12 APRIL 16, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Mayor, governor must stop the squabbling
When he provided his daily
coronavirus briefing on
Saturday morning, Governor
Andrew Cuomo spoke highly of
the state’s eff orts to keep politics out
of the response to the pandemic.
“Keep politics out of it,” he said
just aft er noting his eff orts with the
White House to secure relief for New
York state. “Focus on government and
focus on policy and keep politics out
of it. It’s very hard, especially at this
time.”
Would that he could say the same
for his dealing with Mayor Bill de
Blasio.
Moments later, during the very
same press conference, Cuomo threw
cold water on de Blasio’s announcement,
earlier that morning, that
New York City public schools would
remain closed through the end of the
school year, in June.
While de Blasio presented the decision
Saturday morning as a formality,
Cuomo reduced it down to the mayor’s
“opinion.” Cuomo said the governor
has the authority — something the
mayor disputes — and that he’d
rather see a coordinated reopening
EDITORIAL
THE HOT TOPIC
STORY:
Should New York eye a return to normal
life soon? Not so fast, Cuomo says
SUMMARY:
The governor said schools in the region,
as well as businesses, should reopen at
the same time. Cuomo also expressed
hope New York would do so in concert
with New Jersey and Connecticut,
leading to a resumption of the entire
tri-state economy.
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Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio must fi gure out how to work together. Photo by Mark Hallum
between the city and its suburbs of
schools and businesses alike. The
stance didn’t change on Sunday.
The animosity between Cuomo and
de Blasio is well-known to any New
Yorker. But does this rivalry need
to present itself in the midst of this
unprecedented crisis?
Cuomo made clear there’s too much
unknown when it comes to the pandemic,
and it’s unwise to set a date on
when to reopen society. There’s much
truth in this.
Public offi cials have said reopening
society automatically would be
unwise. Social distancing measures
can be eased a bit as the curve fl attens
downward, but it must be done
gradually so as to minimize (if not
completely avoid) a second massive
wave of coronavirus cases.
Bringing students back en masse —
along with parents and school faculty
— at a late point in the school year during
this crisis increases the odds of
additional infections and deaths.
We can’t imagine a scenario in
which Cuomo overrules de Blasio
and reopens the schools in late May
or June. So why not just admit that de
Blasio made the right call here? Why
couldn’t the governor say that he
would work with suburban offi cials
to coordinate with the city on school
openings?
Cuomo is correct: Politics must be
kept out of this crisis. We believe he
should follow his own advice when it
comes to dealing with de Blasio.
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