Calling out Cuomo

Community groups denounce threats



Story and photos by Gregg McQueen

He’s a counterfeit chief executive.

Using colorful and charged rhetoric, various community groups gathered to denounce Governor Andrew Cuomo for alleged threats to defund them in retribution for their support of his political opponent.

“We see you, Andrew – you’re as phony as a three-dollar bill,” said The Black Institute’s Bertha Lewis, who also called Cuomo “a thief” and “a demon.”

The protestors staged a rain-drenched rally in Foley Square on Thurs., Apr. 19th.

Speakers from left-leaning groups teed off on Cuomo, accusing him of being a “phony” liberal that enables Republicans in the state legislature, and insisting that defunding their advocacy outfits would hurt the low-income and immigrant population those entities serve.

Organizations in attendance included Citizen Action of New York, Community Voices Heard Power, Make the Road Action, New York Communities for Change (NYCC), The Black Institute and the Working Families Party.

The previous week, Cuomo reportedly threatened retaliation against unions affiliated with groups that endorsed gubernatorial challenger Cynthia Nixon, such as Citizen Action of New York, Make the Road Action and NYCC.

According to Bill Lipton, head of the Working Families Party, Cuomo made the threats during a meeting that included officials from various unions.

“Several times, he said ‘if unions or anyone give money to any of these groups, they can lose my number,’” Lipton said in a statement, which some union officials had questioned the validity of.

At the Foley Square rally, Lipton stood by his words.

“Brothers and sisters, make no mistake, the threat is real. I was there,” Lipton said.

Stanley Fritz, Communications Associate of Citizen Action of New York, said that Cuomo’s actions amount to “pay-as-you-go progressivism.”

“Governor Cuomo has short-circuited the state of New York for the last seven years, and now he wants to step in for another four years and expects the people who have suffered under his poor leadership to just say OK,” Fitz said. “We say, ‘Hell, no.”

“There is too much at stake for people in these organizations for us to go away,” said Marie Pierre, Chair of NYCC.

A group of City Councilmembers – Carlos Menchaca, Brad Lander, Ben Kallos, Antonio Reynoso and Jimmy Van Bramer – read a prepared statement, saying they were “in deep solidarity with these community organizations who are on the front lines of the fight for respect and dignity for all New Yorkers.”

“Every day, these organizations undertake the most pressing work in our democracy, fighting for the rights of working class New Yorkers, immigrants and people of color,” said the statement.

The Councilmembers never mentioned Cuomo by name.

Public Advocate Letitia James was scheduled to attend the rally, but did not appear, reportedly due to a scheduling conflict.

The Governor’s alleged threats came after two Cuomo-friendly unions – SEIU Local 32BJ and Communications Workers of America – pulled out of the WFP.

Though the group had supported Cuomo in his first two campaigns for Governor, the WFP is backing Nixon in this year’s election.

In advance of the rally, a new Community Defense Fund was set up to support the work of community organizations, which have typically received substantial financial contributions from unions.

At an unrelated press conference, Cuomo denied bullying the groups.

“I’m not going to punish. It has nothing to do with me,” Cuomo said. “Punishment is for God.”

But Lewis said that Cuomo’s attack on community organizations could cost him at the voting booth.

“We are the ones who register people to vote. We are the ones who turn out people to vote,” she said. “And where do most [of his] votes come from? New York City.”

“You can defund us, but you will not defeat us,” she added.