Andrew Cuomo refuses to condemn Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for killing bipartisan bill commemorating Oct. 7 attack on Israel
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo refused to condemn state Assembly Speaker and longtime ally Carl Heastie for torpedoing a bipartisan bill that would have commemorated Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on the Jewish state.
Cuomo, the frontrunner heading into the June 24 NYC Democratic mayoral primary, told The Post Saturday he was unaware of the bill or that the Bronx pol went to extraordinary lengths to ensure it didn't reach the Assembly floor for a vote.
'I don't know how it happened, but I have no doubt that the Democrats in the Legislature would all honor the memory of Oct. 7 and stand in unity in honoring Oct. 7,' he insisted after leaving the Attneu Synagogue on the Upper East Side, where he addressed members of its congregation.
Although Cuomo wasn't willing to attack Heastie, he quickly jabbed Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani — a socialist who has been polling second only to the former governor in the Democratic mayoral primary race.
'The Democratic Party is 100% in support of the Jewish community, and I'm sure would stand in solidarity in condemning Oct. 7,' he said. 'Democratic socialists, Zohran Mamdani, that's a different story.'
'The outlier is Zoran Mamdani and the Democratic socialists who said they won't visit Israel, who said they don't acknowledge Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, but he does not represent the majority of Democrats in the city,' said Cuomo.
Cuomo said he personally '100% support[s]' commemorating Oct. 7.
The bill, sponsored in February by Brooklyn Republican Assemblyman Lester Chang, would enshrine Oct. 7 alongside other days of commemoration in the Empire State, such as 'Rosa Parks Day' and 'Susan B. Anthony Day.'
Sources told The Post Friday they believe Heastie, the most powerful Democrat in the Assembly, likely didn't want a bill with a Republican as its primary sponsor to reach the floor for a vote, even though 13 Democrats have already signed on as co-sponsors.
Chang said he'd let a Democrat take over as the bill's sponsor if it meant the measure would pass.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
13 minutes ago
- Washington Post
D.C. attorney general alleges violence intervention nonprofit misused funds
The District's attorney general has alleged that a nonprofit group hired by the city misappropriated funds that were supposed to go toward preventing gun violence in the Congress Heights neighborhood. In a lawsuit filed this week by D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb, the city is seeking to recoup more than $250,000 in government funds that went to Women in H.E.E.L.S. (Healing, Elevation, Empowerment, Love, Support) Inc. The group signed an agreement with the attorney general's office in March 2022 to operate one of four new violence-reduction program sites as part of the office's Cure the Streets program, according to the suit.
CNN
13 minutes ago
- CNN
Hundreds of Americans have fled Iran and others face difficulties leaving as Trump weighs US military action
Hundreds of Americans have fled Iran as the conflict with Israel has escalated, an internal State Department report said. The detail in the Friday situation report underscores that US citizens in Iran are at risk as President Donald Trump weighs US military action. The exact number of Americans in Iran is not known, and the State Department does not require US citizens to register their presence abroad. Unlike in Israel, where the US is working to establish transportation options out of the country for the estimated hundreds of thousands of Americans there, no such options are available for US citizens in Iran. The US does not have a diplomatic presence there. 'We do not anticipate offering direct US government assisted departure from Iran,' State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce noted at a press briefing Friday. The situation report described some Americans facing difficulties leaving Iran. 'Security alerts also note Americans seeking to depart should be prepared to encounter checkpoints and questioning from authorities,' it states. 'Numerous US citizens have described delays and harassment along their exit route.' It also notes that two Americans were reportedly detained while attempting to depart the country. One source trying to get a US citizen family member out of Iran expressed frustration at the State Department earlier this week, saying the agency seemed to defer everything to seemingly overwhelmed US embassies. This person wanted to see the department apply more pressure to Iran's neighboring countries to approve Americans' entrance. They also suggested dispatching embassy officials closer to the Iranian border to help. More than 25,000 people have sought information from the State Department about the 'situation in Israel, the West Bank and Iran,' Bruce said Friday. Bruce said that the people were seeking 'general information,' and some of them might be inquiring about departure. The department has launched a 'crisis intake form' for Americans in Israel and Iran wanting to know how to get out of those countries as the conflict continues. 'Americans seeking departure should take advantage of existing means to leave,' Bruce noted at the press briefing. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Thursday that the US is 'working to get military, commercial, charter flights & cruise ships' for evacuation from Israel. Trump on Thursday opened a two-week negotiating window before deciding whether to strike Iran, setting off an urgent effort to restart talks that had been deadlocked when Israel began its bombing campaign last week.
CBS News
18 minutes ago
- CBS News
Former Michigan President Santa Ono will not return to university faculty, officials say
Former University of Michigan President Santa Ono will not return to a faculty position after he pursued the presidential role at the University of Florida and was rejected. A U of M spokesperson confirmed on Friday that Ono resigned from employment. The university did not provide any further details. Ono confirmed to The Detroit News that he informed the university he was returning, but stopped short of sharing his future plans. Ono was named Michigan's 15th president in 2022. He announced in May 2025 that he was stepping down to go for the same role at the University of Florida. He received initial approval from the university's Board of Trustees, but was rejected by the Florida Board of Governors a week later. Before the Board of Governors' 10-6 vote, several prominent conservatives raised questions about Ono over pro-Palestinian protests, climate change efforts, gender ideology and DEI programs at the University of Michigan and his previous academic positions. One of those conservatives was U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who said that he had "serious concerns" about Ono potentially becoming president. Scott urged the Board of Governors to question the encampment that occurred on U of M's Diag last year and Ono's response to reports of anitsemitism on campus. Before becoming Michigan's president, he served six years as president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia and as president and provost of the University of Cincinnati. He was set to replace Kent Fuchs, who became the school's interim president last summer after ex-U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse stepped down. Sasse left the U.S. Senate, where he had represented Nebraska, to become the university's president in 2023. According to the University of Florida's website, Fuchs remains the university's interim president.
