Cuomo-De Blasio Feud Reignites With Talk of State Takeover

(Bloomberg) -- The friction between New York City mayors and governors in far-off Albany is centuries old, but rarely have the stakes been so high.

In recent weeks, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have been trying and often failing to suppress their mutual animosity with the Covid-19 pandemic claiming almost 22,000 lives in the city, an economically devastating lockdown and now an explosion of rage in the streets.

On Tuesday, Cuomo criticized the city's handling of widespread looting and violence following protests against police brutality.

“The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job,” Monday night, Cuomo said of de Blasio and the 36,000-officer police department for which he's responsible. “What happened in New York City was inexcusable.”

Cuomo said he has the power to take over the city and bring in the National Guard, but “I don't think we're at that point.” Displacing the mayor “would be such a chaotic situation in the midst of an already chaotic situation,” he added. “I don't think that makes any sense.”

Happy Talk

The clash over protests of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody was a jarring reversal. Just Friday, de Blasio made a rare appearance at Cuomo's daily virus briefing via video call, for the announcement of the June 8 reopening of New York City. Cuomo even complimented the mayor's appearance, and they were friendly, praising each other for hard work.

The two, once tight allies, have been feuding and struggling over power ever since de Blasio became mayor in 2014. The fights have sometimes distracted them from the challenges of governing.

New York governors and mayors have a long history of policy disagreements, particularly in a system that gives the state's chief executive more power over the city's authority to impose taxes and enact laws. This fact vexed former Mayors Edward Koch, Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg without regard to political party or ideology. In the current environment, disagreements between Cuomo and de Blasio can have fateful impact.

“They have had this bad history together about who's in charge, and it's mixed with each leader's ambitions in national politics, all predicated on the need to show they've performed well,” said Robert Shapiro, a Columbia University political scientist. “The mayor is in a better position to know what's going on in the city. But Cuomo has an advantage because it's easier to sound like you've taken the high ground, and criticize while you're less responsible.”

Common Enemy

The latest spat over the mayor's handling of looting and arson Sunday and Monday night may not have had a tangible impact on the challenge of maintaining law and order, according to spokespersons for the mayor and governor. That's because each opposes President Donald Trump's threat to send military battalions into cities experiencing unrest. And they agree the NYPD has enough resources and expertise to handle the problem without military intervention.

“They have protected the city before in these situations,” Cuomo said Tuesday. “I believe in the inherent capacity of the NYPD, if managed and if deployed.”

Cuomo's criticism of the police department response wasn't well-received by City Hall. The governor's comments are “offensive to the men and women of the NYPD who are out there every night trying to keep New Yorkers safe,” said Freddi Goldstein, the mayor's press secretary. “It would be nice if our officers knew they had the respect of their governor.”

The two men's personality clash may have cost lives in March, when they bickered over whether to close the schools and shut down the city. They disagreed for days over how and when to act. The city closed the schools, but only after Cuomo issued a March 15 order.

Two days later, de Blasio raised the possibility of a “shelter-in-place” order. Cuomo reacted negatively, saying it was his decision. On March 20, the governor announced his own shutdown. Epidemiologists say delays of just a few days may allow a highly contagious virus to spread exponentially.

Train Pain

As the city moves toward reopening, the subways have become another source of contention. As governor, Cuomo is ultimately responsible for the operations of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That hasn't stopped him from accusing the mayor of underfunding the system, to which the city contributes billions in tax revenue and subway and bus fares.

“We're still not getting the answers we need from the MTA,” de Blasio said last week, as city and state officials worked toward how to prevent the system from becoming a vector of viral infection.

“We have no idea what the mayor is talking about,” countered Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit, which operates the subways and buses.

It was an echo of 2015, when Cuomo shut the subway system down during a snow storm -- after giving the mayor just 15 minutes notice.

Spokeswomen for the two top New York officials each deny that the relationship has interfered with governing.

“By and large the mayor and governor have aligned on fighting the virus,” Goldstein said. “They agreed on the curfew, they agree on the need to let NYPD keep order. The rhetoric has not had an impact on the solutions to the challenges.”

Dani Lever, Cuomo's press secretary, said the relationship hasn't interfered with their actions to fight the virus or to keep law and order. “This isn't about personalities,” she said, “it's about public safety.”