NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Mayor Bill de Blasio has joined calls for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to be stripped of emergency powers that he was granted at the start of the pandemic.
The governor was given the powers by lawmakers last March, allowing him to bypass the normal legislative process to create and suspend laws on his own.
Some state lawmakers, including Republicans and Democrats, have been calling for the powers to be rescinded.
De Blasio backed those calls on Wednesday, telling the Daily News: "It's time to go back to the normal way of governing things."
"We've learned over a year how to address the pandemic," the mayor said, adding that, "Cities, towns, counties know what they're doing: let us do our job."
The mayor said he agreed "100%" that the governor should lose the powers: "It's been a whole year. We can't keep clinging to this situation. We've got to start moving forward."
Peter Ajemian, Cuomo's director of communications, responded to de Blasio, telling the Daily News in an email: "The mayor doesn't understand the law — any executive order can be reversed by a simple resolution of the legislature, which is in session."
"As far as the mayor saying he knows what he is doing, I respectfully suggest that every public poll suggests the people of New York City strongly disagree," Ajemian said.
