120 Facts About Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Mark Cuomo is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021.

Andrew Cuomo began his career working as the campaign manager for his father in the 1982 New York gubernatorial election.

Later, Andrew Cuomo worked as an assistant district attorney in New York City, entered the private practice of law, founded a housing non-profit, and chaired the New York City Homeless Commission from 1990 to 1993.

Andrew Cuomo served as assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1997.

Andrew Cuomo won the 2010 New York gubernatorial election to become governor of New York.

Andrew Cuomo was re-elected in 2014 and 2018 after winning primaries against progressive challengers.

Andrew Cuomo delivered Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act; a 2011 tax code that raised taxes for the wealthy and lowered taxes for the middle class; 12-week paid family leave; and a gradual increase of the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Andrew Cuomo received national attention for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York.

Andrew Mark Cuomo was born on December 6,1957, in the New York City borough of Queens to lawyer and later governor of New York Mario Cuomo and Matilda.

Andrew Cuomo's parents were both of Italian descent; his paternal grandparents were from Nocera Inferiore and Tramonti in the Campania region of southern Italy, while his maternal grandparents were from Sicily.

Andrew Cuomo has four siblings; his younger brother, Chris Cuomo, is a current NewsNation anchor and a former CNN journalist, and his elder sister is noted radiologist Margaret Cuomo.

Andrew Cuomo graduated from St Gerard Majella's School in 1971 and Archbishop Molloy High School in 1975.

Andrew Cuomo earned a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University in 1979 and a Juris Doctor from Albany Law School in 1982.

Andrew Cuomo then joined the governor's staff as a policy advisor and sometime Albany roommate, earning $1 a year.

Andrew Cuomo founded Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged in 1986 and left his law firm to run HELP full time in 1988.

From 1990 to 1993, during the administration of New York City mayor David Dinkins, Andrew Cuomo was chair of the New York City Homeless Commission, which was responsible for developing policies to address homelessness in the city and providing more housing options.

Andrew Cuomo was appointed Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development in the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1993, a member of President Bill Clinton's administration.

Andrew Cuomo served as Secretary from January 1997 until the Clinton administration ended in 2001.

Budgets enacted during Andrew Cuomo's term contained initiatives to increase the supply of affordable housing and home ownership and to create jobs and economic development.

Andrew Cuomo pushed government-sponsored lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy more home loans issued to poor homeowners in an attempt to end discrimination against minorities.

Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said Andrew Cuomo "was a contributor in terms of him being a cheerleader, but I don't think we can pin too much blame on him".

In 1999, Gaffney's office concluded that "most Community Builders' goals were activities rather than actual accomplishments" and that Andrew Cuomo's initiatives "had a crippling effect on many of HUD's ongoing operations".

Andrew Cuomo worked at the Fried Frank law firm from 2001 to 2004 and later the Island Capital real estate firm.

Andrew Cuomo first ran for the Democratic nomination for the New York governor seat in 2002.

Andrew Cuomo was initially the favorite for the nomination and led in fundraising and polls, but his campaign took serious damage after a gaffe.

On July 23,2007, Andrew Cuomo's office admonished the Spitzer administration for ordering the New York State Police to keep special records of then Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno's whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City.

In 2007, Andrew Cuomo was active in a high-profile investigation into lending practices and anti-competitive relationships between student lenders and universities.

On June 10,2008, Andrew Cuomo announced that three major Internet service providers would "shut down major sources of online child pornography" by no longer hosting many Usenet groups.

The move came after Andrew Cuomo's office located 88 different newsgroups to which child pornography had been posted.

Andrew Cuomo investigated a corruption scandal, a "fraudulent scheme to extract kickbacks", which involved New York investigators, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and attorneys general in dozens of states.

Also in 2009, Andrew Cuomo launched a suit against the United Homeless Organization, a New York charity.

Andrew Cuomo charged that the majority of the group's income was not used to provide services to the homeless but was diverted to the founders for unrelated personal expenses.

Andrew Cuomo was seen as a leading contender for this appointment.

