves, hat, scarf, coat, sweater, pants and snow boots. The bed, still unmade, was inviting me. But first, I checked my messages.
There was one from Teresa, the 92-year-old widow on the corner.
“Call me,” she said, sounding desperate.
I looked toward the warm bed, but … Teresa. There was a storm outside, and she was alone.
On went the pants, the sweater, the coat, the scarf, the boots and the gloves, and then I went out the door.
The snow was six inches deep on the sidewalks, so I tottered on tire tracks in the middle of the street. The wind stung my face. When I got to the end of the block, I pounded on her door.
“Teresa!” I called. No answer. “Teresa!” I called again. I heard the TV blaring. Was she sprawled on the floor?
I went next door and called for Kathy.
“Teresa can’t answer the door,” I said. “Probably fell.”
Kathy had a key. In the corner of her neat living room, Teresa, in pink sweatpants and sweaters, was sitting curled in her armchair, head bent down and The Daily News in her lap.
I snapped off the TV.
Startled, she looked up.
“Kathy! Neal!” she said. “What’s a five-letter word for cabbage?”
Nice Place
Dear Diary:
When I lived in Park Slope over 20 years ago, I once had to call an ambulance because of a sudden, violent case of food poisoning.
Two paramedics, a man and a woman, entered our third-floor walk-up with a portable chair. Strapping me in, the male medic quickly inserted an IV line into my arm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his partner circling around and admiring the apartment.
“Nice place you’ve got here.” she said. “Do you own it?”
“Yeah,” I muttered, all but unconscious.
Once I was in the ambulance, she returned to her line of inquiry.
“Do you mind me asking how much you paid for your apartment?”
“$155,000,” I croaked.
“Wow! You must have bought during the recession.”
“Yeah” I said.
They dropped me off at Methodist Hospital, where I was tended to by a nurse as I struggled to stay lucid.
At some point, the same medic poked her head into the room with one last question:
“You wouldn’t be wanting to sell any time soon, would you?”
Illustrations by Agnes Lee.
‘Part of the job’
Edwin Guity was at the controls of a southbound D train last December, rolling through the Bronx, when suddenly someone was on the tracks in front of him.
He jammed on the emergency brake, but it was too late. The man had gone under the wheels.
Stumbling over words, Mr. Guity radioed the dispatcher and then did what the rules require of every train operator involved in such an incident. He got out of the cab and went looking for the person he had struck.
“I didn’t want to do it,” Mr. Guity said later. “But this is a part of the job.”
He found the man pinned beneath the third car. Paramedics pulled him out, but the man died at the hospital. After that, Mr. Guity wrestled with what to do next.
A 32-year-old who had once lived in a family shelter with his parents, he viewed the job as paying well and offering a rare chance at upward mobility. It also helped cover the costs of his family’s groceries and rent in the three-bedroom apartment they shared in Brooklyn.
But striking the man with the train had shaken him more than perhaps any other experience in his life, and the idea of returning to work left him feeling paralyzed.
Edwin Guity was prescribed exposure therapy after his train struck a man on the tracks.
Hundreds of train operators have found themselves in Mr. Guity’s position over the years.
And for just as long, there has been a path through the state workers’ compensation program to receiving substantive treatment to help them cope. But New York’s train operators say that their employer, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has done too little to make them aware of that option.
After Mr. Guity’s incident, no official told him of that type of assistance, he said. Instead, they gave him the option of going back to work right away.
But Mr. Guity was lucky. He had a friend who had been through the same experience and who coached him on getting help — first through a six-week program and then, with the assistance of a lawyer, through an experienced specialist.
The specialist prescribed a six-month exposure therapy program to gradually reintroduce Mr. Guity to the subway.
His first day back at the controls of a passenger train was on Thanksgiving. Once again, he was driving on the D line — the same route he had been traveling on the day of the fatal accident.
M.T.A. representatives insisted that New York train operators involved in strikes are made aware of all options for getting treatment, but they declined to answer specific questions about how the agency ensures that drivers get the help they need.
In an interview, the president of the M.T.A. division that runs the subway, Demetrius Crichlow, said all train operators are fully briefed on the resources available to them during their job orientation.
“I really have faith in our process,” Mr. Crichlow said.
Still, other transit systems — all of which are smaller than New York’s — appear to do a better job of ensuring that operators like Mr. Guity take advantage of the services available to them, according to records and interviews.
A Times analysis shows that the incidents were on the rise in New York City’s system even as they were falling in all other American transit systems.
An Uptick in Subway Strikes
San Francisco’s system provides 24-hour access to licensed therapists through a third-party provider.
Los Angeles proactively reaches out to its operators on a regular basis to remind them of workers’ compensation options and other resources.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has made it a goal to increase engagement with its employee assistance program.
The M.T.A. says it offers some version of most of these services.
But in interviews with more than two dozen subway operators who have been involved in train strikes, only one said he was aware of all those resources, and state records suggest most drivers of trains that strike people are not taking full advantage of them.
“It’s the M.T.A.’s responsibility to assist the employee both mentally and physically after these horrific events occur,” the president of the union that represents New York City transit workers, John V. Chiarello, said in a statement, “but it is a constant struggle trying to get the M.T.A. to do the right thing.”
new video loaded: Protesters Arrested After Trying to Block a Possible ICE Raid
transcript
transcript
Protesters Arrested After Trying to Block a Possible ICE Raid
Nearly 200 protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving a parking garage in Lower Manhattan on Saturday. The confrontation appeared to prevent a possible ICE raid nearby, and led to violent clashes between the police and protesters.
-
[chanting] “ICE out of New York.”
By Jorge Mitssunaga
November 30, 2025
Texas falls short in Elite Eight loss to Wisconsin, 3-1
Utah Jewish community ensures security for Hanukkah event after deadly attack in Sydney
New Mexico Joins West Virginia, North Dakota, Vermont, and More as a Must-Visit Destination for International Travelers – Travel And Tour World
DC, Maryland, Virginia closures & delays: Several school districts respond to winter weather
No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 1 Texas Longhorns: Game Thread
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Bill and Hillary Clinton’s Stance on Epstein Testimony Nov. 3
Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations
Analysis: Trump’s policies set to widen EU-US innovation gap
With federal relief on the horizon, Black farmers worry it won’t come soon enough
Trump’s election win filled Hamas with ‘fear,’ hostage held like ‘slave’ for 505 days recounts
-
Alaska1 week agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Texas1 week agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Washington6 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa1 week agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire
-
Miami, FL1 week agoUrban Meyer, Brady Quinn get in heated exchange during Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami CFP discussion
-
Iowa1 day agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
Cleveland, OH1 week agoMan shot, killed at downtown Cleveland nightclub: EMS
-
World1 week ago
Chiefs’ offensive line woes deepen as Wanya Morris exits with knee injury against Texans
