Elected officials among Midtown gathering
of protesters telling Cuomo to leave office
BY DEAN MOSES
The small, yet lively crowd of protesters
who gathered outside Governor
Andrew Cuomo’s Midtown offi ce on
Tuesday evening made one thing perfectly
clear: They want the governor gone for his
many scandals.
Amidst closing walls of controversy from
the highly publicized nursing home death
data fi asco to multiple sexual harassment
allegations, Cuomo is facing multiple calls
to resign from offi ce as an investigation into
his actions is underway.
Just after 5 p.m. on March 2, a small
group circled the entrance of 633 3rd Avenue
where they chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho
Governor Cuomo has got to go!” The group
cited the deaths of over 15,000 older adults,
which they attribute to Cuomo’s immunity
regulations, and the several women who
have come forward to accuse the highranking
offi cial of sexual misconduct.
“Yesterday, the third woman so far came
out accusing Governor Cuomo of sexual
A small group picketed outside Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Midtown office on
March 2, 2021, calling for his resignation amid the sexual harassment and
nursing home scandals surrounding him.
harassment and inappropriate behavior.
We know that where there are three, there
is more! These things are not isolated
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
incidents,” said Sumathy Kumar of the
New York City Democratic Socialists of
America (DSA).
Kumar shared that as a woman of color
working in politics, she feels a bond of solidarity
with those who’ve come forward to
share their stories. She explained that this
issue has been perpetuated throughout the
decades, where those in power, particularly
men have used that position as leverage
against younger women.
Those at the modest rally pushed signs
reading “Cuomo Must Resign” onto the
building’s windows while others proudly
displayed quirky banners exclaiming
“Cuomo is a sex pest.”
The call for the governor to resign was
not only written on homemade signs, but
it was also on the lips of Brooklyn City
Council member and mayoral candidate
Carlos Menchaca, who did not shy away
from sharing his feelings on the matter.
“Cuomo, resign now! We, the people,
demand it! We demand because your
power has become corrupt! Your power
has assaulted women and when that happens,
you lose the trust of all the people!”
Menchaca yelled.
Midtown manhole explosion leaves firefighter,
EMS, and Con Edison personnel injured: FDNY
BY DEAN MOSES
A mighty manhole blast rocked Midtown
Manhattan during the early
hours of Sunday morning, injuring
three workers.
Residents along East 56th Street were
given a rude awakening by an ear-splitting
explosion on Feb. 28 following reports of
multiple manhole fi res before dawn.
According to FDNY Deputy Assistant
Chief John Sarrocco, fi refi ghters had been
on the scene since 4:30 a.m., when they
responded to smoke emitting from numerous
manholes.
“Units responded in about three or four
minutes. They got on scene and found
multiple manholes with smoke issuing from
it. We did searches throughout all of the
buildings on each side of the street, on 56th
Street between First and Second Avenue.
The situation seemed to be under control
at that point,” Sarrocco said.
FDNY, EMS, and Con Edison personnel
remained in the area for several hours.
Everything looked to be secure until about
7:40 a.m., when a massive blast injured
three fi rst responders, each from the
aforementioned emergency services. Immediate
backup support was requested
at the scene.
The manhole which exploded, inuring three.
“We had multiple power outages on
56th Street between First and Second
Avenue with rising CO levels in various
buildings,” Sarrocco said. “We escalated
the incident to have a second alarm assignment
respond, which consists of
approximately 200 fi refi ghters. Those
fi refi ghters had to do extensive searches
of buildings on 56th Street between First
and Second. Checking all of the elevators
because there are multiple power outages.
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
We also have civilians that need electricity
for life support systems. Those people were
being evaluated by FD personnel. This is
a long and extensive operation, which is
still going on right now. We had 3 injuries,
one to an EMS operation personnel from
the explosion, one from Con Ed from the
explosion and we also had one fi refi ghter
injured with diffi culty breathing during the
operation. Right now, things are starting to
settle down. CO levels have dropped within
the buildings.”
FDNY offi cials erected a mobile command
center while Con Edison employees
worked on several manholes. The street
was completely cut off from traffi c as
NYPD and FDNY offi cials maintained a
vigilant watch over the proceedings as the
morning wore on to ensure another explosion
would not take place.
Still, this didn’t soothe the minds of
those who heard the eruption with their
own ears.
Henry Smith, 17, and his mother were
jolted awake by a resounding boom. They
reside on the 10th fl oor of an apartment
just overlooking the street where the explosion
occurred.
“It was really smoky,” Smith said, describing
the experience as akin to waking
up in a war zone. After a few minutes, he
left his apartment building and could smell
a strong gas odor. Smith shared that the fi re
department warned that his building might
have to be evacuated.
Con Edison believes that these manhole
fi res are most likely related to the infl ux of
snowstorms New York has been experiencing
over the past few weeks. A representative
shared that when the melting snow
and ice mix with road salt, it gets into the
manholes.
4 March 4, 2021 Schneps Media