Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, was released on bail during a scheduled visit to a senior center in Queens on Friday, where he faced a backdrop of vocal protesters criticizing his handling of nursing homes during the pandemic.
About 25 demonstrators gathered in front of the Peter Cardella Senior Citizen Centre in Ridgewood, expressing anger over Cuomo’s controversial decision to send infected COVID-19 patients to nursing homes. They marched for over an hour, clearly eager to voice their frustrations.
Dr. Damien Archibald, an anesthesiologist at Elmhurst Hospital, mentioned, “I’m still trying to figure out how to prevent this. A pandemic…”
One protester shared their outrage, saying, “I have a moral issue with Cuomo running for mayor after he sold out the city.”
Cuomo’s planned visit to senior centers on his campaign trail seemed to incite the protesters to rush to the scene.
One woman, amidst the crowd, asked, “I like what you guys do, where can I get the autograph?” before joining the protest.
Cuomo’s decision, which he made during the pandemic, has been linked to around 15,000 deaths statewide in nursing homes.
Across the street, a neighbor shouted, “I’ll hold up your signs and take a picture. Forget that guy!”
While the campaign stated that Cuomo had no intention of attending an event that was canceled a few days earlier, two workers from the senior center reported that the campaign had decided to pull the plug on the visit earlier that morning.
It’s important to note that the center is not a nursing home; it’s a place where seniors gather to socialize.
Protesters considered Cuomo’s visit to be disingenuous, given the deadly policy that allowed nursing homes to spread the virus during the peak of the pandemic.
Daniel Irviny, who participated in the rally with the We Care Memorial Wall group, is protesting in memory of his relatives who passed away due to the pandemic. His family lost four members in just one week, including his father.
In a tweet, an activist group known as Voicesforseniors stated, “Cowards cannot come to us!”
Irvingy emphasized, “We want the truth. We need to know what happened.” He expressed frustration with the lack of accountability for those affected.
After the demonstration caught attention, the campaign team for Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa showed up. Campaign advisor Sharon Riao stated, “Cuomo made the wrong decision by sending COVID-19 patients to nursing homes. His mistakes resulted in the deaths of 15,000 people.” She added, “I don’t care about his sexual harassment issues. This is about real life—this is more serious.”
When asked what she would say to Cuomo if he were present, Liao replied, “Stop destroying our city. If he ruined New York State as governor, imagine what he could do to New York City.”
Cuomo has attributed the deaths in nursing homes during the pandemic to various factors. Back in March, he offered a vague apology when pressed about taking responsibility for the families affected.
Despite the backlash over his nursing home decisions, Cuomo is currently leading in polls for the Democratic nomination for mayor, trailing behind second-place candidate Zohran Mamdani.