On January 23,2010, the New York Daily News reported that Andrew Cuomo would announce plans for a gubernatorial campaign at the end of March.

Later reports indicated Andrew Cuomo would announce his gubernatorial campaign coinciding with the state Democratic Convention in late May On May 22,2010, Andrew Cuomo announced his run for governor in a video posted to his campaign website.

Paladino performed strongly in his native Buffalo area, while Andrew Cuomo performed well in the eastern part of the state as well as downstate.

Andrew Cuomo sought reelection in 2014, with former US Representative Kathy Hochul as his new running mate.

Andrew Cuomo was sworn in for his second term as governor.

Andrew Cuomo was challenged in the primary from the left by actress and activist Cynthia Nixon.

Andrew Cuomo criticized him for having failed to fix the New York City Subway following his declaration of the 2017 New York City transit crisis as well as for not protecting undocumented immigrants, not legalizing recreational marijuana, and not creating a single-payer healthcare system.

When debating Nixon, Andrew Cuomo countered her argument on the subways by pointing out that the system is owned by New York City, though past administrations agree it is the governor's role.

In May 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he would run for a fourth term.

In 2014, Politico reported that Andrew Cuomo had been actively involved in the formation of the Independent Democratic Conference three years earlier, which gave control of the state senate to Republicans.

Andrew Cuomo has been accused of failing to bridge the rift between the IDC and the Democratic caucus in the Senate.

Several reports indicated that Andrew Cuomo supported the Independent Democratic Conference until its dissolution and defeat in 2018 in part to appear more moderate for an eventual presidential bid.

The poll showed an eight-percent drop from January 2019; it was taken after Andrew Cuomo signed several pieces of progressive legislation, including an expansion of abortion rights and access and stricter gun laws, suggesting that the legislation may have upset certain voters and contributed to the drop; however, the majority of voters agreed with his position on both issues.

On his first day in office, Andrew Cuomo renewed an executive order signed by Eliot Spitzer which prohibited Governors of New York from receiving donations from gubernatorial appointees.

In March 2018, The New York Times reported that Andrew Cuomo had rewritten the disclaimer language on his campaign website for the executive order barring donations from appointees.

The Andrew Cuomo campaign returned a $2,500 donation from one appointee who was in violation of the new disclaimer, but retained approximately $890,000 raised from other appointees.

Andrew Cuomo has supported providing tax and other incentives to attract business to locate in New York State.

Andrew Cuomo even joked in 2018 that he would be willing to change his name to "Amazon Cuomo" if Amazon located their "Amazon HQ2" in the state.

On March 1,2020, Andrew Cuomo issued a statement regarding novel coronavirus in New York wherein he mentioned the first positive case of novel coronavirus in New York State.

On March 2,2020, Andrew Cuomo said that community transmission of the new coronavirus is "inevitable".

Andrew Cuomo mentioned New York City's plans to aggressively ramp up diagnostic testing for the new virus and said that he would like to see New York City conducting "1,000 tests per day".

Andrew Cuomo announced the "world-renowned" Wadsworth Center was partnering with hospitals to expand surge testing capacity to "1,000 tests per day statewide" for the novel coronavirus.

On March 3,2020, Andrew Cuomo signed a $40 million emergency management authorization for coronavirus response and claimed that "New York's overall risk remained low".

Andrew Cuomo announced the institution of a new cleaning protocol at schools and in the public transportation system "to help stop any potential spread of the virus".

On March 4,2020, Andrew Cuomo confirmed nine new cases in the state and said that it was "literally like trying to stop air" and that it was inevitable that it would continue to spread.

On March 6,2020, Andrew Cuomo criticized the federal government's response to the COVID-19 outbreak, calling it "absurd and nonsensical".

Early in the coronavirus response efforts, Andrew Cuomo received widespread praise from epidemiologists for his handling of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic in New York State, including a statewide lockdown and a shutdown of nonessential businesses in an effort to help flatten the curve of the virus.

