Epidemic of mismanagement 

To the editor:

Eric Adams remains mayor and Andrew Cuomo is running as an independent to replace him.  Both politicians have committed serious transgressions, and refuse to take responsibility for what some say were their illegal and unethical behaviors.

The media, political allies, unions and wealthy donors no longer see as relevant Cuomo’s sexual harassment and nursing home scandals. It’s hard to ignore 13 women who accused the former governor of sexual harassment. An independent investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James found the accusations credible. If that doesn’t make him unfit to hold public office, there is the nursing home scandal.

First, Cuomo received millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the hospital and nursing home industry. Cuomo aides inserted into the 2020 budget bill a provision that gave nursing homes and hospitals broad legal immunity from Covid-related lawsuits.

Second, the CDC issued recommendations for “safe readmission” when hospitalized Covid patients were returned to nursing homes. Cuomo ordered nursing homes to accept those patients. There was, however, no indication that nursing homes were being monitored by the state to ensure they were following CDC safety readmission recommendations. In fact, nursing homes had little incentive to do so, since the Cuomo administration had ensured they had legal immunity from Covid-related lawsuits.

Third, when deaths sharply increased in nursing homes, the Cuomo administration provided a major underestimate. A March 2022 report by the state comptroller found the state Health Department “was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths”, and that it understated them by as much as 50 percent. Cuomo had a conflict of interest: He was writing a book about leadership during the pandemic, and any increased number of deaths was an inconvenient fact. Penguin Random House gave him a $5.1 million advance for the book. His staff that helped him violate an ethics panel provision.

Howard Elterman