Tag: Bernadette Hogan

Cuomo admin. kept COVID tests from nursing homes as gov’s kin got them

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/03/28/cuomo-admin-kept-covid-tests-from-nursing-homes-as-govs-kin-got-them/

Excerpt:

Troubled by reports of COVID-19 running roughshod through nursing homes early in the pandemic, Jack Wheeler, the manager of upstate Steuben County, requested in April 2020 that the state Department of Health provide enough tests for every resident and staff member of three facilities in his jurisdiction.

The DOH, however, only came through with enough supplies for one of the three facilities, Hornell Gardens, with the precious diagnostic tests then hard to find, Wheeler told The Post.

That lackluster response came, as The Albany Times-Union reported last week, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo allegedly pulled strings to secure tests for bigwigs connected to his administration, as well as relatives including his brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo, and their elderly mother, Matilda.

Author(s): Bernadette Hogan, Aaron Feis

Publication Date: 28 March 2021

Publication Site: NY Post

Schumer spokesman: Federal pandemic relief eliminates NYS deficit

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/03/08/schumer-federal-pandemic-relief-eliminates-nys-deficit/

Excerpt:

The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by the US Senate wipes out New York State’s projected budget deficit — possibly negating the need for hefty tax hikes or spending cuts, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office said Monday.

“Ok. Thanks to @SenSchumer NYS budget deficit for this year is…..Zero, nada, niete, zilch (NY terms),” Schumer spokesman Angelo Roefaro tweeted.

The American Rescue Plan provides state government coffers with $12.6 billion in unrestricted aid, a measure championed by Schumer, the New York senior senator. The measure passed the Senate in a 50-49 vote and is expected to clear the Democratic-led House of Representatives on Tuesday and delivered to President Biden for approval.

Author(s): Carl Campanile, Bernadette Hogan

Publication Date: 8 March 2021

Publication Site: NY Post

Schumer spokesman: Federal pandemic relief eliminates NYS deficit

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/03/08/schumer-federal-pandemic-relief-eliminates-nys-deficit/

Excerpt:

The American Rescue Plan provides state government coffers with $12.6 billion in unrestricted aid, a measure championed by Schumer, the New York senior senator. The measure passed the Senate in a 50-49 vote and is expected to clear the Democratic-led House of Representatives on Tuesday and delivered to President Biden for approval.

Asked if the geyser of pandemic relief eliminates the needs for tax hikes or spending cuts, Roefaro told The Post, “the statement speaks for itself.”

Roefaro continued, “How NY decides its budgetary policy is a matter for the state legislature and the administration. Our job was to deliver resources to help NY confront and overcome Covid and it’s impacts, including the fiscal impact. And we did that fully and completely.”

Author(s): Carl Campanile, Bernadette Hogan

Publication Date: 8 March 2021

Publication Site: NY Post

Cuomo aide admits they hid nursing home data so feds wouldn’t find out

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/02/11/cuomo-aide-admits-they-hid-nursing-home-data-from-feds/

Excerpt:

Governor Cuomo’s top aide privately apologized to Democratic lawmakers for withholding the state’s nursing-home death toll from COVID-19 — telling them “we froze” out of fear the true numbers would “be used against us” by federal prosecutors, The Post has learned.

The stunning admission of a cover-up was made by Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa during a video conference call with state Democratic leaders in which she said the Cuomo administration had rebuffed a legislative request for the tally in August because “right around the same time, [then-President Donald Trump] turns this into a giant political football,” according to an audio recording of the two-hour-plus meeting.

Author(s): Bernadette Hogan, Carl Campanile and Bruce Golding

Publication Date: 11 February 2021

Publication Site: NY Post

NY Senate Democrats block subpoena for COVID-19 nursing home death data

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/02/01/ny-senate-democrats-block-subpoena-for-covid-nursing-home-data/?utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=SocialFlow

Excerpt:

Democrats who control the state Senate blocked a motion Monday to subpoena records of the Cuomo administration seeking a fuller accounting of nursing home residents who died from the coronavirus.

The motion was made by Sen. Thomas O’Mara, the ranking Republican on the Investigations Committee panel during a virtual meeting

The GOP motion to compel the state Health Department to release records came just days after Attorney General Letitia James issued a blistering report that found Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his health agency withheld an accurate count of the number of nursing home residents who died from COVID-19 by some 50 percent by excluding residents who died after being take to hospitals.

Author: Carl Campanile and Bernadette Hogan

Publication Date: 1 February 2021

Publication Site: NY Post