Top Cuomo Aide Resigns + Governor Faces Likely Impeachment

Local News

• A report by NY Attorney General Letitia James found that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, including current and former government workers, and retaliated against at least one woman for making her complaints public in a much-anticipated report released this past Tuesday. Despite many calls for his resignation, including from President Biden, Cuomo shows no intent of stepping down. The State Assembly is likely to bring articles of impeachment against the Governor.
• Melissa DeRosa, one of Governor Cuomo’s top aides, resigned on Sunday. The Attorney General’s report found that DeRosa spearheaded efforts to retaliate against one of the women who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment.
• Many nonprofit executives and leaders are pushing back against a law the City Council passed that would make it easier for nonprofit workers to unionize.
• The real estate industry is concerned about the scheduled expiration of the 421-a tax break for private developers in June of 2022. Since the last time the tax break was reauthorized, in January 2016, the State legislature has gotten far more progressive, and housing activists have long fought to eliminate 421-a.
• Though Mayor de Blasio announced that the City will cease using solitary confinement, the Board of Corrections’ newly released plans show that city jails would still use a system that isolates inmates for the vast majority of the day.
• New York City will become the first U.S. city to require workers and customers to show proof of vaccination for indoor activities including indoor dining, gyms, and performances. The program is similar to mandates in France and Italy and will begin enforcement in mid September, when public schools and many offices are set to return to in-person.
• Some New York City schools may not be big enough to follow the distancing guidelines issued by the CDC.
• Despite a City Council recommendation to tear down the triple cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Mayor de Blasio announced that the City Department of Transportation believes it can be preserved for another 20 years.
• A new law in Nassau County will allow police officers to sue citizens who “alarm or seriously annoy” them.

Elections

• Unofficial results of a manual recount show progressive challenger Kristin Richardson Jordan beating incumbent Harlem Council Member Bill Perkins. The Board of Elections is set to certify the results on August 17.
• District leaders associated with the New Kings Democrats tried to bring more transparency to this year’s judicial nomination process, but Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn ensured that the recommendations included traditional party donors.
• Mayor De Blasio officially endorsed Eric Adams for mayor at a rally outside City Hall.