Relatives of nursing home residents who died of COVID-19 attacked Andrew Cuomo on Sunday for 'inflicting an unimaginable horror...
Relatives of nursing home residents who died of COVID-19 attacked Andrew Cuomo on Sunday for 'inflicting an unimaginable horror on the most vulnerable', accusing him of a callous disregard for their relatives' lives after his controversial decision to allow convalescent patients back into their facilities.
Dozens of people gathered Sunday at the We Care Memorial Wall in Brooklyn to call for the governor's resignation or impeachment, with some holding signs saying they were 'Cuomo Covid Orphans' because of Cuomo's nursing home policies.
The memorial, which stands about 10 feet high and is full of photos and other memorabilia from people who died of COVID-19 while in nursing homes, is erected in front of the Cobble Hill Life Care Center in Brooklyn, the site of a number of those deaths, according to 77ABC.
It was a year ago this week the New York governor ruled that nursing homes must readmit residents who had tested positive for COVID-19, so they could recover in their nursing homes and free up hospital beds.
He reversed the decision on May 10, but by then thousands of people had been readmitted to the care facilities, and the pandemic was killing huge numbers of elderly people in nursing homes.
Cuomo even wrote a book about his 'leadership' during the crisis after he became a national hero with daily televised press briefings - something relatives of those who perished in nursing homes say is particularly galling.
Cuomo has now been accused of covering up the true scale of the deaths, after the attorney general, Letitia James, found that 15,000 residents had died - meaning Cuomo's official tallies undercounted the deaths by as much as 50 per cent.
Relatives of those who died of COVID-19 in New York nursing homes gathered on Sunday
At the memorial wall, dozens of protesters gathered to call for Cuomo's resignation or impeachment - some held signs that said they were 'Cuomo Covid Orphans'
A box that is labeled 'Cremated Remains' is at the memorial wall for those who died after Cuomo's nursing home policies sent COVID-19 patients released from hospitals back into nursing homes
Dawn Best told the press conference on Sunday that Cuomo 'killed our mothers and fathers'
The U.S. Justice Department is looking into the issue, and the governor's possible cover-up of the true numbers.
'He said: people go to nursing homes to die. No, Governor Cuomo - they go to nursing homes to live, and be cared for,' said Dawn Best, whose 83-year-old mother Carolyn Best died of COVID in a Long Island nursing home.
'He likes to say it's the federal fault. And people didn't know back then. This is not true,' she said, pointing out that Cuomo stated on March 27: 'Coronavirus in a nursing home can be like a fire through dry grass.'
She continued: 'He knew what would happen, and he did it anyway.
'A third grader would know not to send a COVID patient in with grandma.
'Governor Cuomo says this is political. This is not political, Governor Cuomo. This is as personal as it gets with us.
People pasted pictures of their loved ones - and many held signs calling for Cuomo's resignation
The 'We Care' Memorial Wall was assembled in front of a care home in Brooklyn
'You killed our mothers and fathers. And you knew what would happen when you forced the coronavirus patients in with them.'
Cuomo has insisted that he was following federal guidelines at the time. He has dismissed much of the criticism as political attacks.
Best said he 'screwed the numbers,' and accused him of having 'inflicted an unimaginable horror on the most vulnerable among us.'
She concluded: 'He hid the numbers because he had a book coming out.'
Cuomo's book about leadership during the pandemic was published on October 13 - much to the fury of the relatives.
Cuomo is facing an investigation into the decisions he made during the COVID pandemic
Around 15,000 care home residents are now known to have died - up 50% from the official tally
Many of those gathered in Brooklyn on Sunday demanded Cuomo resign, or be impeached.
Among them was Ron Kim, a Democrat assemblyman representing Queens, whose uncle died from COVID-19 in a nursing home.
Kim has been a staunch critic of Cuomo's, and last month the governor rang him to berate him, threatening to ruin his career.
Ron Kim told the crowd that 'decent people' would take on Cuomo and fight for justice
'I wasn't afraid of his bullying tactics. I was afraid he would escape accountability,' said Kim, who was frequently cheered by the crowd and thanked by the speakers.
He said he was unsure how to handle Cuomo's threat, until his wife told me him that he needed to carry on his fight for justice.
He said: 'She told me: I married a decent man.
'That's what this is about: decent people coming together to take on the most powerful man in New York. Because together, decency will win.'
Tracey Alvino, a co-founder of Voices for Seniors, told the story of her father Daniel, who died aged 76 on April 14, while recuperating in a care facility from surgery.
She strongly criticized Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo's top aide, who admitted in a private call to state Democrats in February that the administration had 'froze' when asked for the death tolls, and dragged their heels in providing the figures.
'He is one of Governor Cuomo's uncounted,' she said, noting that he was not a care home resident but died in one.
'He may be just a number to Melissa DeRosa, that she omitted from her report.
'But to my family, he was the glue that kept us together.'
She added: 'We don't want an apology. We want answers, accountability and justice.
'We demand the resignation of Governor Cuomo, Commissioner Zucker, and all the other dirty cronies that make up to Cuomo crime syndicate.'
Zucker is Dr. Howard Zucker, the head of New York State's Health Department.
Alvino also rubbished Cuomo's claim that the criticism of him was political.
'He killed Democrats. He killed Republicans. And he killed people that couldn't care less about politics - who only cared about the New York Mets,' she said.
'He signed an executive order that sentenced thousands of people to death.'
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