Mayor Bill de Blasio cut short his vacation on Thursday to warn New Yorkers that it can sometimes get very hot in August, but it also allowed him to give blistering remarks on soon-to-be ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The mayor said he did not trust Cuomo, who resigned on Tuesday but is staying on for two weeks to help with the transition.
“I think people should keep a very close eye on him after everything he’s done and I don’t know why it needs to be 12 days, honestly,” de Blasio said.
“I think we’re all ready to move on and I think the quicker we can move on, the better, at this point,” he added.
De Blasio described Cuomo’s downfall as “almost Shakespearean” in nature due to Cuomo’s hubris in amassing political power to dominate opponents.
“In the end, history will judge him harshly because he amassed power in a way that led to bullying and intimidation and threats,” de Blasio said.
“The very effort to dominate everything else in his path undermined whatever good there might have been in his plans.” adding this cautionary remark: “You’re not supposed to have one person with that much power and it got the better of him.”
The mayor also said he has spoken with Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and looks forward to working with her. “We said, you know, we’ve got a lot of work to do together,” he said.