2 years ago
NEW YORK — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned from office just over six months ago amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment, made his first public appearance at a close ally's church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Sunday.
Preceded by a service at God’s Battalion of Prayer that included golden flags, white-robed dancers, song and prayer, Cuomo took the pulpit with the traditional call and response line, “God is good.”
For about 20 minutes, Cuomo laid out the same defense of his behavior he’s held over the past several months, but assured the audience he’s been leaning on scripture in a difficult time because “God isn’t finished with me yet.”
The crowd, which appeared from the livestream to be several dozen people, offered occasional — if uncertain — applause as Cuomo delivered a speech with critiques of government corruption, the Democratic Party and “cancel culture,” sprinkled with praise of his father, the late former Gov. Mario Cuomo.
“The press roasted me, my colleagues were ridiculed, my brother was fired. It was ugly. It was probably the toughest time of my life,” Cuomo said.
“I haven’t spoken about it in public yet because I wanted to talk about it here with you because God’s guidance is helping me through,” he added.
The scene: Cuomo was welcomed by the Rev. Alfred Cockfield II, a major supporter of New York City Mayor Eric Adams who launched a super PAC last year aimed at boosting “moderate” Democrats. Cockfield, who Cuomo appointed to the Long Island Power Authority board of trustees last summer, introduced Cuomo as an advocate for the community during the worst of the pandemic and as “a friend.”
“I never turn my back on friends,” he said.
Cockfield indicated that the audience was not given any advance notice of the special guest. The media announcement that Cuomo would make his first in-person remarks since his resignation arrived about 30 minutes prior to the start of service.
Leaning on allies in Black communities is a long-held strategy Cuomo’s used throughout the past year of scandal. It follows a path Cuomo is paving with his multimillion-dollar campaign account to reclaim a spot in public, and perhaps political, life. Last week he released a TV ad aimed at clearing his name. Since the start of the year, he's dined in Manhattan several times, including with Adams and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
The message: Cuomo reiterated a familiar defense that he wasn’t aware he was making any of his former female aides “feel uncomfortable” in instances they viewed as sexual harassment, and he again apologized for being unaware that his behavior was politically incorrect. But he criticized reports from the state Assembly and attorney general as abuse of power and “prosecutorial misconduct.” He also incorrectly said that a handful of criminal investigations that were dismissed by district attorneys meant that there was also little truth to Attorney General Tish James’ conclusion that Cuomo had harassed multiple women and violated state anti-harassment policy he signed into law in 2019.
“Contrary to what my political opponents would have you believe, nothing I did violated the law or the regulation,” he said. “But the political sharks in Albany smelled blood.”
He blamed “cancel culture” for his resignation — which he voluntarily announced Aug. 10 — and urged Democrats to beware.
“If you want to cancel something, cancel federal gridlock, cancel the incompetence, cancel the infighting, cancel crime, cancel homelessness, cancel education inequality, cancel poverty, cancel racism, be outraged but be outraged at what really matters and what really matters to you," he said.
Cuomo did not explicitly comment on his next steps but framed himself as a fighter from outside the bureaucratic status quo, a cohort he previously led but where he now has few public friends.
“I have many options in life and I’m open to all of them,” he said. He says he’s not yet at peace, but with the state of the world and Democratic Party today “I don’t think you should be at peace either.”
“Let’s make some trouble,” he said as a closing line.
“Let’s make some good trouble,” he quickly added, quoting a phrase made famous by the late civil rights pioneer, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).
The former governor took a few questions from reporters after the service.
“I said what I said today," Cuomo responded when asked if he was planning to run for political office again.
He hoped that his speech was heard by “anybody who wanted to” hear it, he added from the driver's seat of a white, BMW sedan. He was alone in the vehicle.
Not everyone was pleased that Cuomo came calling to the borough.
“One thing Andrew has is the self-absorption that makes him feel like people still want him back," Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said in an interview.
"What he’s doing is moving around to make a case, but I think that if it’s like this, it’s going to be quickly met with opposition," he said, noting the defensive tone of Cuomo's speech that lacked a full apology.
Ruby Cramer contributed to this report.
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