Leaders of an advocacy group for nursing home residents who blame ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the COVID-related deaths of thousands of relatives, urged New York City voters to reject his expected comeback bid for mayor.
“New York deserves better than Andrew Cuomo, and we’ll be there every step of the way as a reminder,” an open letter to the three-term Democrat drafted by the group Voices for Seniors said.
“We will not forget,” the letter, obtained by The Post, said. “Silence is not an option.”
Chief among the group’s grievances is the Cuomo administration’s controversial March 25, 2020 edict that directed nursing homes to admit recovering COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals.
They also slammed Cuomo for undercounting reported deaths of nursing homes — while drafting a $5 million profit-making memoir on his and his administration’s handling of the pandemic.
“As you prepare to announce your comeback and run for Mayor of New York City, it is paramount that we remember what your former failed leadership left behind,” the 5,000-member group told Cuomo.
“Over 15,000 seniors dead in nursing homes—livelihoods shattered—families shattered—businesses shattered—communities shattered—dreams shattered—all because of your reckless, selfish, and heartless decisions that put your own agenda and ambitions above the lives of those you were supposed to protect,” the searing letter said.
The missive was prepared by Vivian Zayas and her sister, Alexa Rivera, Tracy Alvino and Grace Colucci — all of whom had loved ones who died from the coronavirus after being discharged to nursing homes or while being treated there.
“It’s up to us grieving families to make sure the voters of New York never forget how your gross negligence cost over 15,000 lives,” the group’s leaders wrote.
“It was our loved ones this time, but we are all at risk if you should ever climb your way back into office.”
The letter cautioned New Yorkers not to fall for Cuomo’s display of “narcissistic lust for power and control” by seeking public office again.
“Your corruption and incompetence caused death, chaos, and destruction. We know you’re counting on the passage of time to fade our memories—where bullying and tyranny were the tenets of your rule,” they wrote.
“We can’t be at the mercy of a man who prioritizes his self-interest above the best interests of New Yorkers,” the letter said.
“And while New York bled, you turned inward, focused solely on yourself. You lied about the number of deaths—not to protect the public, but to protect your $5 million book deal. You stood before the television cameras, patting yourself on the back for your so-called leadership while you hid the true depth of the tragedy you caused. When families cried out for answers, your response was soulless, callous, and dismissive: ‘Who cares where they died?’”
The group said while New York’s most vulnerable, immunocompromised elderly residents were counting on Cuomo for protection, he “left them gasping for air.”
“Time and again,” Voices for Seniors said, “you put yourself first.”
“Mr. Cuomo, your time as governor has proven you unfit to hold office!” the group charged. “We will demand justice without rest.”
Cuomo’s rep defended the ex-governor’s record during the deadly once-in-a-century pandemic.
“Two million Americans died from COVID and our heart breaks for every one of the families impacted by those deaths,” said Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi.
He cited a US Department of Justice watchdog report into leaks to the media about the agency’s investigations into pandemic-related nursing home deaths in New York and New Jersey that concluded the disclosures were partisan hits on Democrats and aimed at impacting the 2020 election.
“It is also indisputable that the inspector general investigated this issue and found that the Department of Justice corruptly used its power to go after Governor Cuomo and other Democratic governors over COVID in nursing homes for purely political purposes,” Azzopardi said.
“It also concluded that New York’s nursing home policy was consistent with federal guidance, that a dozen states — Democratic and Republican — had similar protocols, and that those states had worse infection and death rates than New York,” he said.
Civil court cases involving this nursing home issue were dismissed and three separate DOJ probes, as well as one done by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, were closed after concluding no laws were broken and there was no evidence of wrongdoing, Azzopardi said.
The Cuomo spokesman also claimed “no credible study has ever linked nursing home admissions guidance to an increase in deaths, but rather to community spread that brought COVID into nursing homes months before the US government was even aware it was here.”
But the Republican-led House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released a report in December that claimed Cuomo committed “medical malpractice” and publicly undercounted the total number of COVID-related nursing home deaths in New York during the worst period of the pandemic, and “likely gave false statements” about his role in pandemic decision-making.]
Even House Democrats on the panel released their own investigative report on the COVID crisis that scorched fellow Dem Cuomo for “interfering” with the accounting of nursing home deaths.
A few independent studies claimed the March 25, 2020 nursing home directive, during the six weeks it was in effect, did cause additional deaths of nursing home residents.
