New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio slammed Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a manipulative schemer who exacts "some kind of revenge or vendetta" on those who disagree with him — and whose "lack of leadership" in Albany thwarted the city's legislative agenda.
In a withering blast at the Democratic governor during an
interview with NY1, the ultra-progressive mayor described in blunt detail how the governor allegedly goes after his political foes.
"What I found was he engaged in his own sense of strategies, his own political machinations and what we've often seen is if someone disagrees with him openly, some kind of revenge or vendetta follows," de Blasio complained about Cuomo.
"I don't believe the Assembly had a real working partner in the governor or the Senate in terms of getting things done for the people of this city and in many cases the people of this state."
But unlike the governor, de Blasio said he's more than willing to go on the record with his disdain.
"[I] want to hasten to say there was some interesting back and forth last week and some unnamed sources well-placed in the Cuomo administration had a few things to say," he said. "I’m here in front of you on record saying what I believe."
"And what I believe here is the governor worked with the Senate in some cases to inhibit the work of the Assembly, to inhibit the agenda that New York City put forward," he said, pointing in particular to the governor's resistance to proposed changes in a tax credit program for developers."
"I find that to be a lack of leadership because here was an opportunity actually to get something done for people," de Blasio fumed. "In my many efforts to find some common ground, suspiciously it seemed that every good idea got rejected or manipulated."
At a later news conference Monday, the tirade continued, with de Blasio complaining he "started a year and a half ago with a hope of a very strong partnership" with Cuomo — and has been "disappointed at every turn," the
New York Post reports.
"I’m not going to be surprised if these statements lead to some attempts at revenge," de Blasio then predicted, according to the Post.
The mayor and governor have
sparred over charter schools, the extension of mayoral control over public schools, taxing the rich, affordable housing and a lack of communication — including when the Cuomo-controlled MTA abruptly shut down the subway system during a snowstorm.
Cuomo's office didn't offer any comment on de Blasio's remarks, the Post reports.
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