On March 28,2020, Andrew Cuomo threatened Rhode Island with a lawsuit over a state quarantine policy enforcing quarantine on arriving New Yorkers.

Between July and August 2020, Andrew Cuomo utilized state resources and property, including assigning work by Executive Chamber government staffers to compile materials and perform frequent work on the drafting of his book on a non-voluntary basis.

In October 2020, Andrew Cuomo published his book, American Crisis, proclaiming victory against the pandemic due to his leadership.

Andrew Cuomo wrote that New York "confronted and defeated" the virus, although the state had the highest per capita hospitalization rate in the country by February 2021.

Andrew Cuomo was paid more than $5 million to write the book.

In November 2020, Andrew Cuomo received the International Emmy Founders Award from the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his coronavirus briefings.

On December 14,2021, Andrew Cuomo was ordered by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics to pay New York state $5.1 million in book profits he made during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The commission rejected the prior approval after complaints that Andrew Cuomo used state resources, including personnel used to edit, write, prepare, and gather data to write "American Crisis".

Andrew Cuomo is ordered to return proceeds from the book by January 13,2022.

In January 2018, Andrew Cuomo proposed reforms that would "reduce delays during trials, ban asset seizures in cases where there has been no conviction and make it easier for former convicts to get a job after leaving prison".

Andrew Cuomo called for an end to cash bail for minor crimes.

Andrew Cuomo pardoned 140 adults who were convicted of nonviolent felonies as 16- and 17-year-olds, but had served their sentences.

Andrew Cuomo pardoned 18 others who had served their sentences for nonviolent felonies but were exposed to deportation due to their criminal record.

In 2017, Andrew Cuomo announced that the Indian Point nuclear plant, which produced one quarter of New York City's power, would be phased out.

On July 5,2013, Andrew Cuomo signed an amendment to the NY SAFE Act that exempts retired police officers from some of the act's ownership restrictions.

On July 7,2021, Andrew Cuomo declared the first 'disaster emergency' in the United States on gun crime for New York.

Andrew Cuomo appointed a commission to examine the responses of New York utilities to damage caused by the storm.

Controversy ensued when the Andrew Cuomo administration used $140 million, including $40 million of federal disaster relief funds, to pay for the broadcast of national TV ads promoting "New New York" slogans outside New York in an attempt to attract new business investment to the state.

In June 2012, the Andrew Cuomo administration said it was considering lifting a state ban on the practice of hydraulic fracturing to stimulate the economy in upstate New York.

In solidarity with Israel, Andrew Cuomo announced an executive order against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

In January 2014, Andrew Cuomo announced an executive order to allow the limited use of medical marijuana in New York.

In December 2018, Andrew Cuomo announced his support for legalizing the recreational use of cannabis, after previously stating his opposition and calling it a "gateway drug" as recently as February 2017.

In June 2017, after a series of subway disasters, Andrew Cuomo declared a "state of emergency" for the New York City Subway system.

Andrew Cuomo directed the MTA to spend on projects that the heads of the MTA did not consider to be priorities.

The New York Times noted that Andrew Cuomo was closely aligned with the union in question and had received $165,000 in campaign contributions from it.

Andrew Cuomo placed aides within the organization and, in an unusual move, made some report directly to him.

Andrew Cuomo badgered transit leaders about the construction of the Second Avenue subway on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

On July 16,2011, Andrew Cuomo finalized a five-year deal with the Public Employees Federation to end pay raises, implement furlough days, and require additional contributions to health insurance accounts.

In keeping with a campaign promise, Andrew Cuomo signed the Marriage Equality Act, introducing same-sex marriage, on June 24,2011, following an "intense public and private lobbying campaign", and later called for all states to do the same.

Andrew Cuomo was lauded for his efforts to pass same-sex marriage legislation.

One prominent advocate stated that for gay Americans, Andrew Cuomo was "the only national politician with hero status".

Andrew Cuomo ordered a boycott of Indiana and North Carolina to protest their legislation on LGBT issues.

