The week at a glance. Hochul and Adams won’t weigh in on the arrest of a Columbia student protester; Cuomo’s treasurer worked for last year’s anti-trans campaign; and finally, the prison strike is over.
At the state Capitol this week, I asked Hochul to reflect. How does she assess the job she and her team have done in a miserable stretch? “Extraordinary,” she said. “Full stop — extraordinary.”
”What else ya got?” Hochul said after I read off a list of crises she’s faced. “I mean, it's a lot, but I have a talented team. I'm hardwired to deal with crises. This is my strength. And there'll probably be something even more tomorrow or even in the next half hour. But that's what a governor has to do.”
Republicans don’t share the same sentiment.
“ I think it's really telling that the current leaders we have, both the governor [and] the mayor, have been so bad and so weak that it's even possible for Andrew Cuomo to make a case to come back,” state Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said at the Capitol.
The good news for Hochul? A Siena College poll this week suggested that the seemingly never-ending string of crises hasn’t damaged the governor, politically speaking.
The bad news? That’s partly because her poll numbers were so low to begin with.
Just 40% of New York voters polled said they have a favorable opinion of Hochul, compared to half who said they have an unfavorable view. Those numbers are pretty much where they’ve been for the last three months.
“ There has been some lack of connection between the governor and her constituents,” said Siena pollster Steve Greenberg. “She’s never had a majority of New Yorkers view her favorably.”
Last week we asked: Should Andrew Cuomo should be given a second chance?
Here’s how 85 respondents voted:
We also asked respondents to share why or why not. Here’s what some of you said:
“No. Second chances are for those who admit wrongdoing and make amends, neither of which Andrew Cuomo has done. We already have a raging narcissist in the White House, we don't need (another) one at City Hall.”
-Regina, Brooklyn
“Yes. We need someone that’s tough to stand up to Trump and to pull the city leadership together.”
-Kathy, Manhattan
“No. The only reason Cuomo thinks he has a shot for mayor is because of poor performance from Adams (and de Blasio). It's strange he would even want to run after bashing the city for so long from Albany.”
- James, Brooklyn
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7 headlines
Both Hochul and Adams kept relatively neutral stances on the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who was involved in the protests at Columbia University last year. Here’s what they said.
Want to hear more about the mayor’s response to Khalil’s arrest? WNYC/Gothamist reporter Elizabeth Kim came on “The Brian Lehrer Show” to discuss that and more news from Adams’ weekly off-topic press conference. Listen here.
Other lawmakers around the city and state are working to protect access to gender-affirming care for transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people under the Trump administration. Here’s what steps they’re taking.
