NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, defended herself in a new interview with Bloomberg as the Cuomo administration faces criticism over its handling of COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes.
“Media accounts have reduced me to a caricature, but I’m a human being who truly believes in and cares deeply about government and public service,” DeRosa told Bloomberg.
“I’ve worked incredibly hard throughout my career and especially during the pandemic. I didn’t sleep. The last thing I would do in my day is call family members of health-care workers who died and tell them I’m sorry for their pain, and then close the door, lay on the floor and cry,” she said. “I am not the one-dimensional person that has been portrayed in the press.”
DeRosa made headlines last month when reports emerged that she had told Democratic lawmakers the Cuomo administration took months to release data on the coronavirus death toll among nursing home residents because officials “froze” over worries the information was “going to be used against us.” She later released a statement clarifying her remarks.
And earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that aides, including DeRosa, pushed state health officials to edit a public report on nursing home patients killed by the coronavirus. State officials insisted that the edits were made because of concerns about accuracy.
The Times reported this past week that FBI agents have subpoenaed Cuomo's office for documents amid a federal investigation into the administrations handling of nursing homes during the pandemic.
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