Andrew Cuomo was praised for his 2011 restructuring of the New York State tax code.

Andrew Cuomo received criticism from voices on the left who felt that the tax reform was insufficient.

Andrew Cuomo said that he would consider restoring the voting rights of all parolees, and would enfranchise new parolees throughout his term.

In 2013, Andrew Cuomo called for the passage of a Women's Equality Act.

In October 2015, Andrew Cuomo signed eight of the 10 Women's Equality Act bills into law; the abortion rights bill was not among them.

On January 22,2019, Andrew Cuomo signed the 2019 version of the Reproductive Health Act, which passed days after Democrats took control of the state Senate.

Andrew Cuomo ordered One World Trade Center and other landmarks to be lit in pink to celebrate the bill's passage.

Andrew Cuomo's signing and the lighting of the World Trade Center building sparked intense criticism from conservatives.

In September 2016, Joseph Percoco, a close friend and former top aide to Andrew Cuomo, was indicted as part of a bribery investigation into the Buffalo Billion.

Andrew Cuomo had worked for Cuomo in both Washington and Albany and had managed his 2010 and 2014 gubernatorial campaigns and has been described as "the governor's enforcer and a member of his inner circle".

Andrew Cuomo had previously referred to him as a brother, and as Mario Andrew Cuomo's "third son".

Todd Howe, a lobbyist and former Andrew Cuomo aide, was indicted, along with several developers who were major donors to Andrew Cuomo and other state politicians.

In March 2021, allegations came out that Andrew Cuomo prioritized COVID-19 tests for his family and other associates during the early stages of the pandemic when tests were limited.

Andrew Cuomo reacted to this report by stating that attribution of nursing home deaths to his March 2020 policy had "no basis in fact".

On February 12,2021, Melissa DeRosa, a top aide to Andrew Cuomo, said in a call with state Democratic leaders that the Andrew Cuomo administration intentionally delayed the release of data pertaining to deaths from COVID-19 within nursing homes in fear it would've triggered a potential federal investigation by the Department of Justice and given an advantage to political opponents.

On November 22,2021, the New York State Assembly released an Impeachment Investigation Report disclosing Andrew Cuomo directed his staff to inappropriately withhold or misrepresent information regarding the effects of COVID-19 on nursing home dealths including the exclusion of out-of-facility COVID-19 deaths in his report to the Department of Health.

Boylan further elaborated on her accusations in February 2021, claiming Andrew Cuomo goaded her to play strip poker with him while on a flight in 2017 and forcibly kissed her on the mouth in his Manhattan office.

Andrew Cuomo suggested that Cuomo was open to relationships with women "above the age of 22".

When reporting the allegation, The New York Times published a photograph from the event which showed Andrew Cuomo putting his hands on Ruch's face.

Andrew Cuomo said the incident made her feel "uncomfortable and embarrassed".

Andrew Cuomo said that Cuomo had made her feel uncomfortable, describing him staring at her, entering her personal space, offering her a job, and asking personal questions.

Bauman stated that Andrew Cuomo "never touched [her] inappropriately or said anything that [she] felt [she] could report to [her] boss".

On March 29, Sherry Vill, a New York constituent whose flood-damaged house Andrew Cuomo had visited in May 2017, alleged that Andrew Cuomo had inappropriately kissed her twice during that visit.

The office of Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple would file a criminal complaint against Andrew Cuomo related to Brittany Commisso's groping allegation.

On January 4,2022, Albany County District Attorney David Soares dropped a criminal complaint against Andrew Cuomo and announced that Andrew Cuomo would not face any other charges related to other groping allegations, citing lack of evidence.

Andrew Cuomo filed for a state retirement pension, to be effective September 1,2021 based on 14.56 years of state service as attorney general and governor.

Andrew Cuomo began dating Food Network host Sandra Lee in 2005, and the couple moved in together in 2011.

On July 4,2015, Andrew Cuomo presided over the wedding ceremony of his longtime friend Billy Joel to his fourth wife, Alexis Roderick.